gBETA St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN

Grow your startup with us on campus at St. Thomas.

About gBETA

gBETA runs multiple times every year in cities across the United States. Up to five companies from a range of verticals are selected from a competitive applicant pool to participate in the free seven-week program. Participating companies receive:

  • Individualized coaching and mentorship from the team of nationally ranked accelerator gener8tor on company growth and investor readiness

  • Weekly "Lunch & Learns" and "Mentor Swarms"

  • Investor and accelerator pitches

  • $1M+ in deals and perks from vendors like IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, Paypal, Zendesk, Hubspot and Microsoft

  • Ongoing post-program support and gener8tor community involvement and offerings

gBETA's goal is that graduates will go on to participate in an investment accelerator or raise a seed round. You can see gBETA's progress against these goals here.

Eligibility Criteria for gBETA St. Thomas

You're a Student or Alumni of the University of St. Thomas

gBETA St. Thomas takes place on the University of St. Thomas campus in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is exclusively available to students and alumni of the University of St. Thomas. Companies of any stage, industry, or business model can apply to participate.

Program Commitment

You can commit to at least 85% of our programming, with the ideal being 100%. gBETA requires at least 5-7 hours weekly of programming, not including the time founders dedicate to working on their businesses independently.

Openness, Fundraising, and Sales

You’re prepared to discuss your business openly with mentors and investors, knowing that not everything is proprietary. Raising capital is on your radar, and you are either selling already or ready to scale your sales in a more reliable, consistent way.

Coachability and Responsiveness

You’re coachable, open to feedback, and value multiple perspectives to make informed decisions for your business. You’re also responsive and thrive in a fast-paced environment.

Apply to an Upcoming Program

Upcoming Program

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Director

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To be announced soon!

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We are not currently accepting applications for this program.

Stay tuned. While there aren't any upcoming programs for this location at the moment, there are plenty of other available opportunities at gener8tor!

Program Timeline

Getting Started
Program Kick-Off:
A 1.5-day event featuring a team-building activity, insightful content to guide you through the rest of the program, and introductory 1:1 meetings with your gBETA Program Manager.

Weeks 1-6
Team Meetings:
Two 1-hour strategy meetings each week with your founding team and your gBETA Program Manager.

Lunch & Learns: Weekly 1-hour sessions on: Market and Competition, Revenue Models, Financing and Milestones, Comparables, Pitching, How to Get into an Accelerator, and more!

Mentor Swarms: One 2-hour “speed dating” session each week with a group of new mentors each week, for a total of ~30 mentor introductions over the six weeks.

Week 7
Investor Swarms:
The 7th week of the program includes curated 1:1 pitch meetings with 25+ investors.

Showcase: Final celebration event with live pitches and networking with mentors, investors, and customers.

Post-Program
Alumni support: Ongoing assistance and resources for graduates of the program to help continue their growth and success.

gener8tor Conferences: Connect with corporate innovation network partners, investors and fellow startups in key industries. Learn more

Lightning Rounds: Curated, one-on-one pitch sessions between startups and investors. Learn more

gBETA Accelerator FAQs

Do you still have questions about the gBETA program? Explore some of our frequently asked questions below to find the answer.

  • gBETA is a free, seven-week, pre-accelerator program for companies that are looking to achieve rapid growth and/or raise venture capital. gBETA helps entrepreneurs work in and on their business while also attaining the entrepreneurial mindset needed to be successful.

  • Thanks to our program partners, gBETA is at no cost to the five companies selected to participate in each cohort.

  • gBETA embraces a concierge approach to its programming. That means founders receive one-on-one attention throughout the program. Everything we do is personalized to your business, no matter how far along you are in its development.

    gBETA is run by nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor, so you know that the help you’re getting is top-notch.

  • Sure, what have you got to lose? It’s completely free, and we’ll help you grow and scale your business!

    gBETA is a good fit for you if you are ready to “step on the gas” for your business. We work with companies who are pre-revenue, and those who already have revenue. Most of our programs are industry-agnostic, so we accept a wide variety of startups, but we are looking for companies who want to scale quickly and see value in raising venture capital to do so.

  • Through one-on-one interaction with their program manager, mentors and investors, program participants gain valuable personalized insights that can be applied to their business strategy. Program focus areas include gaining an entrepreneurial mindset, validating the company, growing customer traction, and preparing for investor pitches.

    Benefits include:

    • Additional media attention, which leads to additional support from community and business leaders

    • Access to gener8tor’s robust national network of thousands of fellow entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, and warm introductions to those most relevant to your business

    • Lifetime membership access to Morrow powered by GAN (Global Accelerator Network)

    • $1M + in deals and perks from vendors like Google, IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, PayPal, Zendesk and Microsoft

    • Membership in gener8tor’s startup community of thousands of startup founders, with access to gener8tor’s network, events and resources for the lifetime of your business

  • To be considered for the program, simply complete the online application. You can apply for multiple programs if you meet the eligibility criteria (e.g., presence in the relevant city or industry). After applications close, the director will notify you if you’re selected for an interview, which typically involves one or two rounds and a prepared pitch. Once interviews are complete, you'll be informed if you’ve been chosen.

    We also encourage you to sign up for office hours before or after applying to meet with the director and ask any questions.

  • Once founders complete the 7-week program, they become alumni. Program Managers keep in close contact and continue to support their alumni, and alumni are part of the gener8tor network for the life of their business. We make every effort to ensure they are considered for future opportunities such as gener8tor’s investment accelerators, inclusion in our gener8tor conferences, and lightning rounds or introductions to new mentors and investors. We have your back from start to finish.

  • Running a startup and going through an accelerator is a commitment, but you don’t need to be working on your company full-time to participate in gBETA. We typically require 4-6 hours per week for meetings, plus additional time for follow-ups and for time that the founder needs to spend on their businesses. .

    Our goal is to focus on projects that will significantly advance your company, making it time well spent. We understand the balance between personal and work life, so our program managers will work with you to fit the program into your schedule. However, we do expect founders to make every effort to maximize their experience.

  • Yes, please do! Due to the nature of the program and our desire to put a strong focus on five companies per cohort, not all who apply will be immediately accepted. Founders should continue to apply for gBETA even if they are not accepted upon first application.

  • Yes and no. We will help you set and achieve metrics that make your company attractive to investors and we’ll help you craft a killer pitch. We’ll also introduce you to investors both during the program and after the program, if you’d like us to. However, we won’t pitch or make asks for you. We’ll show you the path, but it’s up to you to make the journey and get the funding.

    While we cannot make guarantees in terms of potential investments, we work very hard to ensure that the program puts you in the best position possible to raise money if that is your goal.

  • Every gBETA program is different depending on the market for which you are applying. Some programs accept any type of startup that is located in a certain geography, while others may recruit nationally for a specific industry vertical.

    If you are unsure whether or not to apply, we highly recommend requesting office hours with the Program Manager of the program that interests you.

  • Although participation in gBETA is free, all participants are required to sign a participation agreement during the onboarding process.

  • We treat all application data as confidential and don’t steal ideas. With thousands of applications yearly, many with similar concepts, we don’t sign NDAs. Our application doesn’t require your “special formula,” so only share what you're comfortable with

  • We’re eager to hear about companies you think would be a perfect fit for gBETA. Click here to share your referrals with us.

Looking to Get in Touch?

Find a time for gBETA St. Thomas Office Hours or email Megan, Program Director of gBETA St. Thomas.

Megan Baniecke
Program Director | gBETA St. Thomas
megan.baniecke@gener8tor.com

Thank You to Our Partner


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