Winrock International and Cartwheel, a startup studio that helps create "software as a service" companies, are working on a $1.2 million project funded by the Walton Family Foundation to develop more of these firms in Northwest Arkansas.
The goal of the project is to evaluate and assist a number of business proposals in the software services category over a 12-month period, culminating into the development of two new companies in the region.
Those selected will receive initial funding, among other services and support, according to Winrock, an Arkansas economic development group and Cartwheel, a studio based in Bentonville.
Startup accelerator programs like this one address gaps in the region's entrepreneurial landscape.
"We're seeking to pull the known '90% failure rate of startups' up to the pre-formation phase to produce new companies that have the highest probability of success," Joshua Stanley, Cartwheel's chief executive and managing partner, said in a written statement.
What sets software services firms apart from the rest of the industry is their ability to create and market their own applications for other companies to use.