Anyone who’s ever watched an episode of “Shark Tank,” or any number of similar series, knows that up-and-coming entrepreneurs rely on veteran executives for advice and investment capital. The concept of competing for something is very appealing.
A total of 12 entrepreneurial teams from nine universities across the country will compete for $100,000 in prize money and business mentorship while gaining professional experience in a variety of pitch competitions during the University of Arkansas Heartland Challenge. Today begins with Leisure in Bentonville and continues through Saturday. The title sponsor is the Walton Family Foundation.
The public is invited to attend the final aspect of the two-and-a-half day event, the Startup Expo. Each team will present business and innovation concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. Attendees can cast their two votes for their favorite, and the winner of that portion will be awarded $5,000, sponsored by the Arkansas Capital Corporation.
“Startup Expo is the lead-up to the overall Heartland Challenge awards ceremony,” said Deb Williams, senior director of operations and student programs in the University of Arkansas’ Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. This office is located outside of the department and creates non-traditional career opportunities for students through multiple locations and 15 different programs throughout Northwest Arkansas. Startup Expo “ultimately is a stress reliever. For them, it’s nice to go out and talk about their business when they’ve finished the hard part of the competition they threw and no one knows yet who won.” It’s fun.” , So I’m like, “Let’s take a look!”
Thanks to the grant, the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation has hosted five such competitions, and the dynamics have changed significantly in that time. Two of them took place during the pandemic, so they were strictly virtual. It’s now more public than ever.
“People are coming, students are coming. For people who don’t know much about this field, it’s an opportunity to come in and see what’s possible,” Williams said. Many people have ideas for new businesses or startups, so it can be fun to imagine different career paths and what would happen if you acted on that idea. “Our community can see what kinds of businesses and jobs our young people are moving toward.”
Being shocked to find out your team is made up of students is a common reaction when you first experience Startup Expo. This was due to the high level of work and innovation. Williams said many of his students were overwhelmed by the work of their colleagues, including his students in their early 20s who had successfully created seven prototypes of their own products and created ones that were already generating revenue. I’ve seen it done.
In one case, Williams watched Riley Werner become particularly impressed with the Heartland Challenge and Startup Expo during her freshman year. When Riley saw it, you could tell that she really absorbed it and felt in her heart that her students were doing a great job. Later, when Werner took Finite Mathematics, which all business majors are required to take but which many students struggle with, she learned that it was divided into four separate sections. I felt confident that I could leverage my own understanding of the subject. .
“She built several modular training programs and decided last year to start her own business,” Williams said. Riley starts a tutoring business and makes a profit. “She’s doing it. She saw this and said, ‘I can do that too.'”
Now nearing the end of her college career, Werner serves as director of OEI’s Student Advisory Board.
“Startup Expo is an opportunity to see all OEI’s lessons in action in the real world, a chance to see what others are doing and aspire to something new,” Williams said. “It gives young entrepreneurs a kind of permission and authority to have their ideas taken seriously.” and act on them.
Team introduction
Long before the event takes place, the Office of Innovation invites teams to apply for the Heartland Challenge. According to Williams, these types of competitions are held at various universities around the world, and the dream of Carol Reeves, who served as OEI executive director before current leader Sarah Goforth, was to attend UA. was able to host the following competitions. themselves.
The Heartland Challenge has been around for a few years now and is starting to gain momentum. This year’s number of applications has increased by 40% compared to 2023, and the Secretariat will draw from its wide net for a three-day experience in a “strong ecosystem rich in ways to support entrepreneurs.” We narrowed it down to 12 teams. ” Before they arrive, they are matched with a business ambassador in the Northwest Arkansas area who can help the company.
This year’s contestants lean heavily toward medical device startups, said OEI communications manager Brandon Howard. And they come from all over, from Massachusetts to New York to Iowa to Minnesota.
Two of the teams are from Johns Hopkins University. And three of his companies selected for the competition are from the University of Arkansas, including Hidalga Technologies, ProPika, and Wanderist.
According to the Heartland Challenge website, Hidalga Technologies is “leveraging innovative technology to break through the red tape of oncology treatment, enabling clinics to treat patients faster and more efficiently.” It is said that Howard said Hidalga uses its eponymous software to streamline insurance pre-approval through algorithmic intuition, saving practices time and money, and optimizing healthcare field administrative workflows. It is said that there is.
