There’s certainly a difference between entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and entrepreneurs in Wisconsin, but it can be overcome, especially with the help of fellow Badgers.

That was the message from four representatives of the Silicon Valley Badgers–University of Wisconsin alumni who now work in the Valley–in the morning presentation at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference Wednesday at the Marriott West hotel.

“The weakness here is that we don’t leverage the Badger network,” Sanjeev Chitre of The Ugroup LLC said. “You [entrepreneurs] have a global infrastructure on a silver platter.”

The panel agreed that tapping into the network can help entrepreneurs gain the connections they need to raise capital, kick around ideas and receive mentoring.

Both Roy Thiele-Sardina of HighBAR Partners and Norman Koo of Liberty Global Inc. added that Wisconsin’s entrepreneurs need to be less risk-averse, as compared to their California counterparts, if they truly want to make money.

But at least not all traits were bad.

“The greatest strength of this area is the loyalty,” Mark Reinstra of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati said. “You need to keep developing a culture where people want to stay (in Madison).”