FAYETTEVILLE — Six semifinalists for the NWA StartUp Cup faced the judges for the first time Thursday.
Each competitor company received feedback from a seven-person judging panel to help them
Incendiary Fires
Incendiary fires in Benton in 2013. Green indicates an arrest made
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Northwest Arkansas StartUp Cup
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fine-tune their new business ideas.
The StartUp Cup is a business model competition that provides mentoring and support in a company’s early years. Tonya Nkokheli, president of Innovate Markets and local StartUp Cup organizer, said the goal of the grassroots organization is to support local communities by creating successful companies, generating jobs and enhancing local entrepreneurial networks.
The winner will be crowned Nov. 20.
“It’s about spurring ideas and helping the contestants dig deeper,” said Nkokheli said this year’s semifinalists are a diverse group in various stages of development.
Rob Turner is owner of Turner Light Covers and has a patented recessed can light cover designed to keep pests from nesting in the fixtures. He hopes the competition will help his company reach households across the country.
On the other end of the spectrum is Mike Gillespie who has an idea for a more convenient and safe way to store firearms in vehicles. The manufacturing engineer at La-Z-Boy hopes to find an investor so he can build a prototype and make his dream a reality.
“I’ve always thought about having my own business, and this competition spurred me on,” Gillespie said. “I’m hoping to take my idea to the next level.”
Nkokheli said startup businesses need extra input to help them get through the rough early stages of running a business.
At A Glance (w/logo)
StartUp Cup Semifinalists
• Turner Light Covers: Rob Turner. Company offers a mounted recessed can light cover.
• Umoja Soul Publications: Leora Jackson. A publication company that produces the Black Business Directory of Northwest Arkansas and www.bbdnwa.com with stories and events related to the African-American community.
• Storage in Motion: Mike Gillespie. Idea to produce a product line for safely storing firearms in vehicles.
• Your Move Managers: Kathleen Thompson. Service-based business specializing in helping senior citizens downsize and relocate.
• Solgave Animal Solutions: Jared and Sunniva Ritter. Business offering pet-related services and community events.
• Wise Custom Realty: J. Grant Wise. Real estate firm specializing in residential sales.
The Small Business Administration estimates that one-third of new businesses fail after two years. Half close after five years.
Jared and Sunniva Ritter started another semifinalist for the cup, Solgave Animal Solutions, after moving to Fayetteville in mid-March. The company offers pet sitting, dog walking, behavior modification classes, house sitting and in-home boarding. They also offer outreach programs and free monthly Community Pack Walks that bring people and dogs together.
Jared Ritter said money was tight and the couple had to work around the birth of their son, but they are starting to make money.
“The cash flow part of our business is pet sitting and we want to be really good at that,” he said.
Each semifinalist gave a seven-minute presentation to the judges, followed by a question-and-answer session. Judges represent a cross-section of community volunteers including people with retail, consulting, manufacturing, investing and social media backgrounds.
Competitors will work with a group of 12 coaches to develop their business models.
Nkokheli said 31 businesses applied for this year’s competition and the final group was narrowed to 10. Four applicants had to withdraw for various reasons, but Nkokheli said the remaining semifinalists will benefit from increased time with coaches.
The entrepreneurs will go in front of the judges for a second time in October and give their final two-minute pitch on Nov. 14.
Nkokheli said she has secured some funding for a winner’s award package and is hoping to get more sponsorships.
This year’s winner will also have a chance to compete in the first ever World StartUp Cup Jan. 23-24, 2014, in Yerevan, Armenia.
The world competition will bring together seven of the first place winners from local StartUp Cups around the world. There are 52 competitions held in 44 countries.
Local winners will compete virtually for one of the seven available spots.
“All the winners will be competing globally,” Nkokheli said. “It’s not just for the local ecosystem anymore.”