Cities Vie to be Venture Venues

Fayetteville is not the only city that has thrown its hat into the ring to host next year’s Arkansas Venture Capital Forum. Hot Springs and Fort Smith have also expressed an interest, the event’s organizers said.

The inaugural forum was a smash hit in May at the Peabody Little Rock, where 375 entrepreneurs, investors and bureaucrats rubbed elbows and talked deals. That was nearly triple the number of participants originally expected.

Forces have been marshaled by Fayetteville’s information-technology community and the city to land next year’s version on the mountain — specifically, Mountain Street. The idea is to alternate the event between the Fayetteville Town Center on the downtown Fayetteville square and the Peabody Little Rock.

Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody said his city and Northwest Arkansas will be important players in future venture capital projects, and that alternating the forums venues is a logical move. Les Lane, founder of the forum and director of the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority in Little Rock, said there are however a few complications.

Many of the event’s sponsors are based in central Arkansas. Also, regional venture firms may be less likely to participate consistently if the venue keeps changing.

But Lane said the debate is a nice problem to have. It’s far better, he said, than just a few years back when there was little statewide interest in venture projects at all.