Startup accelerator gener8tor is working with the Greater St. Cloud Development Corp. and more than a dozen other organizations to bring its suite of programs to entrepreneurs in Central Minnesota.
GSDC and 16 other sponsor partners have agreed to fund the accelerator for three years. Gener8tor will offer its gBETA and gALPHA programs, which provide startup mentorship and coaching for early-stage companies. Neither program takes equity or requires fees from participating businesses.
The four-week-long gALPHA will follow a "reverse pitch format." An industry or company will pitch a problem to a group of entrepreneurs who will be asked to come up with a solution for the business.
gBETA is an intensive seven-week program for existing startups hoping to raise at least $50,000 in seed funding or get into a full-time, equity-based accelerator.
Participants will gain access to mentors, connections to gener8tors network of mentors and potential funding connections. Gener8tor will offer at least one gBETA and one gALPHA session every year. Each cohort will mentor five startups apiece.
Gener8tor's Minneapolis arm worked closely with Rob and Ryan Weber, founders of local venture capital firm Great North Labs, to make connections in the area. The Webers are alumni of St. Cloud State University and founded their first company, NativeX, while in college there. They sold their business in 2016. Even though Great North Labs is based in Minneapolis, the Weber brothers have remained rooted and invested in Central Minnesota.
"They saw what we were doing with gBETA and gALPHA in other markets and helped us start the conversation around what it would look like to bring the programs to St. Cloud," gener8tor Partner Abby Taubner said in an email.
Once the Weber brothers introduced the idea to local stakeholders, they, along with GSDC and law firm Moss & Barnett, spearheaded local efforts to bring the program to fruition.
"Our time in St. Cloud so far has shown us that the region is brimming with entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs," Taubner said. "Many of our sponsors are now more established companies that were started from scratch by members still involved in the operations and management of the companies. These will be valuable mentors to connect the program participants with."
Taubner added that gener8tor also sees potential in the area's colleges and universities, specifically those with entrepreneurship, engineering, computer science and business programs.
"Whenever we can position ourselves to work closely with colleges and universities, it gets us excited about the potential entrepreneurs we can find roaming the halls," she said.
The partnership is part of GSDC's effort to put a higher priority and more resources to not only create more startups in Central Minnesota but keep them in the area as they grow.
The St. Cloud program is open to entrepreneurs from outside the region. Gener8tor said that it would not rule out expanding to other cities in Greater Minnesota in the future.
