Trillions in venture capital meet in the middle of the U.S.
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Steuart Walton (right) speaks at the MidCon VC Summit. He was interviewed by Paul Gatling, editor of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios
An estimated $1.5 trillion of investable capital was represented by attendees of the Midcon VC Summit held in Bentonville this week, its organizer told Axios.
- That's not a typo — it's a "T."
Why it matters: It's proof that what once was a cluster of small towns with a few big companies is on its way to becoming an innovation cluster.
- Entrepreneurs need capital to grow and investors want to minimize their risks. To stay on a growth path, Northwest Arkansas needs both.
The big picture: There's a slow migration to the middle of the country — of people and companies — from the coasts, where venture capital is traditionally invested.
- Investors have noticed, sowing about $300 million into NWA companies in the past two years.
- Oklahoma is raising global eyebrows as it leans into wind power.
Inside the room: A headliner at the summit was Walmart heir Steuart Walton, who — with his brother, Tom; his aunt, Alice; and other family members — have helped foster NWA as part of the national business discourse. (See story No. 2 below.)
What he said: Walton largely shared how he and Tom, who together own holding company Runway Group, have invested in NWA — with emphasis on the Bentonville-Bella Vista area. Some key quotes from his session:
- "We just thought that the community needed to become a magnet for talent," Walton said. "And we didn't really have much of a strategy for that other than trying to make Bentonville cool."
- "If you don't do financial performance right, it doesn't matter what your impact is because it's not going to be sustainable. But if you only are investing for financial returns, eventually … that begins to kind of wear you out."
- "For us, the why has always been … about making Bentonville a great place to live, a great place to visit, an attractive place for people to move to that will underwrite — hopefully — the success of our region" and Walmart.
"I think of us as like a triple A-rated startup," Walton said of Bentonville, noting that large cities like Houston and Chicago are well established and sort of like blue chip companies.
- Middle tier markets — think Austin, Nashville, Denver — are "the recently arrived … like up-and-coming tech companies" that have momentum and a set trajectory.
- AAA's "are kind of like there's a lot of momentum, there's a lot of excitement, there's a lot of growth, but the trajectory is still a little bit unknown," he said.
"If you think about where you want to invest … the triple A rated startups probably offer the most upside" and that drives Runway's investments in Bentonville," Walton said.
What's next: Cortado Ventures of Oklahoma City convened the second-ever Midcon Summit.
- Managing partner Nathaniel Harding told us next year's summit will be in Tulsa.