Three Arkansas entrepreneurs receive national attention

The work of Max Farrell, E.A. Lepine and Kirsten Blowers was recently highlighted in national publications.

Farrell, CEO and founder of WorkHound, was mentioned, along with his company, in a Washington Post story about retaining drivers in the trucking industry. The article featured independent contractors working with Little Rock-based Central Hauling.

Farrell’s app, WorkHound, recently rolled out a new feature which aids in recruitment for the trucking industry.

“Pay is one part of a much larger equation,” Farrell noted in the story. “With one dispatcher overseeing scores of drivers, things can get lost in translation, leading to frustration for both sides. “When that continues to happen, drivers start seeking out greener pastures.”

Lepine is a 2007 graduate of Little Rock Christian and the founder of ArrowRoot, an online retailer that sells ethically produced clothing. The producers of the clothing are a group of ladies from Tegucigalpa, Honduras who make a fair wage. Lepine’s company was mentioned in Business Insider’s Coolest New Businesses in America.

Business Insider explains in this report why the company is cool: “This online retailer based in Denver claims to make it easier to get dressed in the morning, whether you’re running errands, heading to work, or grabbing coffee with a friend. This fair-trade fashion label was created by E.A. Lepine, a designer intent on trading lazy-day yoga pants for casual, comfortable, and trendy dresses.”

Blowers has been helping ladies across the region look more trendy for several years now as she runs the Fayetteville-based RiffRaff. She has received numerous accolades including the 2016 Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Retail Commerce.

Forbes says: “What was once a furniture storefront in Fayetteville, Ark is now a robust digital operation, RiffRaff.com, selling womenswear that’s hip, affordable and southern-tinged (their popular tee shirts are emblazoned with Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas themes).”