Startup Talk: Pre-Flight Accelerator Program Leads To 6 New Business Pitches

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PRE-FLIGHT ACCELERATOR PROGRAM BRINGS IN 6
On Tuesday night in Little Rock, six startup companies made pitches as a result of their participation in a 14-week entrepreneurial program offered by the Arkansas Venture Center.

The Venture Center’s Pre-Flight, pre-accelerator program, which was developed by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, is an intense business incubation program developed over a 20-year period by serial entrepreneurs and investors. It includes access to a variety of resources and mentorships to selected startups.

Six of the companies that participated over the last 14 weeks and were eligible to pitch are: GeronIQ (alert system for homebound elderly and caregivers); Leantoo Outfitters (peer-to-peer camping gear rental web site); Merger Match (acquisition identifier system); Move Makeup (sweat-proof cosmetics line); Pickup (app to connect pickup basketball players to local games); and Talentt (freelancer connecting app). All six startups pitched their business plans to a panel of experts for feedback on Tuesday.

“We are incredibly proud of our first Pre-Flight class. These early stage, pre-accelerator startups spent the last 14 weeks learning and building their business models, validating with customers, developing their investable pitch and constructing a launch strategy,” said Venture Center President Lee Watson. “Pre-Flight is where you go from 0-60 in 14 weeks, taking an idea and turning it into a real venture.”

The six startups will continue their incubation with the Venture Center, which will include additional mentorship and access to workspace.

The next wave of startups for the next 14-week, Pre-Flight, pre-accelerator program will be announced in late January, Watson said.  Anyone interested in applying can do so at this link.

FDA PUMPS $1.2 MILLION INTO ARKANSAS NANO RESEARCH
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended its support of nano research in Arkansas. The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) announced this week that it has been awarded a $1.2 million contract from the FDA to extend a collaborative research program focused on graphene-based nanomaterials, in particular the safety and toxicity of graphene and its impact on public health.

The contract will impact research efforts at four Arkansas universities: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), University of Arkansas (UAF), University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). This is the third round of FDA funding received to date for this level of research.

CONNECT ARKANSAS SURVEYING SMALL BUSINESSES ON INTERNET USAGE
Connect Arkansas, a project of The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, is conducting a statewide survey to determine Internet usage by small businesses in participation with Strategic Networks Group, which works with broadband advocacy organizations across the country. The goal of the survey is to increase the use of high-speed Internet across small businesses. For information on the survey, click here.

In exchange for completing the survey, small businesses will receive a white paper on how to improve their Internet usage. Connect Arkansas will also be conducting a pilot program in Faulkner County where participating small businesses will receive a free score card with specific information about how their business compares to other businesses with regards to Internet use and applications, as well as receive specific guidance to assist them with improving their score.

TWO FROM ARKANSAS NAMED TO INVENTORS ACADEMY
Donald R. Bobbitt, president of the University of Arkansas System, and Ingrid Fritsch, both members of the chemistry and biochemistry faculty at the University of Arkansas, have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.

Election to NAI Fellow status is a prestigious professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated “a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society,” according to the academy.

Bobbitt was awarded patents for discoveries he made in the 1990s as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Fritsch holds 10 U.S. patents and has co-founded two startup companies. She is currently on the board of directors of SFC Fluidics Inc. Hameed Naseem, professor of electrical engineering at the U of A, was in the inaugural class of fellows last year.