Walton Family Foundation backs NWA entrepreneurship program
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Axios Visuals
A $475,000 Walton Family Foundation grant will spur a yearlong pilot program to ramp up opportunities for entrepreneurs in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
Why it matters: The programming will help "all stages of innovators," including new startups, and connect industry decision-makers to founders in retail and supply chain, Kathryn Carlisle of grant recipient Arkade told Axios.
- It will also bring more people working in emerging technologies like AI and robotics to Northwest Arkansas to potentially work with businesses here, she said.
State of play: The grant will go to Bentonville-based Arkade, which offers resources such as coworking space, and Phoenix-based Seed Spot, a nonprofit that offers entrepreneurship programs nationwide. The two will work together to host events starting in December through next year, as Land and Launch NWA.
- The money will pay for a full-time programming director and some contract work to help with events, Carlisle said.
How it works: The organizations plan to host quarterly industry education workshops and camps for people launching products or businesses. It will also host three "immersion weeks" in Bentonville to connect business leaders.
The bottom line: "We want to bring in cohorts of startups through these immersion weeks, and outcomes we would like to see through that are pilots and partnerships and new hires and companies establishing a presence here in Northwest Arkansas," Carlisle said.
What's next: The first immersion week is set for December.