Accelerator Programs kick off with the first 10 high-growth startups for gener8tor’s fall 2022 program in Las Vegas and Reno-Tahoe

Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development partners with global accelerator, yielding positive economic development and impact 

CARSON CITY, Nev. – In partnership with the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and the City of Las Vegas, gener8tor Las Vegas and Reno-Tahoe Investment Accelerators are midway through  their respective 12-week accelerator programs. The accelerator programs provide investment, support, mentorship and access to venture capital for 10 high-growth startups in the Las Vegas and Reno-Tahoe areas.

The GOED-gener8tor partnership aims to grow and scale leading Nevada startups across that state through gener8tor’s 12-week investment accelerator that includes $100,000 of seed capital, access to gener8tor’s international network of mentors and investors as well as entrepreneurial training and support.

“In March of this year, Mayor Goodman, Mayor Schieve and I announced investments and anchor accelerators in Las Vegas and Reno that would aim to make Nevada one of the nation’s most startup-friendly states,” said Governor Steve Sisolak. “Today’s announcement of the first 10 companies to receive investments and transformative programming from gener8tor means 10 new foundational pillars for Nevada’s economy.”

The Nevada accelerators are industry agnostic with five startups per program. Each cohort of companies spans the industries of advertising, automotive, beverage, commercial real estate, finance, food, grant funding, healthcare, laundry, medical device and SaaS platforms. 

“This program demonstrates that Nevada is both home to promising startups and attractive to talented entrepreneurs choosing to grow their vision here,” said Karsten Heise, GOED Senior Director of Strategic Programs and Innovation. “This marks a major milestone for not only GOED and gener8tor but also the Economic Development of Western Nevada and the City of Las Vegas’ efforts to build and strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems.”

The selected accelerators for the fall 2022 Las Vegas cohort are CARDZ3N, Rizo Radiance, Sage Medical Coding & Billing, SpaceTogether, and VisionAid. These Vegas startups are operating out of the International Innovation Center #2 at The Herbert building. The Reno-Tahoe startups are Atlas Solutions, ClothesLyne, Loop, Prosper and Vistro with the accelerator based at the University of Nevada and working out of the Reno Innovation Center. Learn more about the Nevada cohort companies in the summaries below.

“The Nevada accelerator programs further empower the state’s expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem, helping startup founders thrive right here in the Battle Born State,” said gener8tor Co-founders Joe Kirgues and Troy Vosseller. “As Nevada becomes an ideal location for entrepreneurs to establish and grow their businesses, we are thrilled to invest in and welcome these 10 high-growth companies based in Las Vegas and Reno.” 

gener8tor started its first accelerator in the United States in 2012. To date, the company has expanded to 22 states, two countries and accelerated more than 1,000 startups from its programs with founders raising over $1.3B in total funding. The gener8tor approach is unique within the accelerator space, investing in only five companies per cohort to provide a concierge, highly focused experience. Each founder receives individual coaching and mentorship along with introductions to more than 100 mentors, including serial entrepreneurs, industry experts and investors.

At the end of each program, startup founders will pitch their companies to investors, community partners and the public at a showcase event. Use the following link to learn more and register for the Las Vegas Showcase event that will be held on December 1, 2022. Due to limited seating capacity, the Reno-Tahoe Showcase will be held by special invite only on December 2, 2022.

To learn more about the current programs and continuing plans for the accelerators in spring 2023, visit gener8tor Investment Accelerators or reach out to program managing directors, Jared Byers and Kegan McMullan.

gener8tor Las Vegas Investment Accelerator Fall 2022 | Cohort Summary

CARDZ3N (Joshua Benedetti) - CARDZ3N processes payments for high-risk businesses, including cannabis, CBD and cryptocurrency. CARDZ3N is the Zapier for payment processing. With one single integration, businesses can connect numerous different payment methods. CARDZ3N focuses on emerging market merchants, which are not supported by Stripe and Square. CARDZ3N saves merchants from 0.25% up to 2% in processing fees.

