The Bentonville Beacon

Summary

On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Rodrigo Salas, Executive Director at Entrepreneurship for All Northwest Arkansas. EforAll is a non-profit organization that works to accelerate economic and social impact in NWA through inclusive entrepreneurship. With over twenty years of experience, Rodrigo is also the founder of Kualli Foods, a business that sells Hispanic cooking sauces and marinades, and a passionate community advocate who serves on multiple local boards and committees. Throughout the episode, James and Rodrigo discuss EforAll’s mission and who can benefit from it, how the community can contribute to EforAll and why it’s advantageous for EforAll to have a Northwest Arkansas location. 

Thanks for tuning in!

Show Notes:

(0:55) Introduction to Rodrigo

(5:36) About EforAll

(8:14) Why Rodrigo Joined EforAll

(10:16) Businesses EforAll Has Served

(19:32) How EforAll Works

(31:22) How the Community Can Get Involved

(36:24) Why Rodrigo Moved to Bentonville

(41:43) Advice for Business Leaders

(48:49) Businesses That Can Benefit from EforAll

(50:40) The Development of Bentonville

(52:22) Bentonville Favorites

(58:25) #Bentonville Story

(1:00:13) Closing Questions

‍Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

Rodrigo Salas

Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) Northwest Arkansas

Molli Sauces

Ana Ortiz

Walton Family Foundation

University of Arkansas

Northwest Arkansas Community College

Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce

Sweet Freedom Cheese

Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico

Crepes Paulette 

Oven & Tap

Tusk & Trotter

Scotch & Soda

The Preacher’s Son

Bentonville Dive

Tower Bar | The Momentary

Coler Mountain Bike Preserve

Airship Coffee at Coler

The Rise @ Coler Mountain Bike Preserve

Beaver Lake

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Downtown Bentonville Square

Museum of Native American History

Quotes

“I think one of the major things the Walton Family Foundation, and all the major players in Northwest Arkansas, wants is to create an environment where everybody has an opportunity and a place to be because they belong in the community.” - Rodrigo Salas, (6:56)   

“...all of them have been an inspiration to me. It’s incredible the amount of energy, dedication and passion they have for their business and what they want to build. No one has disappointed us in any way. On the contrary, I think they’ve exceeded our expectations by far.” - Rodrigo Salas, (11:04)

“One of the key elements of our program that’s not a cookie cutter kind of thing is that it’s customized to each one’s experience. That’s what we make sure each of our entrepreneurs and mentors understand.” - Rodrigo Salas, (21:40)

“The new generations are thinking more about quality of life rather than building a career in a big corporation. They want to have a little bit of both. And [Northwest Arkansas] is the perfect place for that because you have all these outdoor activities and things you can do.” - Rodrigo Salas, (45:30)

Summary

On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Jared Smith, President and CEO of Kitestring Technical Services, a leading technology services firm. Kitestring brings together talented people, influential ideas and a mission-driven culture to turn business visions into tangible value. Jared has led Kitestring for nearly ten years, scaling it from fourteen employees to more than 150, and he is also a board member of STOPWATCH, another local tech firm that provides cloud-based commerce software. Throughout the episode, James and Jared discuss the evolution of Kitestring, the importance of workplace culture in retaining employees and the benefits of establishing a business in Bentonville.

Thanks for tuning in!

Show Notes:

(0:54) Introduction to Jared

(6:43) About Kitestring

(8:58) Jared’s Proudest Moments at Kitestring

(11:23) Challenges Kitestring Has Faced

(14:04) How COVID Effected Kitestring

(18:24) Leaving a Legacy

(19:35) Employee Retention

(25:28) Sustainably Attracting Employees

(31:00) Advantages to Being Located in Bentonville

(34:07) Bentonville’s Culture and Evolvement

(40:33) #Bentonville Story

(42:37) Closing Questions

‍Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

Jared Smith

Kitestring Technical Services

Onyx Coffee Lab Bentonville

Michael Paladino

RevUnit

Jeff Clapper

8th & Walton

Meagan Kinmonth Bowman

STOPWATCH

Dave Gandy

Font Awesome

Quotes

“What we’re doing in essence is helping our customers solve hard problems. That’s what we do, and we bring in knowledgeable people. Currently, there’s 185 kitestringers who are really smart people dedicated to solving really hard problems for our customers, which are anywhere from startups to the world's largest company.” - Jared Smith, (7:42)

“I think about legacy a lot, and I would love to leave something and build something that’s bigger than me. That’s a part of what motivates me…we’re evergreen versus exit-focused companies. We’re building companies for the long haul, and when you have this long perspective, it’s easier to absorb challenges as they come.” - Jared Smith, (15:33)

