Gener8tor’s gBeta program will foster growth for Oklahoma City’s startups

Starting with its first cohort this fall, the gener8tor startup accelerator program, gBeta, will bring more opportunities to innovative early-stage companies in Oklahoma City. An intentional collaboration between the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Inasmuch Foundation, American Fidelity, Square Deal Capital, Oklahoma State University, University of Oklahoma, and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores helped bring this program to our city.

After a 2020 startup census provided meaningful insight from 126 regional companies, a need surfaced for the presence of an accelerator program with a history of national-scale success. Jeff Seymour, Executive vice president of economic development, and Evan Fay, program manager of innovation and entrepreneurship, began researching organizations throughout the country to determine a good match for the needs and goals of Oklahoma City. The census highlighted some gaps within our startup ecosystem; Fay and Seymour were determined to fill them. They identified the importance of learning about how successful programs operate in our peer cities while preserving a sense of authenticity and strategy unique to Oklahoma City.

Because Oklahoma City has several existing organizations that fuel the startup community in impactful ways, it was crucial to find a complementary program. After visiting a gBeta program in Wisconsin, Fay and Seymour knew it was what Oklahoma needed. They were impressed by the highly collaborative approach of the program, which encouraged stakeholders of every part of the community to get involved and provide specialized support for entrepreneurs through different points of their trajectory.

“We’ve had a lot of success in the market with existing players and we support their continued success. The introduction of the gBeta program in Oklahoma City means more options available in the market for startups. It will bridge gaps and build relationships,” said Jeff Seymour. “We’re looking to build a larger infrastructure that has more capacity within it to support more ideas. Because someone goes through a gBeta program does not mean they may not also work with Stitch Crew, Creative Oklahoma’s Entrepreneurship Mentoring Program, participate in 1 Million Cups or get funding from i2E.”

The gBeta program is one of 25 high-impact programs offered by gener8tor. Since 2015, it has been creating growth in early-stage companies throughout the country and in Canada. During each seven-week program, the accelerator welcomes five teams to participate in training, mentorship, and relationship-building--at no cost. The program includes an array of unique opportunities and resources, valuable for any entrepreneur.

Each participating company will meet weekly for one-on-one individualized coaching and mentorship sessions. They will learn from 25+ mentors who identify as serial entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and investors. These mentors are responsible for providing important insight and experience in advising each growing company’s distinct efforts.

In addition to the personalized mentorship, the cohort will meet for a weekly “Lunch & Learn” series to discuss topics most relevant to startup organizations. This series helps expand the impact of the program beyond the cohort. Not only are the participating companies invited, but the entire community is welcome to learn from these events, which will be free and open to the public.

“By default, entrepreneurship and innovation should be a messy process. It should be a place where there is friction and overlap,” shared Seymour. “The more opportunity for bouncing around of ideas and collisions, the better off we are. The ecosystem in this space should be navigable, but it should have a lot of creative friction and a diverse set of players.”

As the program takes shape in Oklahoma City, an advisory committee composed of one representative from each of the seven local partner organizations will support the program’s vision and direction. The committee will remain as an advisory group for gBeta Oklahoma City throughout the initial two-year contract. One of their first initiatives includes supporting the hiring process of a program director.

The search for the gBeta program director is being targeted at both local and national candidate pools. It is an all-hat-wearing role, for proactive individuals who believe in Oklahoma City’s potential and are ready to facilitate business growth and opportunity.

“Whoever this director is will likely spend a lot of time on OU and OSU’s campuses, presenting in classes and introducing students to the concept of the gBeta program,” said Evan Fay, who is the Chamber’s representative on the advisory committee. “Entrepreneurship should not be a discipline; it should be a framework. The only people that know about how to start a business should not be the ones who declared it as a college major. It should be the artists, the engineers, the physicists, the people who have deep domain expertise in a certain area. Instead of being vertical, it should be horizontal, involving everybody.”

Over the next two years, four gBeta Oklahoma City programs will serve 20 different companies. In each cohort, two company spots are reserved for selected teams from Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. The remaining three spots will be open to startup companies from any sector who complete the application. Selected companies are chosen by a committee of individuals from gener8tor, who will help maintain an inclusive, equitable approach in determining the companies that have the most performance potential. 

“One of the coolest early success stories of gBeta is a women’s steel-toed boots company out of Milwaukee,” said Fay. The company, Xena, was born out of co-founder and CEO Anastasia Kraft’s desire to provide more fashionable options for women in the manufacturing industry. The steel-toed boots are made by women, for women, providing a new spin on fashion in a historically  male-dominated industry.

Another national gBeta success story is Bright Cellars, a company that sends curated selections of wine to customers based on their unique taste preferences. They have created an algorithm to tailor bottles for the individual’s palette. Each bottle comes with an informational card, which provides flavor notes, pairing suggestions, and other educational information.

Imagine the concepts and potential existing in the minds of Oklahoma’s creatives, dreamers, and thought leaders. Through gBeta, those concepts can turn into business operations and services which will expand our local economy, provide new jobs to our community, and solidify Oklahoma City’s position as one of the top places in the nation for entrepreneurs.

Interested in getting involved?

There are several ways individuals can get involved in the gBeta program. The application for Oklahoma City’s gBeta Program Director can be found here.

If you would like to apply on behalf of your startup company for the program’s first cohort, follow this link to access the application.

For those interested in mentorship opportunities, visit this link for the mentor application. Preference will be given to those with experience starting, operating, and scaling business endeavors.

Learn more

This interview provides additional details about Evan Fay’s role in supporting entrepreneurship in Oklahoma.

The gBeta announcement, with comments from each supporting organization, can be found here.