In its upcoming Madison cohort, startup accelerator gener8tor plans to select a team of entrepreneurs to build a business from scratch.
In addition to the five traditional startups the Milwaukee- and Madison-based accelerator will select for the cohort, a sixth startup will be launched from the ground up around a concept provided by gener8tor. All six will receive up to $100,000 in equity investment from gener8tor.
While traditional startup applications are now closed, gener8tor began accepting applications today for the new Accelerator Studio option, said Ben Stanley, managing director for gener8tor Wisconsin.
Applicants will be evaluated on their background, personality, past history and capability to bring a company to market. They will be vetted through several interviews, similar to traditional startup applicants, Stanley said.
“Once they’re accepted into the program, we’d treat them much the same as the other five companies coming through,” he said.
The hope is to include the Studio Accelerator in each gener8tor cohort, Stanley said. The company will evaluate after this Madison cohort, which runs from March 28 to June 13.
“It’s an attractive space to move into in terms of using our knowledge to create more wealth and jobs from scratch,” he said.
It was modeled on the success the organization found in its first attempt at the from-scratch creation of a company at The Brandery accelerator it operates in Cincinnati. In November, The Brandery established and built a team around an adult diaper subscription service called Norton Hurley that has quickly grown to more than 100 subscribers.
Nationally, a number of prominent startup accelerators have been shifting toward the studio model, which provides an ownership stake earlier in the startup’s foundation.
