NMotion accelerates Its 100th startup with plans to invest $3 million in 30 more through 2026

OMAHA — A Kansas City startup was among the six cohort members that pushed the NMotion Accelerator past its 100-company mark, showcasing its AI-infused storytelling platform this week alongside innovations from across the Midwest.

NMotion powered by gener8tor on Tuesday celebrated the cohort — along with the impact from its $100,000 investments in each member — at Millwork Commons in Omaha. The regional accelerator is based in Lincoln.

“The founders driving these six latest startups have put a tremendous amount of work and courage into the past 12 weeks and are ready for the journey ahead,” said Nate Clark, NMotion managing director who leads daily operations for the NMotion Accelerator. “Working with these startup founders is tremendously rewarding but we are just getting started and are actively recruiting the six companies for the NMotion Fall 2024 cohort.”

Applications for the new cohort close June 16. Click here to learn more.

JQ Sirls, Storytailor, left, presents to a showcase crowd gathered to celebrate the NMotion Accelerator Spring 2024 cohort; photo courtesy of NMotion powered by gener8tor

Herston Fails, chief product officer for Storytailor, left, shows off robot technology during a showcase for the NMotion Accelerator Spring 2024 cohort; photo courtesy of NMotion powered by gener8tor

Overland Park, Kansas-based Storytailor — which gives parents and teachers of children the superpower of creating a highly personalized story for their child or class (in under a minute) — was represented in the accelerator by JQ Sirls, founder, and Herston Fails, chief product officer.

RELATED: NMotion invests $100K in AI storytelling startup’s next chapter; KC founder flexes momentum

Storytailor also was named one of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024.

NMotion dentified more than 2,000 prospective startups and received more than 200 applications from across the country for the current accelerator cohort. The six selected companies were chosen based on their growth potential and investor readiness, organizers said.

In addition to Storytailor, the NMotion Accelerator Spring 2024 cohort includes:

• DivorceTech, Omaha — makes divorce simpler by helping divorce attorneys quickly generate state-specific court filings and documents

• Talknician, Minneapolis — improves the speed and efficacy of onboarding and upskilling activities within the blue-collar workforce

• Tour Golf League, Omaha — maximizes golf course revenue by enabling golf courses to offer night golf events during unused business hours

• TrunkDrop, Minneapolis — matches drivers with senders who want speed, clarity, and control over how their items are delivered

• Wunup, Fargo, North Dakota — connects people through fitness by leveraging fitness wearables to track user’ progress, alerting users of challenge progress, and distributing the earnings to the winner once the challenge is completed

A crowd gathered to celebrate the NMotion Accelerator Spring 2024 cohort networks in Omaha; photo courtesy of NMotion powered by gener8tor

Each of these startups have the potential to become the next great company in the region and help attract talent, not just retain them, said Scott Henderson, NMotion managing principal and general partner of gener8tor Great Plains Fund.

NMotion powered by gener8tor is a collaborative effort of the local investors and the national venture firm, gener8tor.

Out of the 100 NMotion alumni, 39 companies have collectively secured an additional $49.2 million in follow-on funding after completing the program and four have successfully exited, with the most notable being QuantifiedAg and Liveby, Henderson said, noting all of these have generated high wage jobs and helped raise the quality and reputation of the Nebraska startup community.

“NMotion Accelerator began in Lincoln in 2013 to help Nebraska’s best and brightest build their high-growth companies here in the state,” Henderson explained. “We have since grown into the most successful startup accelerator of our kind in a six-state region and are excited for our plans to invest an additional $3 million into 30 more startups through 2026.”

Since coming together in 2019, the investors and organizations behind NMotion have jointly invested $3.9 million in startup capital in Nebraska. Startups like Storytailor that are selected for investment take part in an intensive 12-week, cohort-based boot camp program, which includes 1:1 coaching, mentorship-driven programming, more than $1 million in deals and perks, and more than 100 connections to the gener8tor network of mentors and investors.