Walmart and J.B. Hunt want focus over flash
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Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Walmart and J.B. Hunt Transport leaders told attendees at Onward FX in Bentonville what Fortune 500 companies want from startups: fixes for specific business problems.
The big picture: Twice a year, Startup NWA organizers convene Onward FX with a curated group of entrepreneurs and venture capital firms to network and, hopefully, strike deals.
- About 650 people — 400 founders and 250 investors — attended this week's event, with about 300 face-to-face meetings coordinated around panel discussions, Startup NWA executive director Serafina Lalany told Axios.
Context: The series, which launched in February 2024 as VC Immersions, is held in NWA in the spring and in Little Rock in the fall.
- Startup NWA is an arm of the Northwest Arkansas Council.
State of play: Walmart is focused on about 50 problem areas and looks to work with outside companies, Mark Malmgren with Walmart's New Ventures & Growth group told attendees.
- An example included how one company was able to help Walmart make better product substitution suggestions for out-of-stock items in its online orders. "We saw the conversion rate on that jump by about 40%, which is astronomically high in that world," Malmgren said.
Walmart is open to pilots, proofs of concept, investments and even acquisitions, depending on the problem, he said.
- Some areas still require work to scale and mature, but in some areas involving AI, startups are getting to a usable product faster, he said.
Working with Up.Labs, J.B. Hunt will incubate startups to solve specific problems, said Seth Perry, senior director of finance for the trucking company.
- J.B. Hunt starts by identifying problems worth solving, aligning those with its leadership, then building startups around the needs.
- The goal is to give those companies access to J.B. Hunt people, data and a first customer from day one, Perry said.
- He didn't offer a specific example of problems J.B. Hunt is looking to solve.
By the numbers: J.B. Hunt's internal innovation program has processed about 30,000 employee ideas and generated more than $200 million in annual benefits for the company, Perry said.
- Walmart's model drew about 2,500 applications from startups last year and worked with about 50 companies, Malmgren said.
What they're saying: "Knowing what you can solve, being candid about that, being realistic about that … has shown the biggest impact in those companies converting to a long-term partnership" with Walmart, Malmgren said when asked what founders need to know.
Bottom line: Proximity to Walmart and J.B. Hunt can be a real advantage for startups, but both companies made clear they want focus, realism and a tight fit with business needs.
What's next: The next Onward FX event is scheduled for Sept. 15-16 in Little Rock.