Local Innovation Gets a Boost: Five New Wyoming Startups Selected For Growth-Focused Accelerator
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Four years since its inception, gBETA Wyoming thrives as it welcomes the eighth gBETA cohort, impacting a total of 40 Wyoming companies. To date, $18.9M in cumulative funding has been raised by gBETA Wyoming alumni, with 42 jobs created and over 20 towns represented throughout the state.
Of the 40 companies, five new early-stage startups were selected from a pool of 33 applicants to participate in the Fall 2024 program through national venture capital firm gener8tor. Headquartered in Powell, Jackson, Sheridan and Laramie, the five companies include LEO Verification Systems, ing outdoors, Root to Shoot, UplinkRobotics, and DCR Consulting and Engineering. See below for more details on each company.
gBETA Wyoming is a free, virtual, and statewide seven-week accelerator program designed for early-stage companies looking to grow, meet mentors, and pitch investors. Startup founders receive intensive, weekly concierge coaching and access to gener8tor's national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors. The cohort also receives continuous support as alumni of the program.
“We’ve worked with a variety of great companies in different verticals representing small towns like Oshoto, Sundance, and Powell over the last four years,” said Stephanie Reece, gBETA Wyoming Program Manager. “Fifty-seven percent of those companies have underrepresented founders, with 35% having a female founder and 18% having a person of color as a founder. Our mission is to be the best partner for a community to invest in its best and brightest, and provide opportunity across race, place, and gender. We’ve made significant progress over the last four years and plan to continue to provide meaningful opportunities for new founders and gBETA alumni in Wyoming.”
gBETA Wyoming is made possible with support from Microsoft. When Microsoft approached gener8tor in 2020, the aim was to boost innovation, technology and accessibility for Wyoming entrepreneurs throughout the rural state via Microsoft’s TechSpark program funds and gener8tor’s gBETA and gALPHA programs; ultimately, the collaboration has helped build a stronger ecosystem and positively impacted Wyoming’s economic development.
“gBETA Wyoming has made remarkable progress in fostering innovation and economic growth in the state,” said Mike Egan, Senior Director of Microsoft TechSpark. “By supporting these talented entrepreneurs, we are not only helping to launch new startups but also driving technological advancement and job creation across Wyoming.”
At the end of the gBETA program, startup founders will pitch their companies to mentors, investors, community partners, gener8tor staff, and the public at a showcase event on Dec. 18, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Blue Community Events Center in Cheyenne. RSVP here to secure your spot at the event.
Startup companies and founders interested in learning more about gBETA’s programming and resources or applying to a future program can visit the gener8tor gBETA website or reach out to Stephanie Reece at stephanie.reece@gener8tor.com. Those interested in meeting the current cohort companies as mentors or investors are encouraged to connect as well.
gBETA Wyoming Fall 2024 Cohort
LEO Verification Systems Inc. has developed reliable, portable, and recyclable gluten testing devices that provide visual, numeric results in parts per million in only two minutes. The LEO testers are patent-pending and pair with an AI-powered LeoMyFood app, creating convenience and quantitative results that are meaningful and crucial for those on restrictive diets. LEO Verification Systems Inc. has completed two production runs and has a warehouse ready for product manufacturing and launch, as well as a growing waitlist of interested customers.
Co-Founder & CEO: Seaton Smith | Email: seaton@leoverified.com | Powell, WY
UplinkRobotics enables customers to inspect the uninspected. Our inspection crawlers, designed for home inspectors and first responders, enhance safety in dangerous situations. UplinkRobotics recently won $20,000 at Silicon Couloir’s pitch day event.
Co-Founder & CBO: Zoe Worthen | Email: zoe@uplinkrobotics.com | Laramie, WY
ing outdoors’ web and mobile platform is purpose-built to streamline the planning, execution, and optimization of complex outdoor trips. ing helps outdoor professionals and self-guided adventurers manage logistics, gear lists, safety protocols, and post-trip documentation, ultimately reducing stress and risk, and increasing productivity. ing recently won $10,000 and the Audience Choice Award at Silicon Couloir’s Pitch Day Event.
Founder & CEO: Zach Rachlin | zach@ingoutdoors.com | Jackson, WY
Root to Shoot grows local, sustainable, and chemical-free microgreens through indoor farming. Root to Shoot produces year-round varieties of fresh microgreens for retail grocers, restaurants, and individuals looking for a nutritional boost in their diet. Root to Shoot is currently in 12 grocery stores and five restaurants throughout Wyoming, has sold over 4,000 packages of microgreens since January 2024, and will move into a larger facility starting November 2024.
Founder & CEO: Nathan Roma | Email: rtswyo@gmail.com | Sheridan, WY
DCR Consulting and Engineering offers government contractors an AI-powered preconstruction platform called SMART PRECON. This innovative solution reduces plan generation time from weeks to minutes, achieving 80%-85% automated plan completion for contractors. DCR’s team has over 10 years of expertise in the industry and has been in business for five years.
Co-Founder: Helen Qin | Email: hqin@dcr-consulting.net | Laramie, WY
About gener8tor
gener8tor is a global venture firm and accelerator network that supports startups, workers, employers, artists and musicians across race, place and gender. gener8tor partners with companies, governments, universities and nonprofits to operate accelerator programs and conferences in more than 45 communities across 25 states and territories and three countries. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021 and 2022. The International Trade Council recognized gener8tor as the Global Venture Capital Firm of the Year in 2022.
About gBETA
gBETA is a non-equity accelerator that facilitates the growth of early-stage companies through a network-driven program. This accelerator supports five startups per cohort and requires no fees for startups and takes no equity. Since launching in 2015, gBETA accelerator alumni have raised $796M+ in capital and created 4,880+ jobs across the U.S. and Canada.