The Shift: 412 Angels network lands in Bentonville
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Endeavor Heartland of Bentonville will take over management of the 412 Angels network launched in 2022 by Atento Capital of Tulsa.
Why it matters: The network helps startups and young companies doing business in NWA, Tulsa and surrounding areas known as the 412 Corridor get connected with potential investors.
- A growing network of angel investors will support the expansion of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
State of play: Endeavor Heartland noted a need to educate more people locally about options to become angel investors so that early-stage entrepreneurs have access to support, Canem Arkan, managing director, told Worth.
Context: Endeavor is an international nonprofit founded in 1997 by businesswoman Linda Rottenberg. The organization works to connect founders of high-growth companies for mentorship and network development, with the goal of helping them scale up.
- Endeavor's NWA regional office opened in 2019. Local business leaders — including Todd Simmons of Simmons Foods, Clete Brewer of New Roads Capital and Andy Murray, formerly of Saatchi & Saatchi X — head its board of directors.
Of note: Atento Capital is a for-profit, capital-venture firm affiliated with the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
Meanwhile, Quinn Robertson, who previously led an angel investor group in Wichita, Kansas, will continue to lead 412 Angels.
- "The first two years of this program were really a pilot and showed that there's an interest and appetite to financially support early-stage, growth-oriented companies in the region," he said in a news release.
What they're saying: "Endeavor's goal is to help founders scale," Arkan told Worth.
- "I think now under our umbrella of being a nonprofit, and really having a foot in both markets … I think we can have a broader reach. We can have broader deal flow; we can have access to a broader community of people that live here that care about [entrepreneurship]."
What we're watching: Robertson's plans include events to bring together entrepreneurs and potential investors in NWA and Tulsa.
🤝The Shift is a regular feature to catch up quick on what's happening in Arkansas' economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem.