The Bentonville Beacon

Show Notes

(0:27) Introducing Kalene Griffith 

(2:52) Why Kalene Chose Bentonville

(4:39) How Bentonville Has Changed

(6:39) Introducing Visit Bentonville

(11:58) Upcoming Events in Bentonville

(14:05) How People Should Think of Bentonville

(18:04) Why YOU Need to Experience Bentonville

(29:34) Is NWA the Next Austin? 

(32:26) Stories that Encapsulate Bentonville

(38:01) Punching above Our Weightclass

(40:20) Bentonville Schools

(43:05) Superpowers and Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell 

Kalene Griffith

Visit Bentonville  

Quotes

“What I love about [Bentonville} is the people, hands down. I’m fortunate that within about three to five months I felt like this was home…I felt like the people that were here made me feel welcome and part of their families.” (2:59) - Kalene Griffith

“[Early on], we were the home of Walmart, and that was pretty much our story. Now, we’re the home of Walmart, we’re the mountain bike capital of the world, we are an arts destination. So we’re a lot of different things now. And so we get to tell a lot of different stories in 2022 versus 2005.” (8:55) - Kalene Griffith

“If you’re here for the cycling, you get an experience where everybody in our community has adopted that cycling culture or that cycling initiative that we have pushed through for our community.” (18:30) - Kalene Griffith

Shownotes

(0:28) Introducing Nicholas Olano and His Journey to NWA

(6:04) American Hunt

(13:48) Participating in GORP

(20:15) Why YOU Should Care about NWA

(21:45) What’s Next for American Hunt?

(23:02) Superpowers and Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell 

Nicholas Olano

American Hunt  

Quotes

“What keeps us [in Northwest Arkansas] is everything. This is hands down, the best place I’ve ever lived. We have four moderate seasons, so by the time you’re sick of one season, you have a new season rolling around.” (3:57) - Nicholas Olano

“We’re not just a hunting platform. There’s ATV off-roading, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, and we have an ‘other’ category. So if you think your land is suitable for any outdoor activity, you’re more than welcome to put in on American Hunt.” (12:19) - Nicholas Olano

“It seems like every other incubator wants a piece of the pie, and [GORP] did not, which was really cool. And that also kind of goes to show Bentonville culture. This is an area where a lot of people just want to help people.” (15:50) - Nicholas Olano

“There’s a lot of other places that might have an REI or something like that. But then where do you go? You have to drive two hours to get somewhere to use that stuff. In Northwest Arkansas, you drive 15 minutes east or west, and next thing you know, you’re in pristine wilderness. We have one of the cleanest rivers in the country. We have the first national river. We have float trips. We have mountain biking…we literally have everything here.” (20:34) - Nicholas Olano

Shownotes

(0:27) Introducing Danny Collins and 37 North Expeditions

(4:36) Falling in Love with Northwest Arkansas

(6:57) Helping Everyone Fall in Love with the Outdoors

(14:36) Prioritizing Diversity and Equity in the Outdoors

(18:56) What Business Owners Need to Know about the Ozarks

(25:33) Advice for Outdoor Recreation Entrepreneurs

(30:12) What’s Next for 37 North?

(33:34) The 37 North Team

(35:57) Choosing a Superpower and Closing Thoughts 

Links

James Bell 

Danny Collins

37 North Expeditions  

Quotes

“Our very simple goal and aspiration is to get as many people outside as humanly possible and to make it really simple and convenient to do so. And really, a byproduct of that is helping people fall in love with our beautiful natural landscapes and therefore want to protect it.” (2:01) - Danny Collins

“Northwest Arkansas is growing at such an incredibly rapid rate, and there’s so many exciting aspects to that…It’s a really vibrant combination of these people that are moving in from really everywhere with a community that is putting everything into the outdoor connection.” (15:11) - Danny Collins

“For so long, [outdoor programming for youth] was just about teaching your kid how to fish, teaching your kid how to kayak, and the list goes on…For us, we are like, ‘Teach your kid how to love the outdoors. Teach your kid how to feel comfortable in the outdoors and how to slow down.’ So we lead with the connection to self, connection to others, and connection to nature.” (32:05) - Danny Collins

Shownotes

(0:21) Introducing Nicole Dougan and Strider Bikes

(3:57) Who’s shopping at Strider?  

(7:20) Revitalizing Downtown Bentonville

(9:11) The Strider Cup and Adventure-cross

(12:20) Nicole’s NWA Origin Story

(15:08) Why Should Business Leaders Care about Bentonville?

(21:05) What’s Next for Strider in Bentonville?

