Gener8tor, a prominent Midwest startup accelerator, is opening its first-ever Chicago-based program, where it will focus on sustainability and climate-tech startups.
Gener8tor announced Tuesday the launch of its Sustainability Accelerator, a three-month program that will help scale startups that are tackling climate change.
Like gener8tor's other programs, it will invest $100,000 in each startup, while providing coaching and connections to corporate partners, mentors and other experts.
It will select five startups for the inaugural program, which will begin in February. Applications are being accepted until December.
The program is being led by Ryan Jeffery, a Chicago tech veteran who worked as an analyst at VC firm Lightbank and co-founded multiple startups, including Belly and Ignite, a leadership training platform that was acquired last year.
Jeffery told Chicago Inno that gener8tor will look for startups "at the forefront of our climate crisis," with applications being accepted from across the country — though the group plans to recruit from Chicago and the Midwest broadly.
The program will be largely virtual, with some in-person meetings taking place at the onset of the program and during its cohort wrap-up event, called Premiere Night, assuming it's safe to do so, Jeffery said.
The accelerator, gener8tor's first that specifically focuses on climate and sustainability, aims to be gener8tor's "first step in a long road to being a major player in the sustainability and climate tech space," Jeffery said.
"There’s a significant amount of opportunity for innovation in this space," he said. "We want to have a significant impact in reversing, mitigating and adapting to climate change."
Well known throughout Midwest startup circles, gener8tor has grown into one of the region's startup ecosystem power players. Founded in Madison in 2012, gener8tor operates a range of different accelerators and other startup programs in cities like Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Cincinnati and elsewhere. It launched an agtech program in Champaign in 2020.
"We believe sustainability will be a defining theme of our generation," gener8tor co-founder Troy Vosseller said. "We've known Ryan for years, and he's been a loyal mentor to various gener8tor alumni ... so when we began brainstorming around what's next for him and our organization, the possibility of collaborating around a sustainability accelerator was top of our list."
While not operating a Chicago-based accelerator until now, gener8tor has invested in several Windy City startups through its various programs, including Provi, ReviewTrackers, FactoryFix and Noirefy. Its exits include PrettyLitter, a cat litter company that was recently acquired for under $1 billion, and Docalytics, which was acquired by Contently.
Its other investments include Wisconsin startup Fiveable, which has also raised funds from celebrities like Serena Williams and Chelsea Clinton, and wine startup Bright Cellars, which has raised $26 million in funding.
