We are Irontek.
About Us
OUR HISTORY
For 150 years, downtown Beloit was home to an enormous foundry that manufactured paper-making machines the size of football fields. When the company went bankrupt in 1999, the 800,000 square-foot space was abandoned and thousands were left without jobs. American businesswoman, Diane Hendricks, and her late husband, Ken, purchased the property in 2001 and began redeveloping the large bays into high-end commercial spaces for local companies and tech startups. The campus was named "Ironworks" to pay tribute to the early days of the manufacturing companies that called it home. Today, Ironworks Campus is home to nearly 20 companies and more than 1,500 employees.
Irontek opened in 2016 as an 8,000-square-foot coworking space on the Ironworks Campus, with a mission to "Build Beloit" by cultivating the community's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Offering a creative work space, a dynamic community of members, and a wide variety of amenities, the space filled quickly. Two expansions later, Irontek has tripled in size, serves nearly 200 members, and continues to grow and support new ideas every day.
MEET THE TEAM
KARI SWIRTH
COMMUNITY MANAGER
Kari joined the Irontek team in 2019. She received her undergraduate in hospitality management from UW-Stout and her master’s degree from SIUE, where she operated a large campus recreation facility. She lives in Beloit with her husband, newborn baby boy, and their two dogs, Hazel and Bane. Outside of work, you can find her walking the dogs, gardening or watching scary movies with her husband.
ERIN CURRIER
DIRECTOR OF
INVESTMENT
Erin began her career working with startups after graduating from the University of Wyoming. She helped launch Irontek in 2016 and continues to work closely with members and portfolio companies in her current role with the company's venture capital arm, Grey Collar Ventures. Erin lives in Illinois with her husband, daughter, and their Border Collie, Trigger. She enjoys gardening, live music and spending long weekends at the lake.
NATHALIE BARELLI
MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
Originally from Erie, PA, Nathalie became a proud Midwesterner while attending Marquette University. She joined Irontek in 2023, after working for a Milwaukee-based leadership development company for six years, and is the first face you'll see when you visit our space. She and her husband live in Rockford, IL with their Golden Retriever, Nellie. Nathalie loves to spend time with family and friends, cook, hike, thrift, and discover new places.
OUR PARTNERS
Grey Collar Ventures (GCV) is Irontek’s venture capital arm, engaged in growing and investing in Beloit-based startups.
gALPHA is a free, four-week venture creation workshop for anyone interested in founding or joining a startup.
gener8tor.com
gBETA is a free, seven-week accelerator for early-stage companies with local roots. Each program is capped at five teams and requires no fees and no equity.
gener8tor.com
The gener8tor Studio Accelerator is an intensive, 16-week program during which we partner with entrepreneurs to co-found and launch startups from scratch.
gener8tor.com
Located inside Irontek, the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) advocates for local businesses and focuses on improving the economic, civic and cultural climate of the Greater Beloit Community.
greaterbeloitchamber.org