Nationally-ranked Startup Accelerator & Venture Capital Fund gener8tor Hires Finance & Giving Expert as Organization’s First Investment Director

MILWAUKEE, Wis., July 7, 2021 — gener8tor, a startup accelerator and venture capital fund, is expanding investment opportunities to further support its equity accelerator programs and alumni companies. To spearhead the larger expansion, as well as the fundraising effort, the organization has hired finance and philanthropy strategist and Army veteran Tonnetta D. Carter as its first Associate Director of Investments. Bringing years of strategic finance and development expertise, Carter will work closely with the organization’s leadership team to fuel the organization’s next stage of growth.

Carter joins gener8tor from the Medical College of Wisconsin where she co-led development efforts for the institution’s community-facing initiatives and cancer research, including the robust $300M Hope to Health campaign. She spent time abroad in the Middle East strategizing and implementing efforts around the demobilization of more than 20,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and currently holds a Governor-appointed seat on the Board of Veteran Affairs for the State of Wisconsin. Carter has managed equity portfolios for the Applied Investments Program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and served in leadership roles for a variety of nonprofit and community organizations like New Leaders Council-Wisconsin and Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals where she led fundraising and planning.

“Having Tonnetta on board to head our market expansion, manage and cultivate our global investor network, and lead the fundraising process for gener8tor Fund VIII, gener8tor Impact Fund, as well as future funds, will be invaluable to our team and to the future trajectory of gener8tor,” said gener8tor Co-Founder Joe Kirgues. “Our goal has always been to provide early-stage entrepreneurs across the country with access to high-quality resources and networks. Many of the industries we support through our equity accelerator programs, such as education, agriculture, and healthcare are at an inflection point that’s ripe for social impact-driven innovation.”

Since its inception, the gener8tor equity programs have invested in more than 125 startups, 62 percent of whom have raised more than $1M in follow-on financing or been acquired. gener8tor’s portfolio companies are 40 percent female-founded, 40 percent BIPOC-founded and 6 have gone on to make successful exits.

“gener8tor has a proven track record of success in underrepresented markets and entrepreneurs. As we look ahead toward expansion, we’ll bring with us an intentionality to expose our investors to the diversity of our founders as well as provide key insights into how to best diversify their investments to make the greatest economic impact in their communities,” said Carter. “I look forward to serving as a trusted partner to our founders and investors as we work together to increase opportunities and outcomes for underrepresented entrepreneurs.”

Carter is a Masters of Business Administration, Finance degree candidate at UW-Milwaukee Lubar School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from UW-Whitewater.

About gener8tor
gener8tor‘s turnkey platform for the creative economy connects startup founders, investors, corporations, universities, musicians and artists. The gener8tor platform includes more than 40 different programs spanning accelerators, corporate programming, speaker series, conferences and fellowships with content on community growth, impact investing, diversity, equity and inclusion, and innovation across education, agriculture, insurance, healthcare, and more. gener8tor works with more than 200 startups annually, many of whom participate in the company’s flagship 12-week accelerator and go on to raise follow-on financing, grow their team, and even be acquired. Founded in 2012 and operating across 28 cities, gener8tor has earned the prestigious status of being a nationally ranked, GOLD-tier accelerator by the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project and been named one of Fast Company’s 2020 Most Innovative Companies. For more information, visit https://www.gener8tor.com.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.