Startup accelerator gener8tor reached several milestones in the months leading up to its Winter Launch Day Thursday night at the Barrymore Theatre.

First, it raised $2.1 million in “gener8tor Fund II” that closed in December. A few months later, it earned a No. 14 ranking in the 2014 Seed Accelerator Rankings Project. Gener8tor also announced the first exits in the program’s three year history–Optyn (Summer 2013 class) and Driblet Labs (Winter 2014 class).

“It’s truly wonderful to see these companies build something bigger than themselves,” Co-Founder Joe Kirgues said. “It’s a testament to this organization and Madison for what a company can do here.”

AltusCampus (continuing medical education courses; formerly called AltusMedical Group), Bright Cellars (subscription wine), Carson Life (healthy and beauty products), GrocerKey (branded online store) and Passage (ticketing and payment system) were the five graduating startups that began their program in February.

Their presentations proceeded a keynote presentation from American Family Insurance CEO Jack Salzwedel, who discussed the startup landscape in Madison.

“The ecosystem today is different from five years ago, in a positive way,” Salzwedel said. “(For example) five years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find dollars for investment.”

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See photos of the gener8tor 2015 Winter Launch Day.