Rizo Radiance (Jeffrey Stewart) - Rizo Radiance infuses cosmetic ingredients into grab-and-go beverages. Rizo Radiance’s first product is a collagen-infused iced tea that improves skin in a ready-to-drink format. Rizo Radiance’s line of ingestible beauty products bridges the world of cosmetics to food and beverage. Rizo Radiance is currently distributed through St. Regis, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, and other luxury hotels and spas.

Sage Medical Coding & Billing (Guenevere Blanchard) - Sage Medical optimizes insurance reimbursement for healthcare providers by increasing the accuracy of insurance coding and billing. Sage Medical’s AI-driven platform combines medical coding, billing and dictation into a single platform that increases physician productivity by 20% and recovers lost insurance reimbursements of over $250k per physician.

SpaceTogether (Justin Knapp) - SpaceTogether’s online marketplace empowers churches, schools and businesses to monetize and rent the underutilized parts of their buildings including commercial kitchens, gymnasiums, meeting spaces and parking lots. SpaceTogether matches underutilized spaces to the needs of communities based on functionality, availability, budget and location.

VisionAid (Taylor Speegle) - VisionAid’s patent-pending electronic glasses optimize visual performance for low vision people suffering from any one of 60 identified eye maladies impacting over 375 million people globally. VisionAid’s solution creates a more effective, longer term and more cost-effective solution over existing remedies such as surgery, magnifiers and injections.

gener8tor Reno-Tahoe Investment Accelerator Fall 2022 | Cohort Summary

Atlas Solutions (Ansley Fender) - Atlas Solutions’ industry-agnostic, end-to-end grants management platform streamlines and automates finding, managing and reporting on grant funding to recapture the $330B per year lost to manual grant management tasks. Atlas is the first grants platform to enable grant funders and recipients to manage funding collaboratively, saving organizations even more money and helping them articulate their impact.

ClothesLyne (Dan Feliciano) - ClothesLyne is creating value for its customers by providing a convenient and economical way to outsource excess laundry demands while simultaneously providing a respectful and honest space for laundry entrepreneurs to grow a profitable side business. Our strong belief is that it is important to provide value to both the customers and providers, which makes us unique in the laundry industry. We view ourselves as the “Airbnb of Laundry” because of our unique way of promoting and marketing our ClothesLyners!

Loop (Dawson Lamb) - Loop is a mobile app service that allows vehicle owners to conveniently and efficiently get their vehicle serviced. Using Loop, vehicle owners can now schedule their entire vehicle service with a couple clicks and get pickup and delivery. On the date of the customer’s chosen vehicle service, a Loop driver will pick up the vehicle, take it to the vehicle owner’s preferred shop or dealership, and return it once the service is complete!

Prosper (Dylan Brownstein) - Prosper is a word-of-mouth marketing platform that enables any company to create highly effective word-of-mouth marketing campaigns using our referral sharing widget. With Prosper, companies can add a seamless referral widget to any webpage, product or PoS system; incentivize customers to share products and promotions with friends; Create dynamic campaigns to direct ad spend to word-of-mouth marketing; and track word-of-mouth marketing results.

Vistro (Tristen Houston) - Vistro is a fee-less virtual food hall that allows users to order food delivery from multiple restaurants at the same time. Additionally, Vistro will be the first decentralized food delivery marketplace built on the Ethereum blockchain with the goal of increasing restaurant survivability rates and lowering food costs for customers.

###

About gener8tor 

gener8tor is a global venture firm and accelerator network that supports startups, founders, workers, employers, artists and musicians across race, place and gender. gener8tor partners with companies, governments, universities and nonprofits to operate programs in more than 41 communities across 22 states and two countries. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021 and 2022.

About the Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Created during the 2011 session of the Nevada Legislature, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the result of a collaborative effort between the Nevada Legislature and the Governor’s Office to restructure economic development in the state. GOED’s role is to promote a robust, diversified and prosperous economy in Nevada, to stimulate business expansion and retention, encourage entrepreneurial enterprise, attract new businesses and facilitate community development. 

About EDAWN:  

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada is a private/public partnership established in 1983. EDAWN is committed to adding quality jobs to the region by recruiting new companies, supporting the success of existing companies, and assisting new-forming companies to diversify the economy and have a positive impact on the quality of life in Greater Reno-Sparks.