gener8tor gBETA Accelerator Program announces the St. Thomas 2022 Cohort
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Nationally-ranked venture capital firm and accelerator startup, gener8tor, announced the gBETA Accelerator startup companies selected for its St. Thomas summer 2022 cohort. This year’s cohort includes Axon Athletics, Drvn, COYABLU, Virontir and Jay Victoria.
Each company was recruited from the University of St. Thomas Alumni Network with at least one founder being a graduate of the University of St. Thomas. The gBETA St. Thomas program is an industry agnostic accelerator with the 2022 cohort representing a wide range of industries, verticals and stages. The companies will significantly impact the Minneapolis and St. Paul community through their products, services and stories while also providing innovative solutions to the challenges they address.
“Being a Tommie (St. Thomas) alum myself, I am thrilled to be working with the five selected Tommie founded startups in this accelerator,” said Megan Baniecke, gBETA St. Thomas Director. “The St. Thomas Alumni Network is committed to giving back to the St. Thomas Community, and this accelerator program is a perfect example of how we are able to do just that. With not only alumni founders but also many alumni mentors and investors of the university, we are surrounded by Tommie support.”
The program kicked off July 14 with the startups, and will continue working with the gener8tor team over the course of seven weeks to meet mentors, gain customer traction and pitch to investors. The program will conclude with the gener8tor showcase on September 20 as a community event for Twin Cities Startup week, which will highlight each of the five companies. RSVP to join us!
gBETA St. Thomas partnered with the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship to offer this free accelerator program to the students and alumni of the university. With a flourishing entrepreneurship department at the university, innovative Tommie Entrepreneurs are able to receive support even after graduation through the gBETA St. Thomas program.
“gBETA St. Thomas is an impactful program available to St. Thomas students and alumni, and we are very proud of this year’s cohort participants,” said Dr. Sheneeta White, Associate Dean Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. “The learning, mentoring and connections made will propel each of these startups forward and open greater doors of opportunities for them.”
The gener8tor gBETA Accelerator program is a free, seven-week accelerator program at gener8tor that works with five startups at a time for no fees and no equity. Each cohort is limited to five companies to ensure meaningful engagement with the gener8tor team, network and other resources. Participants receive intensive and individualized coaching and access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors.
gBETA St. Thomas Summer 2022 Cohort
Axon Athletics (MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to detect mental dysfunction and optimize mental performance in student athletes. Axon Athletics utilizes an online training platform that empowers sport organizations with mental health support that is scalable, adaptable, and data-driven. Axon Athletics won the 2022 University of St. Thomas Business Plan Competition and is launching their MVP in Q3 of 2022.
Founder and CEO: Jordan Johnson | connnect@axonathletics.com | axonathletics.com
COYABLU (MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) formulates ready-to-drink (RTD) craft tequila cocktails with the perfect combination of 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), clean ingredients, a delicious flavor and smooth finish with low carbonation. COYABLU speaks to sophisticated alcohol consumers who are dissatisfied with existing RTD cocktails widely available. COYABLU'S soft launch took place in May 2022 and Revenues are currently at $18,117 with 263 cases sold.
Co-Founder and CEO: Nicole Anthony | nicole@coyablu.com | coyablu.com
Drvn (MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) empowers rideshare drivers with intelligent and customizable tools that help them attain the working freedom that drew them to the career in the first place. Drvn brings stability to drivers' days by enabling them to plan their days in advance, cut down on idle time and expenses while increasing daily earnings. Since its founding in January 2022, Drvn has placed second in the University of St. Thomas’ Business Plan Competition, and will release their MVP to the first cohort of drivers in Q3 2022.
Co-Founder: Sam Richter | sam@drvnapp.io | drvnapp.io
Jay Victoria (MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) inspires underrepresented populations to be kind to themselves through co-created apparel influenced by the stories of real people. Jay Victoria’s designs encourage plus women, nonbinary and queer humans to be comfortable and confident in what they are wearing and through their online lifestyle brand. Since ideation, Jay Victoria has signed up more than 300 subscribers, pre-sold more than 10 shirts, and caught the attention of TV celebrity Sara Ramirez.
Co-Founder and CEO: Souphak Kienitz | souphak@jayvictoria.com | jayvictoria.com
Virontir (MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) is a platform that provides metrics, management and security for the quality assurance (QA) process to enable better testing of web applications. Virontir empowers small and medium businesses with integrated tools and improved Dev and QA environment security to streamline the entire pre-production process. Virontir plans to launch their MVP in Q4 2022 with select strategic partners.
Co-Founder and CEO: Bobby Warner | bobbywarner@gmail.com | virontir.com
###
About gener8tor
gener8tor is a venture capital fund and startup accelerator network. Ranked one of the top 15 accelerators in the United States, gener8tor operates programs for startups, musicians, artists and workers, prioritizing its investments across race, place and gender. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in 2020 and consecutively one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021 and 2022. For more information, visit gener8tor.com.
About gBETA
gBETA accelerates the growth of early-stage companies through its network-driven program. gBETA supports five teams per cohort and requires no fees and no equity. Since launching in 2015, gBETA program alumni have raised $443M+ in capital and created 3,220+ jobs across the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit gener8tor.com/gbeta.
