Startup studio set to launch tech companies in Northwest Arkansas
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Cartwheel generates the spark of a product idea and lights the fuse.
- Then it hires a pilot to, hopefully, navigate the launch of a company around the idea.
What's happening: The Bentonville-based startup studio is partnering with Winrock International on a yearlong effort they hope will eventually sprout two to three tech companies in NWA.
The Walton Family Foundation provided $1.2 million to fund the project.
- Why it matters: As NWA broadens its economy beyond its dependence on a few companies, startup accelerator programs like Cartwheel's will be important to build a regional entrepreneurial mindset and attract out-of-market talent.
Context: A startup studio begins by identifying a commercial need. Its principals vet the concept, test its potential as a commercial product and develop the skeleton of a company.
- Studios often provide back-office support such as accounting, legal, recruiting services, and hire a CEO to bring the product into the marketplace.
- In theory, this improves the new business' chances of success.
What they're saying: Cartwheel will focus on ideas that use software as a service.
- In particular, the studio will focus on a niche in software used by frontline workers, such as waitstaff, workers in manufacturing or retail employees, Cartwheel's CEO Joshua Stanley told Axios.
- "Startup studios are really just about diligent, unbiased idea validation," Stanley stated in a news release. "We're seeking to pull the known '90% failure rate of startups' up to the preformation phase to produce new companies that have the highest probability of success."
What to watch: The studio's first project, code-named "PushKin," is underway.
- Amanda Earhart, who spent most of her career at eBay and Facebook before moving to NWA, is the CEO of the project.
- Stanley couldn't discuss details but said it's for a quick-service restaurant and its workers.