gBETA accelerator celebrates the launch of 15 startups in 2022
Picture from the gBETA Distillery Labs Showcase held at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Peoria, Sep 2022
by Nate Domenighini, gBETA Managing Director
December 14, 2022
When gBETA Distillery Labs first kicked off late 2021, the question lingered — Would there be enough entrepreneurs in the Peoria area ready to take part in a startup accelerator? Three cohorts and 15 companies later, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” The startup accelerator received more than 60 unique applications in its first year – an incredible number for a mid-sized city.
Those 15 selected startups received the support of not only the Distillery Labs and gener8tor networks, but from more than 40 unique mentors from Peoria and throughout the country. gBETA Distillery Labs hosted at least five mentor collision events (what we call Mentor Swarms) per program. We saw mentors from OSF, Bradley University, Qualcomm, MIT, Hanson Professional Services, Founding Females, Minority Business Development Center and more. We even saw the founder of HydroFlask, Travis Rosbach, join our most recent Fall 2022 cohort in a Mentor Swarm.
What about those that didn’t get selected?
The Distillery Labs team embraced those applicants who may have a little more work to do before being ready. It’s our hope that every applicant continues to develop their business, eventually getting selected for a future cohort. In an effort to discover the needs of each applicant, Distillery Labs hosted two follow-up events following each recruiting cycle for gBETA. But, we discovered something unexpected. In these collision events we watched entrepreneurs help each other. From shared connections to feedback and advice, the attendees at these discovery events not only gained some perspective from the Distillery Labs team, but also shared their thoughts and expertise with each other.
Aaron Gigous leads the collision event with startup founders and small business owners at the Nest Coworking in Peoria’s Warehouse District
With all this intense work face-to-face with the area’s best and brightest, we certainly took time to celebrate as well. Distillery Labs hosted two pitch events in 2022. Despite its first pitch night happening in the midst of a COVID spike and sub-zero weather in January, Distillery Labs entertained more than 50 people at the Betty Jayne Brimmer Center for the Performing Arts in Peoria Heights. Nine months later, we went much bigger. We saw attendance skyrocket for the gBETA Distillery Labs Showcase hosted at the Scottish Rite Theatre in downtown Peoria. Not only did the Distillery Labs event feature the five alumni of the gBETA Distillery Labs Spring 2022 cohort, it also highlighted the many entrepreneurs Distillery Labs had worked with throughout the year. More than 250 guests attended the merged event that kicked off with a massive entrepreneurial ecosystem collision session highlighting various areas of focus including sustainability, smart cities and radical neighborhood transformation. The evening wrapped up with the five gBETA alumni making their pitch on the big stage. The energy and attendance for both of those events was validation for the Distillery Labs team – not only are the entrepreneurs out there, but we’re lifting the cover off a massive community of mentors, community leaders and potential investors interested and ready to support startups in the Peoria area.
Finally, to top it all off, we welcomed the newest member to the Distillery Labs team, Danielle Scarzello, who became Program Manager for gBETA Distillery Labs. Scarzello directed the Fall 2022 cohort, which wrapped up its programming this month.
What is gBETA?
Distillery Labs partnered with gener8tor, a global venture firm and accelerator network, to bring its accelerator to Peoria. gBETA is a seven-week accelerator for startups with local roots. Only five companies from a range of verticals are selected from a competitive applicant pool to participate in the program. In Peoria, gBETA runs two programs a year – in the Spring and Fall. gBETA Distillery Labs is sponsored by OSF Healthcare, Peoria County, Distillery Labs, Hanson Professional Services, Illinois National Bank, Central Illinois Angels, Attollo and the DBZCAR Fund.
gBETA Distillery Labs events are catered only by local minority or women-owned businesses. Hick’ry Stick Catering and Canterbury Creations were the caterers for this year’s events. Remaining food was donated to the Esther House.