The latest class of startups accepted into Wisconsin-based Gener8tor’s accelerator features a strong Badger State flavor and a diverse mix of sectors—from fitness to fashion, big data to education.
On Friday, Gener8tor announced the five companies participating in its three-month program in Milwaukee, which begins today and culminates with an October pitch event to investors and community members. From a pool of more than 450 applicants, the companies that made the cut are Beekeeper, from Madison, WI; Hitlist of Provo, UT; Modern Movement, Madison; Project Foundry, Milwaukee; and Stock Manufacturing Co., Chicago. (More details on the companies are provided below.)
Each company accepted into the program receives an initial $20,000 cash investment from Gener8tor, plus a guaranteed $50,000 in follow-on investment from Gener8tor and its investment partners, Oshkosh, WI-based Angels on the Water and Madison-based Wisconsin Investment Partners. In exchange, Gener8tor takes a 6 to 9 percent equity stake in each portfolio company.
Gener8tor runs two programs annually, alternating between Milwaukee and Madison. Since it launched in 2012, the 23 companies in its previous four classes have gone on to raise nearly $25 million in funding and create more than 150 jobs, Gener8tor says.
Here’s a breakdown of this year’s summer class, followed by some takeaways from Gener8tor’s selection of companies:
—Beekeeper has created software to help customers that use Hadoop structure their vast amounts of data and make decisions to lower their business costs. The company says it aims to democratize data analytics “in the same way that Github has democratized software engineering.”
—Hitlist is a software-as-a-service application developed by Collegiate Advertising Company that incorporates gamification to provide online publishers with an embedded display advertising widget to boost engagement with users and better target customers. The adtech software has gone through beta testing over an 18-month period by unnamed American brands.
—Modern Movement develops balance training products for athletes that incorporate sensor-based performance measurement and tracking. The company says it has already sold more than 2,000 units—its customers include the U.S. ski and snowboarding teams—and will start selling its products this fall in the stores of an undisclosed national outdoor recreational retailer.
—Project Foundry is a
