Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, today announced the 8 companies selected for the Spring 2026 TechCelerator – Sponsored by ECGRA. The TechCelerator is an intensive, cohort-based accelerator designed to help early-stage startups and small businesses refine their business and technical models, validate markets and prepare for growth and investment.
The announcement will be formally celebrated at an upcoming press event at Radius CoWork 1.5 at their new home at 900 State in Downtown Erie. The event will highlight the continued collaboration between regional organizations working to build a seamless entrepreneurial ecosystem in Erie County, PA and introduce the 8 Spring 2026 TechCelerator cohort companies; 4 of which are building their businesses at Radius:
- Mudget | Josh Burgess: A personal finance application that combines the clarity of modern financial dashboards with the motivation and learning mechanics of a game. It pairs automated financial data visualization, similar to tools like Rocket Money, with gamified progression, challenges, and bite-sized financial lessons inspired by Duolingo (A Member of the Radius Community).
- Lake Erie Trophy Fishing | Destin Demarion: A comprehensive resource (app) for those with the narrow focus of fishing while also offering functions to enhance the users ability to quickly vet conditions, find key points of interest, and shift them to the things they and their families will be most interested in, all within one platform.
- CiS | Kevin Marz: A cloud-based demand orchestration platform designed to improve alignment between enterprise training demand and available supply across learning partners. The platform functions as an intelligent routing layer that provides visibility into training needs and available capacity, helping organizations identify options, coordinate schedules, and streamline booking workflows (A Member of the Radius Community).
- KnightCode | Dylan Knight: OrderFlow is a fully integrated, multi-sided ordering platform built exclusively for independent cafes and restaurants. It replaces the fragmented stack of POS software, third-party delivery marketplaces, kitchen display hardware, and courier logistics with a single system at a fraction of the total cost (A Member of the Radius Community).
- RetroRad | Sean Friedrich: Turns a cancer program’s own clinical history into outcomes intelligence. It allows a clinic to shine a light on its own data, analyze it, compare it to the literature and clinical trials, gain new insights through AI, and continuously grow from where the program has been, to where it wants to be. It allows oncology departments to move from anecdotally driven treatment decisions to clinically rooted treatment decisions, based on their own locally held data and to improve patient outcomes.
- DiveTrack | James Lundin: A web and mobile app (iOS and Android) that combines dive logging, trip planning, certification management, gear tracking, and AI-powered automation into one platform. It replaces the 5-7 disconnected tools that divers currently juggle.
- Stayx | Yash Kasini: A vertical SaaS company that builds deep, industry-specific software for underserved SMB markets. Rather than one product, StayX operates a repeatable playbook — identify a specialized industry running on broken or generic software, build an opinionated product for that exact workflow, get customers reliant on it, then expand (A Member of the Radius Community).
- Hard6 Solutions | Ivan Watts: Produces Company Health Assessments, independent reports that test whether a company’s public claims are structurally verifiable. The same methodology points in three directions depending on what the client needs.
Pictured: Robert Mulokwa (Ben Franklin), Josh Burgess (Mudget), Sherry Davidson (Ben Franklin), Ryan Nelson and Ivan Watts (Hard6 Solutions), Dylan Knight (KnightCode), Brian Slawin (Ben Franklin), Yash Kasini, (Stayx), Sean Fedorko (Radius Cowork), Kevin Marz (CiS), Perry Wood (ECGRA). Not Pictured: Sean Friedrich (RetroRad), James Lundin (Dive Track), and Destin Demarion (Lake Erie Trophy Fishing).
“Our TechCelerator program represents a critical step in the region’s startup pipeline supporting founders as they transition from early concept to scalable business”, said Brian Slawin, Director and Portfolio Manager at the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA. “This cohort is more than a group of startups. It’s proof that Northwest Pennsylvania – and Erie in particular – is building a complete pathway for entrepreneurs.”
“From a first desk at Radius to structured acceleration through the TechCelerator, to capital access and long-term growth, founders here are increasingly supported at every stage” said Radius founder and Executive Director, Sean Fedorko. ”The long standing partnership between Radius and Ben Franklin reinforces the “no wrong door” philosophy, ensuring that entrepreneurs who connect with any one organization, whether through coworking, mentorship, or programming, are seamlessly guided to additional resources across the ecosystem.”
Since its inception, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners TechCelerator has helped 170 early-stage companies gain traction, secure funding and scale operations, contributing to the growth of a more resilient, innovation-driven regional economy. The Spring 2026 cohort reflects a diverse range of industries and technologies, underscoring the expanding opportunity for entrepreneurship in Erie County
Media are invited to attend, meet the founders, and learn more about how the region is building a nationally competitive startup ecosystem.
Press Event Details
What: Spring 2026 TechCelerator Cohort Announcement
Where: Radius CoWork, 900 State Street, Erie, PA
When: Wednesday, 4/22/26 at 10am
About Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA: Ben Franklin CNP is a statewide initiative funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development through the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. For over 40 years, Ben Franklin CNP has fueled innovation-driven economic growth across 32 counties in Central and Northern Pennsylvania. As the go-to resource in Central and Northern PA for startup funding and business support services. Our mission is to foster a community-wide infrastructure that propels Pennsylvania’s business technology economy forward, ultimately creating high-paying, sustainable jobs in our local communities.
Media Contact: Brian Slawin, Director & Portfolio Manager | Ben Franklin CNP | brianslawin@cnp.benfranklin.org | 814-230-0080
About ECGRA: An impact investing organization, ECGRA’s mission is to empower the nonprofit sector, municipal governments, and economic development agencies to revitalize Erie County. ECGRA is endowed with local share gaming revenue from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania via the Horse Race Gaming Act. Local share gaming revenue is an assessment of the licensed gambling industry in Pennsylvania. ECGRA administers local share gaming revenue on behalf of the Erie County government.
Media Contact: Sean Fedorko, Executive Director | Radius CoWork | sean@radiusco.work | 814-580-9003
About Radius CoWork: Radius is Erie’s coworking space and incubator for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers. Our members participate in a community driven workplace where they can access peer mentorship, business training, and the direct assistance necessary to grow their small businesses or professional careers. For over ten years, Radius’ mission has been to lower barriers to access the facilities, equipment, services, and networks that enable Erie residents to start and scale the small businesses that are our region’s engines of growth.
Media Contact: Sam Peterson, Public Relations for the Erie County Gaming and Revenue Authority | peterson@kateco.com | 814-263-5283