The pre-accelerator program gBETA kicked off its Indiana presence with an Indy-based cohort in the spring of 2018. Since then, 15 participating companies have raised more than $5 million and created 84 jobs, and some have received recognition from programs like the Mira Awards. 

With such successes under its belt, gBETA has clearly established its Indiana foothold and is now spreading across the state. Indy has two gBETA pre-accelerators, Terre Haute will get its first in 2020, and the gBETA team has scaled into a new, larger space as its local work garners national attention.

Since its inception, gBETA has adapted to the market’s needs and grown alongside the hungry companies it supports. What began from a two-office space has expanded into a 5,000-square-foot office suite in the Century Building (which you may recognize from its previous tenant, ExactTarget/Salesforce). From its HQ, gBETA operates a coworking space and set of office suites to house its cohort companies.

Cohort companies are exposed to plenty of programming, including gBETA’s Mentor Swarm program. Founders meet weekly with mentors representing companies throughout Indy as part of the Mentor Swarm program, to learn about the many functions that go into running a successful business. 

Innovatemap recently hosted such an event at its Broad Ripple location. The cohort companies spent an afternoon networking with Innovatemap staff for crash courses in product development, UI/UX design, marketing and more. 

“This is a great way for us to help these new companies plug into the tech community here,” said Anna Eaglin, principal product partner at Innovatemap. “We’re glad to share our team’s expertise in all these fields that companies need to think about.”

Cohort participants network with Innovatemap staff following the Mentor Swarm.

During gBETA’s seven-week program, companies are given lots of doors to walk through and ways to engage with the local tech community. “We joined gBETA as it’s an amazing opportunity to learn about the startup and venture capital world,” said Casual Nomad’s David Klein. “The connections, access to mentors and investors, and gBETA team insights have been fantastic. The program is truly accelerating what our company will be able to do, and we couldn’t be happier about it!”

The local gBETA team has also undergone big changes. Chelsea Linder, who took the reins of gBETA Indy when it launched, was recently promoted to be the managing director of gBETA nationally. She now oversees gBETA operations all over the Midwest and beyond, and she credits the tech community Indiana has nurtured for the nationwide attention and success. “We absolutely could not do this without this community. We have a great culture of support, both in Indy and the state,” she said. “I’ve never had anyone say ‘no’ when we’ve asked for help.”

The new Indy director, Geoff Zentz, is excited to step into his new role as the Indy program takes on two simultaneous cohorts for the first time, flanked by newly hired support staff. “We’re in a community that focuses on leveling everyone up together,” said Geoff. “gBETA gives companies the opportunity to be a part of and help build this type of community.”

gBETA is running two cohorts simultaneously, including a specific focus in agbioscience.

The two Fall 2019 cohorts include 10 companies in two accelerators: the industry-agnostic gBETA accelerator and gBETA AgBioScience. More information on these companies is included below.

gBETA Indy Fall 2019 cohort

Casual Nomad – David Klein, Founder & CEO Casual Nomad’s hospitality management platform allows property owners to capitalize on their vacancies by renting them through short-term booking channels. 

Compact Medical Solutions – Jonathan Merrell, MD, Co-Founder & CEO Compact Medical Solutions’ Butterfly BVM, a bag-valve-mask (BVM) that medical personnel can use to ventilate patients that aren’t breathing properly, saves patient lives by preventing hyperventilation. 

Project Process – Angie Washburn, Founder & CEO Project Process’ disposable, Sensored Sack Sink prevents C-Diff in healthcare facilities. 

Synapse Sitters – Marie Maher, Founder & CEO Synapse Sitters connects families with loved ones who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) to qualified babysitters, caregivers, and service providers. 

The Halo App – Taylor Simpson, Co-Founder & CEO The Halo App provides financial freedom by giving access to loans between $100 to $1k through its mobile platform that connects Borrowers to Backers.  

gBETA AgBioScience

Market Wagon – Nick Carter, Co-Founder & CEO Market Wagon delivers a farmers market to every doorstep by offering an end-to-end e-commerce experience. 

Phytoption – Joanne Zhang, Co-Founder & CEO Phytoption’s all-natural functional flours replace synthetic emulsifiers and texturants in food, while maintaining the quality consumers expect. 

Progeny – Dr. Anthony Hearst, Co-Founder Progeny’s crop monitoring software allows agronomists to efficiently collect accurate metrics when conducting field trials using low-cost, off-the-shelf hardware. 

Ring-Co – Tricia Ringer, Co-Founder and CEO Ring-Co’s Tracked Utility Carrier’s compact, versatile, and accessible design allows landscapers to increase equipment utilization by replacing specialty vehicles. 

VanCoe – John Mascoe, Founder & CEO LeafSpec by VanCoe’s real time, in field, leaf scanning technology measures plant nutrients, chemical content, and pest and disease presence. 

If you want to hear from gBETA’s cohort companies, check out the Pitch Night event on November 19.