Five local companies whose products range from wastewater treatment technology to an ultrathin wireless charging sticker have been selected by gener8tor to participate in gBETA Milwaukee‘s fall 2020 cohort.
gBETA is a free, seven-week accelerator that works with local startups so they can gain early customer traction for their product or idea. The program also helps startups establish metrics to become competitive applicants for full-time, equity-based accelerators or seed investment.
This year’s fall cohort includes the following startups:
Investii: Investii’s cloud-based software platform helps people visualize all of their finances in one place, move funds among all accounts and earn rewards points for moving money into savings vehicles. The Milwaukee-based company has conducted 70 customer discovery interviews and expects to roll out a beta version of its platform this month.
Joy Boost: Joy Boost developed a thin, patent-pending wireless charging sticker, which delivers a full charge to any mobile device with no cords or outlets required. Joy Boost has completed the second prototype of its Charge and is in discussions with Summerfest and a major wireless carrier about deploying the branded products at events.
Otto: Otto offers a marketplace where early-stage biotech/biopharma companies, scientists, physicians and labs can seamlessly cooperate and outsource experimentation. The goal of Otto’s marketplace is to accelerate scientific discovery and collaboration by lowering barriers to experimentation.
Rapid Radicals Technology, LLC: RRT designs, implements and supports the operation of its wastewater treatment system in municipal and industrial sectors. The startup’s system improves environmental and public health by eliminating untreated sewage discharges and basement backups during high-intensity rain events. RRT’s high-rate wastewater treatment system meets or exceeds permit requirements in less than 35 minutes compared to the eight hours it takes with conventional treatment.
Safelumin: Safelumin keeps the lights on even when a building is without power. Its proprietary device acts as a normal light bulb in any light fixture and when the power goes out, provides three hours of backup illumination to homes or businesses. Safelumin is QNBV/WBE/MBE certified, and has provided Safelumin lights for commercial buildings such as the Ohio State Reformatory and California Pacifica Institute, as well as over 5,000 individual customers.
The gBETA Milwaukee program will culminate with a virtual Pitch Night held in partnership with the gBETA Madison and Beloit fall cohorts. Pitch Night will highlight each of the 15 companies and will be an opportunity to listen and learn more about the startups, network with the founders and other community members, and celebrate the work each team put in over the course of the seven-week program, according to a press release.
Pitch Night will be hosted on Dec. 15 at 5 p.m.
“The startups selected for this cohort represent diverse teams of founders across a range of industries,” said Molly Dill, director of gBETA Milwaukee. “They beat out 65 other startups who applied for the program in our most competitive application cycle ever for gBETA Milwaukee. It is promising to see so many innovative companies growing in greater Milwaukee.”
