Entrepreneurial companies scour everywhere to try and find the next big thing, and the company Gener8tor has set its sights on the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay.
Gener8tor is a startup accelerator founded in Madison in June 2012. In its 13 years, it has provided 2.2 billion dollars to more than 1,500 startup companies all over the US. They have some notable alumni that they have helped fund, such as Pretty Litter and Bright Cellars, both of which have estimated values over $1 million.
The process of bringing Gener8tor to Green Bay wasn’t one that happened overnight, as it took at least two years of planning to organize and form an official partnership with the university.
Gener8tor wanted to bring the gBETA program to Green Bay because the accelerator looks to support businesses in areas that aren’t normally seen by investment firms. The program aims to help fund these companies with community ties so that they stay in the community.
The end goal is to help drive economic prosperity in the community and help build up Green Bay as a legitimate place where investors can look to fund companies and allow them to grow.
The partnership between UWGB and Gener8tor will be seen with the gBETA program kicking off on November 13, 2025, for the first time. It is expected to become a mainstay on campus, especially with the new innovation center.
UWGB hopes this will be a great opportunity to show business majors the actual process of investment, as well as give founders the ability to see what it is like to gain investors and how to pitch their ideas.
Gener8tor’s program gBETA occurs in the fall semester and will select five to seven startups for a seven-week course. The program will end with a pitch day that prepares founders for the accelerator process.
This program is run by Program Director Emma Snyder, who had the job of picking applicants from a large pool. She said, “There were at least 40 pitches” that she heard, which “had to be narrowed down to five.”
The programs that were selected have yet to be announced, but they all follow a similar branch in that they are technology-based. However, this is not a requirement. Snyder said that their program is industry-agnostic, meaning any startup can apply and have an equal chance of being selected.
The program itself is known as a pre-accelerator, which tries to broaden the scope of these companies into less technical aspects of pitching to investors, and more toward understanding their marketplace.
They look to answer questions such as: What is the actual problem being solved? Who would invest in the company? What would the market be? To help this process the gBETA programs look to bring in mentors for these founders.
The mentors are former founders and investors who know the process of investment and are looking to help the current founders by offering advice, information, and potential relationships with someone who has been where they are.
The seven-week program will culminate with a final pitch day in the UWGB University Union. The founders will look to do a pitch of their ideas to a wide range of people, including staff and students. Those who are interested in attending the final pitch day should be on the lookout for an announcement of the time and place on UWGB’s Instagram.
Students hoping to apply for next year’s gBETA program can apply at www.gener8tor.com/gbeta/uw-green-bay for a chance to participate and potentially join the accelerator program.