Helping to nurture small businesses and startups is a one of the Chamber’s priorities as some of these entities could one day grow to provide hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs in Oklahoma City, therefore ensuring Oklahoma City’s continued economic trajectory well into the future.

Three programs the Chamber, along with other local partners, brought to Oklahoma City in 2021 to accelerate the growth of startup companies in OKC were gBETA, Idea Accelerator and Kiva Oklahoma City.

“Support for entrepreneurship is a key component of Forward OKC VI and likewise is imperative to OKC’s continued economic success,” said Jeff Seymour, Chamber executive vice president of economic development. “These three programs serve different niches of the startup ecosystem and will help better position our participants for growth. We appreciate our partners who helped bring them to OKC.”

Read on for an update on gBeta, and stay tuned to VeloCity for more information on Idea Accelerator and Kiva Oklahoma City.

gBETA

Developed by nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor, gBETA helps startups gain early customer traction on their product or idea, and establish and execute on metrics that make them competitive applicants for full-time, equity-based accelerators or seed investment. A total of 35 entrepreneurs or startups applied to be one of five companies to be part of gBETA’s inaugural cohort.

The five companies selected for this first program, which represented a diverse group of founders, industries and business types, were GetCaddie, Roop Living, Imperial Bioworks, FlasHOLR and Land Guest. The five cohort companies participated in seven weeks of intensive and individualized coaching and allowed access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors. The program culminated with a “Pitch Night” at Yale Theater in the Capitol Hill district where the companies presented their work to an audience of more than 100 entrepreneur supporters.

Applications for the second cohort are now being accepted through March 10 for the Spring 2022 program dates of April 7 through May 27. Any application received after the deadline will be considered for the next cohort. To learn more about gBETA Oklahoma City or to apply for one of the upcoming cohorts, visit gbetastartups.com/oklahoma-city.

This story originally appeared in the February 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.