A new gBETA startup accelerator program planned for entrepreneurs of color and female founders in Kenosha could start as early as summer 2022.
gener8tor Management LLC, a Wisconsin company that runs more than 30 gBETA programs across North America, will be looking to hire a program director in the new year, gener8tor partner Abby Kursel said.
The city of Kenosha will receive up to $990,000 in government funding to establish the program, Gov. Tony Evers announced on Dec. 14. That funding is intended to finance the program for three years, Kursel said.
The accelerator is among 12 programs receiving funding from the $100 million Workforce Innovation grant program the governor announced this summer, which is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). They're each designed to implement long-term solutions to Wisconsin's workforce challenges.
There are existing gBETA programs in Wisconsin including in Milwaukee, Madison and Beloit. But gener8tor is not concerned about finding enough entrepreneurs to participate in gBETA Kenosha, even with other gBETA programs already operating relatively nearby, Kursel said.
"We have a very strong belief that talent is everywhere," Kursel said. "Opportunity is not."
gBETA Kenosha could be housed in the former Brown National Bank building, Kenosha director of city development Tim Casey said. The building is in the city's Uptown neighborhood, one of the areas most affected by protests connected to the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake.
In collaboration with several education institutions and community partners, Kenosha is redeveloping the former bank building into a center aimed at helping middle- and high-school students explore education and career pathways, Casey said. The city has identified funding for the project and is finalizing plans. It expects to seek bids in late January and hopes to complete the renovations by early fall, Casey said.
gBETA is a fee- and equity-free program that accepts five early-stage startups per cohort and runs for seven weeks. Participants receive individual coaching and mentorship aimed at refining their business model, strategizing growth, gaining customer traction and landing investment.
Since 2015, startups that have participated in a gBETA program have raised more than $125 million in capital and created more than 1,500 jobs across the U.S. and Canada, according to gener8tor.
