Inside gBETA: Building Hard Tech Founders Nationwide

What does it really take to build a hard tech company from the ground up?

In this episode, DeAndre Harakas welcomes Davide Dantonio, Director at gBETA Accelerators (part of Generator), to talk about the mechanics of building hard tech and Industry 4.0 startups in Indiana and across the Midwest. Davide brings a global perspective; studying in Italy, France, Spain, and London before working at Kraft Heinz and Amazon Pay, and now leads cohorts focused on Smart & Circular Manufacturing, IoT, hard tech, energy, supply chain, cybersecurity, and workforce.

We cover:

(00:00) Welcome & Davide's path from Napoli to Indianapolis
(03:30) What Generator and gBETA actually do: 50+ communities, 400+ accelerators
(08:20) How DeAndre's view of being a founder has evolved
(12:00) Action vs. planning: why founders who fail fast win
(14:00) "Investor ready through customer focus": lessons from Amazon Pay
(19:00) Inside the upcoming gBETA Industry 4.0 cohort (starting June)
(22:00) The August Locks / Doma founder story and designing alongside customers
(25:00) Two categories: early traction founders vs. university-affiliated IP innovators
(27:00) Real founder examples: truck AI, optical lens manufacturing, pothole-scanning, animal gut health
(38:00) What makes an accelerator program actually work
(40:00) The financing & milestones framework
(43:00) Why getting "no" is the best signal you can chase
(46:00) The Five Whys and root-causing every customer rejection

Applications open for gBETA Industry 4.0: a 7-week, free, no-equity accelerator for Indiana-based founders in Smart & Circular Manufacturing. Cohort starts early June.