{"id":28341,"date":"2025-06-27T09:25:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T13:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=28341"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:54:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:54:28","slug":"marshall-university-icenter-launches-inaugural-gbeta-accelerator-cohort-to-fuel-statewide-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/marshall-university-icenter-launches-inaugural-gbeta-accelerator-cohort-to-fuel-statewide-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall University iCenter launches inaugural gBETA Accelerator cohort to fuel statewide innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Marshall University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (iCenter) is proud to announce the launch of its first gBETA accelerator cohort, in partnership with nationally recognized venture capital firm gener8tor. Five dynamic startups were chosen for the inaugural cohort: FarmerzTool Technology, get2there, Monarch Learning Labs, Quest R&D and Stitch AI. The group has been selected to participate in the program, representing key industries including agriculture, digital infrastructure, medtech, advanced manufacturing, and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Hosted at Marshall\u2019s iCenter, the gBETA Accelerator is a no-cost, seven-week program designed to help early-stage startups refine their business models, gain customer traction and prepare for future investment. Participants benefit from one-on-one coaching and direct access to gener8tor\u2019s national network of experienced mentors, investors, and corporate partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Marshall, 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 our state\u2019s economy,\u201d said Tricia Ball, executive director of the iCenter. \u201cThis cohort represents the purpose-driven founders and innovative ideas we aim to cultivate in West Virginia, and gener8tor has been an incredible partner, providing them with the relationships and resources they need to accelerate their success.”<\/p>\n

Selected from a competitive applicant pool across West Virginia, the cohort reflects the growing strength of local innovation and its potential to scale nationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission at gener8tor is to be the best partner for a community to invest in its best and brightest,\u201d said Eddie Olson, senior managing director at gener8tor. \u201cThrough this partnership with Marshall University, we\u2019re doing just that\u2014supporting founders whose ingenuity, drive, and entrepreneurial spirit shine in West Virginia and other overlooked regions across the country.<\/p>\n

This future-focused program is made possible by the generous support of Huntington National Bank, a steadfast supporter of small businesses and regional growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Huntington, we know that small businesses are drivers of innovation, job creation and opportunities in every community throughout West Virginia,\u201d said Chad Prather, regional president for The Huntington National Bank in West Virginia. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to support this program because it aligns with our purpose: making people\u2019s lives better, helping businesses thrive, and strengthening the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Summer 2025 cohort will conclude with a public Showcase Event on Thursday, August 7, 2025, at the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation, where each startup will pitch their company to investors, business leaders, and community stakeholders. Interested individuals may RSVP here<\/a> for the event. More information on gBETA at Marshall\u2019s iCenter is located here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

gBETA at Marshall\u2019s iCenter \u2013 Summer 2025 Cohort<\/strong><\/p>\n

FarmerzTool Technology\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

FarmerzTool streamlines Livestock management for small and medium-sized farms through a comprehensive web and mobile application. FarmerzTool\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Founder and CEO: Tafara Ushendibaba | Email<\/a> | website<\/a><\/p>\n

get2there<\/strong><\/p>\n

get2there transforms how people navigate campuses, venues, and complexes with its smart, mobile-first interactive mapping platform \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

CEO: Terran Quinlan | Email<\/a> | website<\/a><\/p>\n

Monarch Learning Labs<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

CEO: Jeremy Kimmel | Email<\/a> | website<\/a><\/p>\n

Quest R&D<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

Founder and CEO: Joey Crookshanks | Email<\/a> | website\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Stitch AI<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Co-Founder and CEO: Rich O\u2019Brien | Email<\/a> | website<\/a>
\nCo-Founder and CIO:\u00a0 Josh Spence | Email<\/a> |<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Marshall University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (iCenter) is proud to announce the launch of its first gBETA accelerator cohort, in partnership with nationally recognized venture capital firm gener8tor. Five dynamic startups were chosen for the inaugural cohort: FarmerzTool Technology, get2there, Monarch Learning Labs, Quest R&D and Stitch AI. The group has been selected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-icenter","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28341"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28344,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28341\/revisions\/28344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}