Mike Wolanin | The Republic The exterior of The Commons with the Bartholomew County Courthouse pictured in the background in downtown Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017.
Two Columbus startups have been chosen to participate in a regional accelerator program.
Refreshable Flavors, LLC and Switch 3DP have been selected for the gBETA Bloomington-Columbus 2023 fall program, according to a recent announcement from gener8tor, a venture firm that runs gBETA. Logan White with gener8tor said that the cohort features three Bloomington startups in addition to the two from Columbus. The participants are:
— Refreshable Flavors, LLC, founded by Timothy Persley and Emem Akpanekong
Refreshable Flavors brings to market a healthy alternative to the beverage industry by offering a quality, tasty, and revitalizing drink. Refreshable Flavors makes it easy for individuals to commit to a healthy lifestyle for their body and spirit without compromising refreshing taste. Refreshable Flavors is currently in production and plans to be in stores in the next three to six months.
According to Persley, the company’s beverage “presents a delightful blend of real fruit flavors including apple, cherry, lemon lime, and aronia berry, all delicately carbonated to provide a truly invigorating experience.”
— Switch 3DP, founded by Parker Harwood and Alexander Turner
Switch 3DP brings to market a 3D printer with additive manufacturing technology that decreases waste and increases productivity. Switch 3DP enables uses of industrial-level 3D printing capabilities to a wider range of customers at an affordable price never seen before. The product is currently in development by a talented team of individuals with a combined 30 years of experience in mechanical engineering, product development, and manufacturing.
— Soloist, founded by Parker Busick
Soloist’s social media platform allows musicians to connect, collaborate and share music to revolutionize their practice. Soloist simulates the experience of having bandmates for musicians who, on average, spend 90% of their time practicing their instrument alone. In one year of validation, Soloist has bootstrapped $105,000; won three pitch competitions and two grants; and secured one private equity investment from Elevate Ventures.
— CruiseAlly, founded by Justin Tait
CruiseAlly simplifies the cruise booking process and democratizes the cruise industry by matching users with their ideal cruise vacation through personalized, data-driven results and research resources informed by the latest market trends.
CruiseAlly’s platform will result in significant time savings for new and experienced cruisers alike while addressing multiple major consumer pain points in the booking process. CruiseAlly is in the final stages of MVP development and plans to soft-launch in Q4 of 2023.
— Noveltor, founded by Matthew Joseph and Roscoe Bell
Noveltor digitally modernizes mental health therapists’ workflow for customizing, assigning, and reviewing homework they assign to clients, decreasing admin time and increasing client engagement. Therapists love Noveltor because they currently spend an average of 5-15 unpaid hours a week managing their homework with broken workflows with just a 50% completion rate by clients. Noveltor is currently in beta with eight paying therapists.
gBETA is a free accelerator program designed to help startups pursue investment and growth opportunities, with participants receiving “intensive concierge coaching” and access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors.
The gBETA Bloomington-Columbus program is made possible through a partnership with the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and The Mill in Bloomington.
“The partnership with gBETA has opened many doors for Columbus entrepreneurs, offering them access to a supportive network and community on a national level,” said Dan Nash, Director of Entrepreneurship at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce.
Participants were chosen based on their growth potential and/or investor readiness.
At the end of the gBETA Bloomington-Columbus program, startup founders will present their companies to investors, community partners and the public in a showcase at 5 p.m. on Nov. 14 at The Mill, 642 North Madison St. in Bloomington.
Where to learn more
Those interested in learning more about gBETA’s programming and resources or applying to a future program can visitgener8tor.com/gbeta, or reach out to Logan White at [email protected] or Ty Tjoelker at [email protected].
Individuals who are interested in mentoring gBETA participants or getting involved in other ways are also encouraged to connect.