ProPika is a sustainable technology company that ultimately wants to harness billions of tons of currently unused agricultural waste to produce sustainable alternative fuels and chemicals through its technology platform. thinking about.
According to Heartland Challenge’s website, Wanderist “features smart, connected technology that provides customers with real-time insights into pour costs and inventory data while maintaining a commitment to sustainability and innovation. The company plans to introduce an innovative on-tap wine system.
Williams said each application will be reviewed three times by the first round of judges when selecting the participating teams. The application includes an overview, elevator pitch recording, and additional rubrics. The resulting score determines the ranking, making it easy to decide on the top 10 people to invite.
In the process, “judges are assessing the opportunity to develop (the concept) into a business,” Williams said. They look at their products and services, how they describe what they sell, and how competitive they are compared to other companies. “What matters is whether they address these areas in their executive summary and how well they do it.”
Successful teams have a good idea of what their specific market is, who their competitors are, and if they have intellectual property, how to use it to their advantage. You must know something. Most applications can do it, but naturally the applications that do it best, or those with the most attractive components, rise to the top of the stack.
Most of them aren’t profitable enough, but that’s not really a big concern for judges. Even more important is the ability to look several years into the future, predict the financial situation, and determine whether profits can be made in the near future.
“The purpose of this is: ‘Will this be a good investment for a judge or an investor coming into your business?'” Williams said.
conversion
While the Heartland Challenge and its Startup Expo are important to our teams and fun to participate in, they are essentially training experiences for our students. Williams is pleased that each aspect is designed to help the team improve their skills.
Among other elements is an investor roundtable, where each team is given another opportunity to present their business, this time to all the venture capitalists. Students can tell their business story in her 2 minutes without using slide decks and without being too technical. This is the same as meeting an investor at the airport and giving a brief explanation. The judges will then have 15 minutes to ask her follow-up questions, and she will finish with 15 minutes of genuine feedback on what the team can do better in the future.
A similar but separate elevator pitch competition is also planned. Much of what OEI employs is guiding students through exercises and providing feedback afterwards to ensure growth.
“What struck me (about these events) is the evolution of the student experience,” Williams said. “When they come in, they know what they’re doing, they know their business, but when they all go out, they get nervous.”
She said it takes a lot of hard work to get in front of people and get your hard-earned ideas out there. But especially with the Heartland Challenge, she believes there is a community that is investing in those people. It’s rewarding to see how they change in a matter of days. Teams often start off understandably nervous and sometimes face problems and challenges, but they keep pitching anyway.
“Even if they don’t win on the track, they continue to grow and develop what they’re working on while they’re here,” Williams said. “The transformation of a student team from their first pitch to finals and pitching again can be transformative because of the feedback they get and the effort they put in.
“It’s really fun to watch it grow.”
Twelve teams will be selected for the Heartland Challenge and will compete in an elevator pitch contest, an investor roundtable, and a Startup Expo where the public has the opportunity to vote for their favorite new business idea at Leisure in Bentonville. These events are an extension of his OEI and help students develop non-traditional skills to stay relevant and add value in a rapidly changing economic landscape. (Photo courtesy of the University of Arkansas Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation)
Twelve teams will be selected for the Heartland Challenge and will compete in an elevator pitch contest, an investor roundtable, and a Startup Expo where the public has the opportunity to vote for their favorite new business idea at Leisure in Bentonville. These events are an extension of his OEI and help students develop non-traditional skills to stay relevant and add value in a rapidly changing economic landscape. (Photo courtesy of the University of Arkansas Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation)
Student entrepreneurs have a variety of opportunities to win cash prizes to get their ventures off the ground at this weekend’s Heartland Challenge. Sponsored by the University of Arkansas’ Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, this competition develops professional skills by learning how to concisely explain innovation in basic layman’s terms without using too much technical information. . (Photo courtesy of the University of Arkansas Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation)Other news
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Meet the team and enjoy free appetizers at the Startup Expo on April 13th from 6-7pm at the Leisure in downtown Bentonville. The night will culminate with the audience voting for their favorite startup, with the winner receiving his $5,000 prize.
Heartland Challenge: heartlandchallenge.org/
