Entrepreneur competitions gearing up for 2013

Two entrepreneurial competitions in Northwest Arkansas are gearing up for their second year.

The ARK Challenge and the Northwest Arkansas StartUp Cup each celebrated entrepreneurialism by offering start-ups the opportunity to compete against each other throughout a several-month process that included stages of coaching, mentoring and resulting business growth. Even if businesses did not win the competition, coordinators said they still benefited because of the many hours of coaching included in the process.

As the second year for both competitions begins, organizers have high hopes for another successful competition.

The ARK Challenge is a business competition for technology startup companies.

“The ARK Challenge accelerates technology-related businesses because, like other Global Accelerator Network members, our format is mentorship-driven, is short-term at just three months and provides seed investment and favorable terms to founders,” said coordinator Jeannette Balleza. “With those sorts of parameters, our program works best for agile, scalable startups that can not only build but also test and deploy products within a relatively brief period of time and with great capital efficiency. Additionally, as The ARK Challenge exists to advance regional competitiveness, we believe that our startups can solve many problems for the retail, logistics and food industries through the innovative use of technology.”

COMPETITION CHANGE
There will be several changes to the program this year, including fewer companies chosen to continue in the competition, but those companies will receive more of a seed investment. Last year there were 15 companies that were accelerated with a $15,000 investment and a living stipend. This year, there will be 10 companies accelerated with a $20,000 investment. In return for this investment, the companies must offer 6% of their company’s equity.

“Based on our experience last year, we believe that we can deliver more value to our startup founders by providing more money to the teams and concentrating our efforts on fewer, highly vetted businesses,” Balleza said.

This year, the ARK Challenge competitors will also be required to have at least two to five people, including a technical co-founder because the intensive program calls for a dedicated developer to be available to build, test and pilot the technology.

Winners of the ARK Challenge receive prize money but all of the participating teams receive valuable coaching and many find investors after the competition, even if they didn’t win.

“The program itself provides a new technology startup with seed funding to allow for full-time focus, world-class mentorship from the top business minds in retail, logistics and food, as well as make-it-happen networking with movers and shakers in Arkansas, across the country and around the world,” Balleza said. “Additionally, The ARK Challenge defines a clear roadmap for defining a lean business model, acquiring customers, pitching to investors, networking strategically to form long-lasting relationships and adding employees. Within the first 90 days of last year's Demo Day, six of our 15 companies received follow-on funding.”

The application deadline is April 14, 2013 and the program starts June 3 and continues through Sept. 9.

STARTUP CUP
The Northwest Arkansas StartUp Cup is open to all start-up companies in the region regardless of industry.

The StartUp Cup originated in Tulsa and the NWA StartUp Cup was the first to purchase a license to hold the competition in a local region. There are now StartUp Cups all over the world. Unlike most entrepreneurial contests, the StartUp Cup requires companies to compete based on their business model, not their business plan.

“If they are not in business, we want to get them in business and if they are already in business, we want to help them grow their business,” said Tonya Nkokheli, president of Innovative Markets Inc., a marketing and sales consultancy. Innovative Markets holds the license for the Northwest Arkansas affiliate of the StartUp Cup and Nkokheli is the chief organizer.

There will be several changes to this year’s NWA StartUp Cup. The most noticeable for potential winners is the plan to have prize money. Last year’s winners earned additional free coaching and professional services.

STRONGER TEAM APPROACH
Nkokheli also plans to strengthen the collaboration and team approach to the competition. For one, establishing a stable planning committee with mentors from various backgrounds and areas of expertise. This will include participants in last year’s inaugural competition.

She also plans to develop more partnerships with service providers to create a stronger list of resources for participants, Nkokheli said.

“Entrepreneurs may not make it through to a final round, but it’s important to have a reference or referral list to continue on,” she said.

In some cases, a business may simply not be at a stage where they are ready to continue through the competition but with some coaching and professional help, they could be more ready in the future.

The timeline for this year’s NWA StartUp Cup is also slightly accelerated. It will begin in June and winners will be announced in November, during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

There will be two information sessions about the NWA StartUp Cup. May 21 and June 4 are the dates and times and locations are still being determined. One will be in the Rogers/Bentonville area and the other will be in the Fayetteville area.

Submissions for entering the NWA StartUp Cup will be June 4.