“I think the key to keeping people in your company where it’s more than just a paycheck is it has to be something they get real fulfillment and joy out of. I think that fulfillment and joy is going to come from the work they do, but also the people they work with.” - Jared Smith, (20:49)

“I’m hiring talent that already lives here, and there’s a lot of talented people living in Bentonville that have a ton of great experience that have worked for some of the big companies here. So there's a good talent pool that has gotten better and better over the years.” - Jared Smith, (32:21)

Summary

The NWA Tech Summit is the Heartland’s premier technology conference and serves to enhance, prepare, and diversify the local Northwest Arkansas economy. In its ninth year, the NWA Tech Summit came back with 1,700 registered attendees when it returned in-person to downtown Bentonville. The NWA Tech Summit is an event hosted by the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and it is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, Northwest Arkansas Council, Walmart, J. B. Hunt, Tyson Foods, Salesforce, and the University of Arkansas Blockchain Center of Excellence.

Show Notes

(0:52) Introduction to Alex Howland

(13:26) Introduction to Craig Immel

(30:44) Introduction to Caleb Talley

(36:05) Introduction to Katie Thompson

(44:32) Introduction to Kirt Gill

(59:15) Introduction to John Wilcox

(1:06:33) Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development

Kris Adams

Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit

Alex Howland

Alex Victtoria Events

Craig Immel

GoKey Network

The Momentary

Freshgrass | Bentonville

FORMAT Festival

Blockchain NWA

OZDAO

Caleb Talley

Startup Junkie

Jeff Amerine

Startup Junkies Podcast

Katie Thompson

Science Venture Studio

Winrock International

Fuel Accelerator

Aayush Thakur

FR8Relay

Pressroom

The Preacher’s Son

Scott Family Amazeum

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Kirt Gill

NeuraStasis

VIC Technology Venture Development

Whole Health Institute

Alice L. Walton School of Medicine

John Wilcox

Diatech Diabetes

Walmart (new home office)

Ledger

Table Mesa Bistro

Museum of Native American History

21c Museum Hotel

Quotes

“We’re in a place where people care about the future of our built environment, and that’s so powerful. I think they’re building the right way. I think there’s some important people here doing the right type of work in figuring out what’s next and how we’re going to plan for the impacts of what we build now and what it’s going to mean for future generations.” - Alex Howland, (8:03)

“I’m happy to be here in Northwest Arkansas and blown away by all the changes I’ve seen…the changes have been significant, but they’ve also been really nice. I see a lot of quality development, and it’s cool to see quality of growth and not just quantity.” - Craig Immel, (13:37)

“I think it’s a testament to how much the community’s grown and the effort of the Chamber and other stakeholders in Northwest Arkansas, Bentonville specifically, to develop what is here, add onto it and do the things that are enticing the talent and culture to put down roots.” - Caleb Talley, (35:17)

“I have a six and an eight year old, and we love coming up to Bentonville…I grew up in a small town in Texas and didn’t have the opportunities to see artwork, so to be able to take them to places like Crystal Bridges at no cost to me is always amazing.” - Katie Thompson, (42:36)

“It’s my first time coming to Northwest Arkansas, and it’s really beautiful…I went to Crystal Bridges, and there’s certain art pieces that really spoke to me…It’s hard to imagine what America looked like before all this development, and how beautiful this country is from a natural perspective, and you get to imagine it through some of the artwork that’s there, and I think that’s special.” - Kirt Gill, (53:43)

“We were able to see the Walmart campus being built and that total bikeable building, everything is so modern…Bentonville is beautiful, and I’ve been very impressed with the urban planning and the restaurants…The infrastructure is incredible, and I saw the bike pass too, so that’s been awesome. I want to come back and do some more riding.” - John Wilcox, (1:03:29)

Summary

On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Meagan Bowman, Founder and CEO of STOPWATCH, a cloud-based commerce software. STOPWATCH allows businesses to thrive in the blinding speed and complexity of commerce by optimizing profit across retailers in real time. In addition to leading STOPWATCH, Meagan is also a member of Fast Company’s Executive Board and a full-time contributor to the Forbes Technology Council. Throughout the episode, James and Meagan discuss how COVID impacted supply chain management and consumer behavior, the specific challenges women in business face and the specialty of Bentonville’s startup ecosystem.

Thanks for tuning in!

