gBETA Northeast Wisconsin Announces “Spring 2018” Companies
MEDIA CONTACT
Adrienne Palm
(920)202-4540
adrienne@gener8tor.com
gBETA Northeast Wisconsin Announces “Spring 2018” Companies
LiveBETA “Demo Day” Open to the Public on April 19
APPLETON, WI– Nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor today announced the participants of its gBETA Northeast Wisconsin Spring 2018 cohort. The five participating startups range from a convenient, fresh-frozen food manufacturer to OSHA compliance software. Company descriptions for all five companies can be found at the bottom of this release.
gBETA is a free accelerator for early-stage companies with local roots. The program is capped at five teams, and requires no fees and no equity. Participants receive intensive and individualized coaching and access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors. The program is designed to help startups gain early customer traction on their product or idea, and establish metrics that make them competitive applicants for full-time, equity-based accelerators or seed investment.
gBETA Northeast Wisconsin “Spring 2018” kicked off February 22nd with five local startups who have been working over the past several weeks with the gBETA team to meet mentors, gain customer traction, and pitch accelerators and investors. The cohort graduates on April 19th during LiveBETA (“demo day”) where the five companies will deliver five-minute pitches to an audience of mentors, investors and community members. There will be an opportunity before and after the presentations to mingle with the startup companies and other attendees. LiveBETA is a free event, but those interested in attending are asked to RSVP: https://livebetanortheastwisconsinspri.splashthat.com/
“The quality and quantity of startups that reside in Northeast Wisconsin is something our entire community can celebrate together,” said Adrienne Palm, Director of gBETA Northeast Wisconsin. “As our evolving startup ecosystem continues to grow, it makes me incredibly proud to facilitate a program that leverages the brainpower and resources of so many fine regional institutions; all of whom have come together to support entrepreneurship in a very collaborative and tangible way. We are excited to show off the wealth of talent who choose to start their businesses in Northeast Wisconsin.”
gBETA Northeast Wisconsin runs two times per year with five local companies per cohort to ensure a high level of individualized attention. gBETA works with companies across all industries and business models. Startups interested in applying should contact gBETA Northeast Wisconsin
Director Adrienne Palm (adrienne@gener8tor.com). For more information, visit www.gbetaaccelerator.com.
gBETA Northeast Wisconsin is supported by our generous sponsors:
Tastee Bites, LLCproduces Ready Eddy’s convenient, fresh-frozen, quarter-pound sandwiches featuring high-quality Wisconsin ingredients for an affordable price. Tastee Bites, LLC can currently be found across the state of Wisconsin in over 250 locations such as Festival Foods, Woodman’s, Piggly Wiggly, EconoFoods, Jack’s Fresh Markets, as well as convenience stores spanning eight states; a metric that has been achieved in the past 18 months. Tastee Bites, LLC is in active negotiations to bring Ready Eddy’s sandwiches to 166 Roundy’s grocery stores and is exploring a relationship with Canteen Vending to launch a beta test in refrigerated vending machines throughout the state. Current sales channels also include GDB Enterprises, LLC, a national wholesaler who is fulfilling government contracts with prisons and military base cafeterias. Tastee Bites, LLC is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.
Ed Swanson | ed.swanson@readyeddys.com | http://www.readyeddys.com/
Tee Forwardengages nonprofit organizations to crowd-fundraise, gain marketing traction and sell custom apparel on our free e-commerce platform. All shirt designs are curated, fashion-forward, American-made, and printed with eco-friendly inks. Tee Forward’s founder has worked with 250 nonprofits and averaged 19.5% year-over-year growth in the last 3 years with his other company, Offbeat Press.
Drew Mueske | drew.mueske@gmail.com
Pyxsee, a mobile application that enables users to conveniently access all of their favorite social media networks in one app, also allows parents to track the amount of time their children are spending on social media each day. Pyxsee Parental Guidance gives adults the ability to set timers and limit dependents’ daily usage, creating healthier social media habits in just a few easy steps. Pyxsee has been downloaded more than 16,000 times in less than four months and is days away from closing a $210,000 seed round with three accredited local investors. Pyxsee is a Wisconsin-based Delaware C-Corp currently under review for QNBV status.
Dayne Rusch | info@pyxsee.com | www.pyxsee.com
PrecisionLAGteaching aid makes it easier for people to learn and teach golf. PrecisionLAG accelerates learning and gives golfers a higher rate of return on practice time invested. PrecisionLAG is currently being patented and prototyped in collaboration with WiSys. Kyle Helms, assistant director of the PGA golf management program at UNLV, has agreed to conduct beta-testing with a trial group of up-and-coming pro-golf instructors.
Sam Hunt | huntsb30@uwgb.edu
Simple Safety Coachreplaces the antiquated, time and labor intensive document development process with online software that eases the path to OSHA compliance. Simple Safety Coach centralizes safety related activities and documents, creating transparency and improving employee retention all of which creates a sustainable and effective safety culture. Simple Safety Coach is in active discussions with ten potential customers and distribution channels, with sales expected to convert in Q2.
Michael Harper | mharper@simplesafetycoach.com | www.simplesafetycoach.com
gBETAis a program of nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor. gBETA is a free accelerator for early-stage companies with local roots. Each program is capped at five teams, and requires no fees and no equity. gBETA currently operates in seven locations: Beloit, Detroit, Indy, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Northeast Wisconsin. gBETA graduates have collectively raised more than $5M since 2015, and 54% have either gone on to participate in a full-time, equity-based accelerator or raised a seed round of at least $50K within one year of their
participation in gBETA. For more statistics, visitgbetaaccelerator.com/statistics.
gener8toris a nationally ranked accelerator that invests in high-growth startups. Three times a year gener8tor invests up to $140K in each of five startups who receive a concierge experience during its 12-week accelerator program. gener8tor supports the growth of these startups through its network of experienced mentors, technologists, corporate partners, angel investors and venture capitalists.
To date, gener8tors 65 alumni have cumulatively raised more than $150M in follow-on financing. Of these 65 alumni, 57% have raised more than $1M in follow-on financing or been acquired. gener8tor invests in high-growth startups, including software, IT, web, SaaS, life science, medtech, e-commerce and hardware. Accepted startups receive up to $140K and 12 weeks of mentorship-driven programming. gener8tor is a proud member of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN) and is sponsored by American Family Insurance. gener8tor is a GOLD-tier accelerator in the U.S. as ranked by the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project.