gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud Announces Inaugural Cohort
gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud is pleased to announce the participants of its Fall 2019 cohort.
Making life easier for independent landlords; modernizing professional development for educators; connecting fitness and nutrition program specialists with those seeking a more active lifestyle; infusing unique flavor combinations with premium jerky to complement craft beer and wine flavors; and helping teachers better understand their students to increase engagement and success in the classroom. These are the focus areas of the inaugural gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud cohort.

The gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud Fall 2019 cohort includes five startups from the Greater Minnesota region. These five startups were selected from over 25 applicants. Applications came from the Greater St. Cloud region, Minneapolis/St. Paul region and Fargo, North Dakota.
Together, the cohort consists of founders from St. Cloud, Sartell, Otsego, and Fargo (ND).
This cohort of five startups will spend the next seven weeks meeting with the gBETA team to refine their business model, receiving individualized coaching, meeting one-on-one with 25+ mentors, strategizing their growth, gaining customer traction and pitching to investors.
The program is supported by a coalition of local businesses and educational institutions who are dedicated to growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem and supporting early-stage startups in Greater Minnesota.
“GSDC is thrilled that gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud program has launched its first cohort. Each entrepreneur selected has an inspiring business idea with tremendous potential and we are excited to be able to provide them the support of a nationally ranked accelerator program. This cohort is well suited for growing our greater St. Cloud start-up ecosystem and along with the 16 other sponsors, we are eager to watch their progress and growth,” said Patti Gartland, President of the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation.
“The goal of the gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud program is to bring together local startups, investors, mentors, and business leaders to create a well-connected entrepreneurial community to ensure that Greater Minnesota not only retains current talent but also attracts new talent to the area,” added Precious Drew, Director of the gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud program.

The inaugural cohort will graduate on Thursday, December 19th with Pitch Night. Pitch Night will feature each of the five companies delivering short pitches to an audience consisting of mentors, investors and community leaders. This event is open to the public and there will be opportunities to meet the company founders before and after the pitches.
If you have any questions or would like to attend the pitch night contact Precious (Precious@gener8tor.com) or signup here.
GREATER MN ST. CLOUD | FALL 2019 COHORT

ZenLord Pro (Sartell, MN) offers a territory-based management software and vendor network that makes life easier for independent landlords. ZenLord Pro automates a landlord’s rental management process from start to finish in addition to giving them a local pool of vendors to handle their maintenance needs. ZenLord Pro released their MVP in the Twin Cities in August of 2019 and has 130 units and 27 maintenance vendors on the platform.
Tom Spaniol | zenlordpro.com
Learning MN (St. Cloud, MN) modernizes professional development for educators through their centralized virtual library. No longer will educators have to sit in day-long professional development lectures and miss an entire day of teaching. Learning Minnesota engages teachers and industry experts in conversations through video and podcast format — giving teachers control of when, where, and how they complete their professional development requirements.
Mindi Jenson, Stefanie Rothstein, and Steve Stromme | learningmn.org
Boozy Jerky (Otsego, MN) creates a craft beer and wine pairing experience like none other. Boozy Jerky infuses unique flavor combinations with premium jerky intelligently designed to complement craft beer and wine flavors. In just six months since launching, Boozy Jerky is being sold in over 150 locations across three states and is on track to do over $100K in sales in its first year.
Dana Severson | boozyjerky.com
Enlight (Fargo, North Dakota) offers EdTech software to help teachers better understand their students through self-created student profiles where students highlight their passions, interests, learning preferences, and life circumstances that are impacting them in and outside of the classroom. Enlight is currently in beta testing with about 500 students on their platform.
Chris Dieumerci | enlightapp.co
Hustle (Sartell, MN) provides a platform for fitness and nutrition program specialists to create individualized workouts and nutrition plans for athletes and non-athlete users alike. Hustle allows specialists to publicize their areas of expertise, receive verified ratings and reviews, and set their own prices.
Shelby Chollett | Hustle
gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud would not be possible without the support of the following sponsors:
Great North Labs, Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation, CentraCare Health, Granite Logistics, Granite Equity Partners, Moss & Barnett, Kensington Bank, Central McGowan, Microbiologics, Schlenner Wenner & Co., Preferred Credit Inc, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, St. Cloud State University, Xcel Foundation, Park Industries, St. Cloud Technical Community College, DeZURIK, and GeoComm.
Thank you for your continued support!
