Startups / Technology

Broadband study leader talks price tag, remote delivery

Lou McAlister has been traveling Arkansas for months and he knows a thing or two about who has broadband, who needs broadband, and how hard it will be to deliver…

University of Arkansas No. 69 among U.S. public universities in tech transfer for economic return

Among U.S. research universities, the University of Arkansas ranks 69th for creating knowledge, imparting it to STEM graduates and bringing discoveries to the market. The rankings are based on a…

Media production startup wants to preserve family legacies

Two veterans of Northwest Arkansas’ startup scene are working together on a new video-based product they hope will preserve family legacies. Parable is a media production company that enables customers…

Arkansas-based digital firm Few wins two awards at Webbys

Arkansas-based digital product design company, Few, was named an honoree for two awards and was nominated for a third in the 26th Annual Webby Awards, the leading international awards honoring…

The U.S. freight recession has arrived; autonomous innovation expanding

The trucking industry, long a barometer for the overall U.S. economy, is showing signs of a freight recession. Excess capacity, waning demand and declines in spot rates are at play…

Stuttgart community seeing the light at the end of the broadband tunnel

Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bethany Hildebrand was preparing for an interview through Zoom with Talk Business & Politics when an all too frequent problem emerged. Her internet…

Rogers startup Firebend offers supply chain, logistics technology

Rogers startup Firebend was spun out of Fort Smith-based Propak Corp. after founder Steve Clark envisioned the supply chain company as a technology company with supply chain expertise, an executive…

Science and Technology Institute conference underway in Little Rock

The state Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) will hold its annual national conference in Little Rock, Ark., starting May 2. It’s a first-time visit for the non-profit organization. The conference…

Bentonville apparel company LIVSN seeks equity investors

Bentonville-based outdoor apparel company LIVSN Designs recently launched an equity crowdfunding campaign as it looks to release five products this year. Those who invest in the Wefunder crowdfunding campaign receive…

ADFA invests in Springdale startup EasyBins

Springdale-based online grocery startup EasyBins announced Friday (April 29) a $400,000 matching investment from the Arkansas Venture Capital Development Fund (AVCDF) of the Arkansas Venture Capital Investment Trust (AVCIT). The Arkansas Development…

Gov. Hutchinson attends ceremonial opening of UAFS Center for Economic Development

Gov. Asa Hutchinson was in downtown Fort Smith Wednesday morning (April 27) for the grand opening of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Center for Economic Development. The center…

Plug and Play to invest $25 million in supply chain startups

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based venture capital firm Plug and Play recently announced the close of a $25.5 million venture capital fund to support series A-C startups in the supply chain industry. The…

Dana and Robbie Wills open aircraft repair business at Conway airport

Dana Wills and her husband, former Arkansas Speaker of the House Robbie Wills, have started Conway Aircraft, a repair business based at the Conway Regional Airport. The couple partnered with…

Unlocking rural broadband

Statewide, the consensus is that broadband is the tool to transform the economies of rural Arkansas, but the issue has been how to cost-effectively deploy it. A perception exists that…

Financial tech firms tout products following ThinkTech Accelerator program

Eleven financial technology companies showed off their products Wednesday (April 20) for Demo Day, the culmination of the 16-week Independent Community Bankers of America ThinkTech Accelerator program hosted by The…

Minority and women-owned business enterprise matchmaking event slated for May 11

New customers are the lifeblood of any business. A matchmaking event on May 11 at Heifer International headquarters in Little Rock will provide minority- and women-owned businesses a chance to…

Broadband report: State’s last underserved areas could be covered for up to $550 million

Arkansas has 210,000 households underserved by broadband services, but 100,000 of them are being addressed by federal and state programs. Using federal funding, the remaining 110,000 households could be reached…

Ritter Communications spends $2.6 million to expand RightFiber services to Newport

Ritter Communications is expanding its fiber services to Newport. This $2.6 million expansion project will be paid for by Ritter. “Ritter Communications is excited to bring our industry-leading 100% fiber…

Make the process of starting a business less paralyzing

As entrepreneurs and advocates for small business growth in Northwest Arkansas, we talk daily with other entrepreneurs and aspiring ones, especially in historically underserved communities. One comment that we hear…

Small business specialist Timothy Lee retires from ASBTDC after 27 years

Timothy Lee, project specialist, retired at the end of March after working for 27 years at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) at UA Little Rock. For…

Oklahoma court ruling threatens poultry industry in Arkansas

GDP up 4.3% in the third quarter, consumer confidence declines

St. Bernards to expand Maternal Life360 HOME program into Greene County

Then and Now: Cooperative business model a good fit for Mitchell Johnson