3 startups win on Demo Day

15 competed for ARK Challenge’s $150,0000 awards

Sara Beck and Will Carter of tech startup company Btiques congratulate each other Thursday after winning $150,000 in investment funding during the ARK Challenge’s Demo Day at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.
Sara Beck and Will Carter of tech startup company Btiques congratulate each other Thursday after winning $150,000 in investment funding during the ARK Challenge’s Demo Day at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

— Three tech startup companies were selected for $150,000 each in additional investments during the ARK Challenge Demo Day on Thursday at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

Gov. Mike Beebe surprised those in attendance by announcing a third company would gain funding. The challenge initially called for only two big winners.

The winners were Mine What, a company that helps e-commerce sites nab customers and keep them engaged and returning; Btiques, which helps independent boutiques sell product on mobile devices and through social media; and StackSearch, which optimizes product searches on websites.

“This is a real beginning,” said Pavan Kumar of Bangalore, India, who came to Northwest Arkansas with his business partner Ram Gianesan to develop Mine What as part of the ARK Challenge. The two have based their company in Fayetteville.

The 15 companies chosen for the 14-week ARK Challenge program received $3,330 to cover cost-of-living expenses in Northwest Arkansas and a $15,000 investment in their companies, in exchange for a 6 percent equity stake to be held by an affiliate of the ARK Challenge.

The startups also were giv- en office space in downtown Fayetteville at The Iceberg Coworking Space, a communal work area founded by the Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurship Alliance, and received advice from mentors and other experts.

Investment money for the ARK Challenge came from the ARK Investment Fund LLC, supported by the Fund for Arkansas’ Future, the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, Winrock International, Gravity Ventures and individual investors.

The participants were selected from more than 83 applications from 14 different countries and 14 states.

Sara Beck of Kansas City, Kan., co-founder and chief executive officer of Btiques, said in an interview before her win that she was proud of her fellow participants and it was good to see them polished, excited and telling their stories to the room packed with investors. She said Btiques was approached by potential investors Thursday and she would be setting up meetings in the coming weeks.

“We’re going to do what it takes to get this thing running,” she said.

The ARK business accelerator program began in March and runs the ARK Challenge. The ARK is one of 20 projects that the U.S. Department of Commerce selected for federal funding, with the ARK receiving $2.1 million, said Jeannette Balleza, the program’s director.

The ARK is a coordinated initiative by Winrock International, the University of Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville to advance regional competitiveness.

Since Northwest Arkansas is home to Fortune 500 giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tyson Foods Inc. and J.B. Hunt Transportation Services Inc., the ARK Challenge focused on technology products serving retail, food processing and logistics.

Jeff Amerine of Startup Junkie Consulting and Innovate Arkansas has been part of the ARK Challenge since its initial planning and acted as a mentor.

He said Thursday that it was wonderful to see how far the competitors had come and how their business plans had become lean and mean. In an earlier interview, he said he hoped that the program would continue beyond its initial two-year run, perhaps through private investment.

Pablo Arellano Jr. of Cincinnati is co-founder of Earn & Play, an application that connects consumers with brands while they shop in a game format where they can earn coupons or cash. He said The ARK Challenge helped him refine his business plan and that through it he made valuable contacts.

He said Earn & Play has developed key partnerships with Proctor & Gamble that will move his company further.

“We accomplished everything we wanted to,” he said.

Balleza, the program director, said more than 200 investors attended Demo Day. She said a committee selected the winners on the basis of assessments of company quality, growth potential and ability to create jobs.

She said the program’s first year was successful and it was time to prepare for the next class.

“Recruitment starts now,” she said.

Business, Pages 27 on 11/09/2012

Upcoming Events