Show Notes:

(0:57) Introduction to Meagan

(5:35) A Recovering Supply Chain

(8:04) How COVID Changed Consumer Behavior

(12:54) About STOPWATCH

(17:14) Meagan’s Experience with Fundraising

(23:19) Advice to Women Raising Capital

(27:13) Balancing Motherhood with Entrepreneurship

(29:11) Why Bentonville is Right for STOPWATCH

(32:29) Bentonville’s Startup Ecosystem

(37:12) Bentonville’s Past, Present and Future

(40:29) #Bentonville Story

(45:29) Closing Questions

‍Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

Meagan Bowman

STOPWATCH

Michael Paladino

Endeavor Heartland

Atento Capital/412 Angels

Bentonville Square

Wright’s BBQ

Medical Device Guru

Quotes

“When you have a barcode on the back of a product, a different barcode could be on the back of the same product in a different retailer. So what stopwatch does is reverse engineer and put the genie back in the bottle and ask, ‘If you had one sky how would you build this out differently?’” - Meagan Bowman, (15:20)

“Developer talent is fantastic here. It’s very prevalent in things like Walmart and JB Hunt. It’s stuff that’s organized and it’s stuff big money gets made off of. So I knew from a culture perspective, [Bentonville] is going to be a really good place to build a team.” - Meagan Bowman, (30:14) 

“I like that type of energy. It’s kind of like get-up-and-go energy. I think one thing I really love about Northwest Arkansas is it doesn’t feel to me like you have to work super fast and be really flashy to make friends.” - Meagan Bowman, (34:18)

Summary

The NWA Tech Summit is the Heartland’s premier technology conference and serves to enhance, prepare, and diversify the local Northwest Arkansas economy. In its ninth year, the NWA Tech Summit came back with 1,700 registered attendees when it returned in-person to downtown Bentonville. The NWA Tech Summit is an event hosted by the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and it is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, Northwest Arkansas Council, Walmart, J. B. Hunt, Tyson Foods, Salesforce, and the University of Arkansas Blockchain Center of Excellence.

Show Notes

(0:54) Introduction to Andres Lazarte

(5:43) Introduction to Aaron Ivy

(15:52) Introduction to Amir Hoss

(25:25) Introduction to Liam La Fargue

(38:15) Introduction to Eugene Park

(47:03) Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development

Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit

Andres Lazarte

Harry Lazarte, MD

Basis Health

Aaron Ivy

CatalyzeH2O

Amir Hoss

EAIGLE

Liam La Fargue

Mycelium Networks

Eugene Park

Kitestring Technical Services

Northwest Arkansas Square 2 Square Bike Ride

Onyx Coffee Lab

Plug And Play Tech Center Northwest Arkansas

21c Museum Hotel - Bentonville

8th Street Market

Bike Rack Brewing Co.

Bentonville Brewing

Osage Park

Buddy Pegs

Coler Mountain Bike Preserve

Airship Coffee at Coler

Quotes

“You get the best of both worlds. You have all the innovators and you have all the resources from Walmart and all the other companies. That culture made it a no-brainer to build [Basis Health] here…There’s a lot of other places in the world I could probably be, but Bentonville is the only place where I can walk down the street and go fishing in the morning and meet billion dollars of investment money in the afternoon.” - Andres Lazarte, (3:52)

“I’ll lead in with talking about how incredible Northwest Arkansas is. It’s really all become one community with different sub-sectors and cultures within that. Rogers, Bella Vista, Bentonville and Fayetteville are all very different from each other but are very much one big economic powerhouse.” - Aaron Ivy, (11:52)

“What I’ve been seeing is that a lot of executives and enterprises we have relationships with have moved to [Bentonville] over two to five years ago. It’s been amazing. So the conversation I have with them is that you come here and you never expect that what you see here is far beyond what you expected before coming here.” - Amir Hoss, (19:45)

“What I’ve really enjoyed at this tech summit is the presence and support that emerging technology companies are receiving from Fortune 500 companies and the recognition from huge corporate partners. I find that inspiring and extremely relieving.” - Liam La Fargue, (34:11)

“I love all the family things that are going on…I love the fact there are wonderful bike trails and restaurants. Everything here has grown so fast, but it feels like very thoughtful growth and growth that’s been designed for families. That’s what keeps us here.” - Eugene Park, (42:46) 

Summary

On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Mark Marsiglio, Co-founder of TrailPilot, and his business advisor, Charles Greathouse. TrailPilot is an iOS and Android audio guide app designed to help mountain bikers navigate off-road adventures. The app gives riders expert advice on trail features and provides turn-by-turn directions based on their GPS location. Throughout the episode, James, Mark and Charles discuss the ins and outs of TrailPilot, their experience with being a Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program cohort and how Bentonville is working to be ‘unrecreateable.’

Thanks for tuning in!