(22:14) Closing Thoughts and Choosing Your Superpower

Links

James Bell 

Nicole Dougan 

Strider Bikes 

Quotes

“Even though we [biked and kayaked] a lot back in Missouri, it was always a day—it was a feat to load up and go get enough miles in or to go float. Whereas now, we live in Bella Vista and can be on the river in 10 minutes, and you know, the Back 40 [mountain bike trail] is in our backyard, and I can ride my bike to work now.” (14:30) - Nicole Dougan

“I think Bentonville is so unique in that—first of all—the infrastructure’s there, so that’s the obvious [thing].” (15:16) - Nicole Dougan

“To come here and be able to work, make a decent living, have great jobs, have access, and still be able to have that family balance is really unique to anywhere I’ve seen. And so not only can you offer your business a great location and support from the community, but you can also offer your employees so much by being here.” (15:56) - Nicole Dougan

“We talk about being here and having access to things, but being here, people have access to you because it really is very centrally located and easy to get to.” (17:05) - Nicole Dougan

Shownotes

(0:16) Introducing Andrew Gibbs-Dabney and LIVSN Designs

(6:56) Utilizing Kickstarter

(16:16) The Advantage of Being in NWA

(23:47) Why Outdoor Rec Businesses Should Consider Bentonville

(28:25) Advice for Aspiring Outdoor “Rec-preneurs” 

(30:52) What’s Next for LIVSN?

(32:49) The Deep Talent Pool in NWA

(36:40) Choosing Your Super Power and Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell

Andrew Gibbs-Dabney

LIVSN Designs  

Quotes

“What Arkansas has I think is something special—maybe less flashy, but it’s not anything less inspiring [than the other outdoor hubs in the country].” (17:01) - Andrew Gibbs-Dabney

“If there’s mountain biking or cycling in the company’s interest, there’s definitely a reason to be here.” (25:15) - Andrew Gibbs-Dabney

“From my house, I can access almost 300 or 400 miles of trails and not get in my car. From my office, I can do the same thing. Anywhere in Bentonville, you don’t actually have to drive anywhere. You don’t have to even have a bike rack if you don’t want to.” (25:40) - Andrew Gibbs-Dabney

“The outdoor industry is thriving in the southeast, and a lot of these brands do most of their sales here.” (27:21) - Andrew Gibbs-Dabney

“We’ve had 80–150 applicants for every job we’ve posted. We’ve ended up hiring someone locally each time because the best person for that job happened to be here.” (33:22) - Andrew Gibbs-Dabney

Summary

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Bentonville Beacon podcast!

In today’s episode, host James Bell sits down with Phil Shellhammer, Director of the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP). Phil recently launched GORP as a part of the University of Arkansas’s education and research program in Bentonville, known as The Collaborative. The pair discusses how GORP serves entrepreneurs in the area and why outdoor brands should consider Bentonville as their new home!

Thanks for tuning in!

Shownotes

(0:20) Introducing Phil Shellhammer and GORP

(3:39) Helping Entrepreneurs Define and Launch Their Businesses

(8:03) Who Is GORP Serving?

(11:08) Bentonville’s Draw for Outdoor Recreation Brands

(16:45) Unique Opportunities that Bentonville Provides

(19:44) What’s Next for GORP?

(23:11) Choosing Your Super Power

(24:23) Closing Thoughts

Links

James Bell

Phil Shellhammer

Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program   

The Collaborative 

Quotes

“Outdoor recreation is a large growth area for [Northwest Arkansas] for sure, and one that is a massive focus.” (1:06) - Phil Shellhammer

“If you have an idea within the outdoor recreation space, [GORP wants] to help and support [you]...What we’re doing right now is we are trying to build a structure that’s supportive of the core activities most [people] will come from.” (8:23) - Phil Shellhammer

“[Northwest Arkansas] has turned into a place for people to live and come to visit and play with a variety of different activities that are hard to find in the middle of the US.” (11:22) - Phil Shellhammer

“Because you have this large group of tourism coming in—this large investment in the space from the city and from other investors to make this a great outdoor rec space, then it’s natural for businesses to want to be here too.” (12:02) - Phil Shellhammer

“I imagine most people don't realize that having Walmart here isn’t just that Walmart is here, but they’re surrounded by every large CPG company as well. And so we have so much talent, not even just in Walmart, but calling on Walmart. And so all those companies are represented here in Bentonville—in the surrounding areas as well—which is just a much larger talent pool.” (16:21) - Phil Shellhammer

“It’s overwhelming when you first start as a founder in this area. You literally go from group to group, from person to person, from mentor to mentor because they’re all over the place and everyone’s so willing and able to help. I think one of the biggest things we have here is that community specifically for startups.” (17:26) - Phil Shellhammer