At the Marshall University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (iCenter), we believe in the power of people with big ideas and we’re proud to be a launchpad for entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of West Virginia’s economy. Through our partnership with nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor, we are proud to offer gBETA at Marshall’s iCenter Powered by Huntington Bank – a free, seven-week accelerator program designed to help early-stage startups make rapid progress toward scalability and investment.
This program reflects our commitment to growing West Virginia’s innovation economy by equipping founders with the tools, connections, and confidence they need to build sustainable, impactful companies.
What is gBETA at Marshall’s iCenter?
gBETA at Marshall’s iCenter is a seven-week no-cost, no-equity accelerator for early-stage startups with roots in West Virginia. Hosted by the iCenter, ran by gener8tor, and sponsored by Huntington Bank, the program provides:
- Individualized coaching and mentorship from the team of nationally ranked accelerator gener8tor on company growth and investor readiness
- Weekly “Lunch & Learns” and “Mentor Swarms”
- Investor and accelerator pitches
- $1M+ in deals and perks from vendors like IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, Paypal, Zendesk, Hubspot and Microsoft
- Ongoing post-program support and gener8tor community involvement and offerings
gBETA’s goal is that graduates will go on to participate in an investment accelerator or raise a seed round. You can see gBETA’s progress against these goals here.
FarmerzTool streamlines Livestock management for small and medium-sized farms through a comprehensive web and mobile application. FarmerzTool’s software transforms outdated, fragmented manual record-keeping into an automated, AI-backed digital tool that tracks each animal’s complete lifecycle data, performs consumption analysis, provides recommendations and calculates ROI per animal. FarmerzTool eliminates 30% of daily manual farm tasks while reducing manual data logging by 70%, through data-driven insights and automated reporting. Since its MVP launch in April, FarmerzTool has 20+ beta customers and estimates growing to 200+ by the end of 2025.
get2there transforms how people navigate campuses, venues, and complexes with its smart, mobile-first interactive mapping platform — no downloads, no tech headaches. Visitors, guests and staff intuitively find their way with a quick scan or tap, while the facility benefits from a simple, no-code solution that just works. Since launching in February 2025, get2there has already gone live at a major entrepreneurship conference and secured a second pilot.
Monarch Learning Labs helps medical device companies train users on complex technologies through an interactive, simulation-based digital learning platform. Organizations use Monarch to cut training costs, shorten time-to-proficiency and support successful technology adoption at scale – all within a flexible, web-based training environment. Since launching in 2025, Monarch Learning Labs has secured a global medtech leader as its first customer and closed a seed financing round. The company is now positioned for rapid growth within medtech and expansion into additional high-skill sectors.
Quest R&D manufactures an aggregate gradation machine, which simplifies the process of construction material testing by combining drying, sieving and weighing into one fully-automated system. With minimal human input, the machine delivers fast, accurate results — saving time, reducing errors and improving consistency. The system also produces easy-to-read digital reports, making it simple to share results with project teams and meet industry standards and regulatory requirements. Shortly after inception, Quest R&D received endorsement from the Deputy Commissioner of Highways for the State of West Virginia.
Stitch AI orchestrates complex workflows for SMBs by reducing the friction of fragmented AI tools by coordinating tasks, surfacing context, and enabling smarter decisions in real time. Since launching in early 2025, Stitch AI is focused on enterprise productivity and operations across multiple industries, targeting their first pilot in Q3 2025.
For more information on how to apply for or sponsor the next cohort of gBETA at Marshall’s iCenter, please contact Tricia Ball at ballt@marshall.edu.
gBETA is a free, seven-week, pre-accelerator program for companies that are looking to achieve rapid growth and/or raise venture capital. gBETA helps entrepreneurs work in and on their business while also attaining the entrepreneurial mindset needed to be successful.
gBETA embraces a concierge approach to its programming. That means founders receive one-on-one attention throughout the program. Everything we do is personalized to your business, no matter how far along you are in its development.
gBETA is run by nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor, so you know that the help you’re getting is top-notch.
Through one-on-one interaction with their program manager, mentors and investors, program participants gain valuable personalized insights that can be applied to their business strategy. Program focus areas include gaining an entrepreneurial mindset, validating the company, growing customer traction, and preparing for investor pitches.
Benefits include:
- Additional media attention, which leads to additional support from community and business leaders
- Access to gener8tor’s robust national network of thousands of fellow entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, and warm introductions to those most relevant to your business
- Lifetime membership access to Morrow powered by GAN (Global Accelerator Network)
- $1M + in deals and perks from vendors like Google, IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, PayPal, Zendesk and Microsoft
- Membership in gener8tor’s startup community of thousands of startup founders, with access to gener8tor’s network, events and resources for the lifetime of your business