Show Notes:

(0:56) Introduction to Mark and Charles

(2:52) About TrailPilot

(5:35) Accessibility for Beginners and Visitors

(8:40) The Cost of TrailPilot

(9:47) Next Year's Forecast

(11:03) Being a GORP Cohort

(16:41) Advice for Those That Want to Join GORP

(20:47) The Past and Future of Bentonville

(28:26) Bentonville Favorites

(36:01) #Bentonville Story

(38:53) Closing Questions

‍Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

Mark Marsiglio

Charles Greathouse

TrailPilot

Latinas en Bici

Dean Matt Waller

Toby Teeter

Phil Shellhammer

Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program

University of Arkansas

Pedro Somarriba

Lacaida Ropes

Morgan Baumgardner

Tyler Baumbgardner

Encore Bike Rentals

Nick Olano

American Hunt

Slaughter Pen Trails

Lady Slipper

Fuel Accelerator

Downtown Bentonville Inc.

Fitzgerald Mountain

Castle Hub

Bar Cleeta

Roll and Fold

Beaver Lake

Ozark Adventure Trail, Day 3

Ozark Adventure Trail, Day 4

Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico

Table Mesa Bistro

The Preacher’s Son

Onyx Coffee Lab

Airship

The Meteor

Thaden Field

OZ1 Flying Club

Coler Mountain Bike Preserve

Bentonville Bike Fest

Quotes

“They don’t have to wonder where they are, and most importantly, they don’t have to wonder what things the trail has in store for them that they might not expect. We want a rider to enjoy the trail more on their first run and be able to have a safer experience that is not going to surprise them.” - Mark Marsiglio, (3:12)

“It turned out to be a great opportunity, and I learned a lot and got a lot of resources and education focused on personal commitment from my side to have the accountability of the program behind me. It resulted in great progress for the building of the business.” - Mark Marsiglio, (11:50) 

“I would say that if you’re the next Austin or the next Silicon Valley, there’s two things you must do that you don’t want to do to be the next version of somebody else. Number one, you must take their problems and number two, you must accept you can only be second.” - James Bell, (26:47)

Summary

The NWA Tech Summit is the Heartland’s premier technology conference and serves to enhance, prepare, and diversify the local Northwest Arkansas economy. In its ninth year, the NWA Tech Summit came back with 1,700 registered attendees when it returned in-person to downtown Bentonville. The NWA Tech Summit is an event hosted by the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and it is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, Northwest Arkansas Council, Walmart, J. B. Hunt, Tyson Foods, Salesforce, and the University of Arkansas Blockchain Center of Excellence.

Show Notes

(0:55) Introduction to Jennifer Thomas

(13:11) Introduction to Amy Hopper Swan

(22:25) Introduction to Clark Cogbbill

(32:10) Introduction to David Sanders

(41:58) Introduction to Andy Martin

(49:28) Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

2022 Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit

Jennifer Thomas

Plug and Play Tech Center

Amy Hopper Swan

Arkansas Research Alliance

Horizon Health Solutions

Clark Cogbill

Arkansas Economic Development Commission

David Sanders

Innovate Arkansas at Winrock International

Andy Martin

Wishfluence

Arkansas I-Fund & Delta I-Fund at Winrock International

University of Arkansas

Bob Kurcheravy

Kris Adams

Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce
The Preacher’s Son

Quotes

“Now we have this robust market of startups that are providing new opportunities for chronic health, are meeting consumers where they are and are changing how you approach healthcare…consumers have started driving their own healthcare in ways they hadn’t previously.” - Jennifer Thomas, (3:44)

“Arkansas Research Alliance has been around for fifteen years, and we exist to keep scientific talent in our state and recruit scientific talent here. We see this as a means to economic development. It’s a long-term outlook, but our scientists are pushing research forward, partnering with industry and creating their own companies and jobs for Arkansas.” - Amy Hopper Swan, (17:28)

“The whole mission and goal of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission is to increase jobs in the state and increase the average salary. To do that we help businesses that are already here grow, and we recruit businesses to the state.” - Clark Cogbill, (23:15)

“...it’s a wonderful program that really is a lead commercialization agent for the state. Our team of business and industry advisors help knowledge-based ventures grow in Arkansas. We focus on accelerating the business model and how we develop the talent and get founders and CEOs investible.” - David Sanders, (33:20)

“The ideal customer is selling the higher-end jewelry for us, and that’s because they’re probably a bigger store and just a little more sophisticated…A one to two store company, ten to twenty staff selling high-end jewelry items. That’s the exact type of company we’ve helped a few times already.” - Andy Martin, (44:05)

Show Notes:

(0:53) Introduction to Kourtney

(1:58) Kourtney’s Role at Walmart

(6:07) A Mobility-Centered Walmart Campus

(8:43) Getting People on Bikes

(10:38) Shared Mobility Options

(12:37) Making People Comfortable on Bikes

(14:44) A Company that Cares

(17:32) The Future of Bentonville

(20:43) Ten Quick Favorites

(24:04) Mountain Bike Capital of the World

(26:58) Closing Questions

‍Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

Kourtney Barrett

Walmart (corporate)

Walmart (new home office)

Women of OZ NWA

JUNK Brands

Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce

Bar Cleeta

Ozark Mountain Bagel Co.

