gener8tor — a Wisconsin-based company that has built a nationwide network of startup accelerators — is adding programs in Peoria, Illinois and Oklahoma City, gener8tor announced this week.
The new programs — gBETA Distillery Labs and gBETA Oklahoma City — will follow gener8tor's gBETA pre-accelerator model, each supporting cohorts of five early-stage companies through seven-week programs twice per year. Like other gBETA programs, they will be free to the participating startups, won't include investment capital, and will focus on helping founders gain early customer traction and prepare for equity-based accelerator programs.
With the addition of these two programs, there are now 28 gBETA programs throughout North America, including in Beloit, Madison, Milwaukee and northeast Wisconsin. gener8tor is currently hiring a full-time program director for gBETA Distillery Labs and one for gBETA Oklahoma City.
For the gBETA Distillery Labs program in central Illinois, gener8tor is partnering with Peoria-based Distillery Labs, a startup hub that's named after the area's entrepreneurial heritage that led to its reputation as the “Whiskey Capital of the World,” according to a press release. The program's partners and sponsors include Peoria-based OSF HealthCare, Peoria County, Hanson Professional Services Inc., Central Illinois Angels, Attollo and The DBZCAR Family Fund.
The Oklahoma gBETA program is sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the Inasmuch Foundation, Square Deal Capital, American Fidelity, Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and Love’s Travel Stops.
Since gBETA launched in 2015, program alumni have raised more than $188 million in capital and created more than 2,000 jobs across the U.S. and Canada, according to gener8tor. Participants receive intensive, individualized coaching and access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors.
Interested startups can learn more about gBETA Distillery Labs and gBETA Oklahoma City on gener8tor's website.