Conifer

Coler Mountain Bike Preserve

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | Nature & Trails

Quotes

“From an entrepreneurial standpoint, the best way I know to build something is to first hear from your customer and my customers are the associates. So we have had a number of information gathering events and bike demos.” - Kourtney Barrett, (6:31) 

“When there’s less automobiles, people seem to breathe a little easier and there’s a little less stress. So working together with the city, with trailblazers, and with different organizations, has provided quick access to researching best practices.” - Kourtney Barrett, (9:22)

“We have the city focusing on helping us have safe routes on the street infrastructure…That’s very important when it comes to associates and residents that haven’t been on a bike in a while. It needs to be a fun and good experience and safety is paramount. You have to feel safe to want to do it.” - Kourtney Barrett, (12:47)

“This campus is a game changer and it’s an example to the rest of the world on how to have an environment that is a winning working environment for the associates and what happens when you provide outdoor spaces for them to work and connect with others and promote movement throughout the day.” - Kourtney Barrett, (16:00)

Show Notes

(0:51) Introduction to Connor Pocta

(11:29) Introduction to Mike Steely

(26:37) Introduction to Phil Shellhammer

(34:53) Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

2022 Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit

Connor Pocta

Tyson Foods

Mike Steely

Veriphix

Fuel Artificial Intelligence Accelerator

Phil Shellhammer

Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program

University of Arkansas

Toby Teeter

Bentonville Collaborative

The Rise of the Rest by Steve Case

Osage Park

Thaden Field

Bentonville Brewing

Table Mesa

The Hub Bike Lounge

Buffalo National River

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Museum of Native American History

Quotes

“For me, [an automation and robotics engineer] is somebody who’s taking things like robots and making that work for our company. So we’re taking the robots and we’re seeing how we can make it do a job that works for our company and with COVID and the labor shortage, these robots are a necessity…It’s really making a big difference right now.” - Connor Pocta, (3:32)

“We’re reshaping the way you understand how to interact with a customer. We can identify through a small survey the beliefs of a group and then how to actually nudge or influence those beliefs over time on behalf of a brand or organization.” - Mike Steely, (12:27)

“GORP is an incubator for startups and for early stage entrepreneurs. They’re trying to build some solutions with outdoor recreation specifically. It could be products, services, digital solutions, anything that has to do with trying to solve a problem with outdoor recreation.” - Phil Shellhammer, (27:37)

Show Notes:

(1:10) Introduction to Tammy

(2:34) The Frequency and Struggles of Infertility

(4:27) About Carrot Fertility

(5:37) The History and Growth of Carrot Fertility

(7:38) The Scale of Carrot Fertility

(8:31) Tammy’s Journey to Bentonville

(10:18) Lack of Fertility Benefits

(14:28) Funding for Female Founders

(17:05) Navigating Rejection

(19:40) Advice to Other Female Founders

(21:58) Bentonville’s Influence

(26:50) Closing Questions

‍Links

James Bell

Bentonville Economic Development 

Tammy Sun

Carrot Fertility

Natalie Shew

Elizabeth Prenger

April Roy

FemHealth Founders

Quotes

“We make it easy for companies to give employees financial and emotional coverage and physical support for every aspect of lifelong fertility healthcare. Starting from before you’re ready to achieve pregnancy through egg freezing and pregnancy itself.” - Tammy Sun, (4:36)

“When you think about compensation and benefits, what’s included as part of your healthcare is  really important because if it’s not covered, what happens is you ultimately have to pay for it yourself.” - Tammy Sun, (10:36)

“Women already make eighty cents on the dollar. When you think about having to then forgo making an investment in a retirement account or real estate, it actually widens the pay gap because they're going into their personal accounts to pay for it.” - Tammy Sun, (11:28)

“I think for any female founder who is thinking about starting a business, I would encourage them to stick very close to their customer.” - Tammy Sun, (14:53)

“If you’re a female founder, building resilience early on and understanding your problem, your solution, and your customer, all you need is one investor to support you.” - Tammy Sun, (17:57)