Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

#WaltonCollege has jumped to No. 22 in The Princeton Review’s 2025 Top 50 Entrepreneurship Graduate Programs — up 10 spots from last year! 📈👏 This achievement highlights the power of cross-campus collaboration and a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in #NWArk. Congratulations to everyone involved! Some factors the Princeton Review editorial team considered when deciding rankings: 📚 The core courses of the #UARK graduate program, New Venture Development I & II, are integrated into multiple degree programs across campus, lending the program a unique interdisciplinary structure.   🚀 The ability to provide multiple resources for student-founded companies, such as the #HeartlandChallenge Student Startup Competition, Startup Village, the Entrepreneurial Law Project and the Venture Mentoring Services program.   🌱 A track record of alumni ventures — In the last three years, companies formed by students and recent alumni of the program include Hidalga Tech, ProPika, Celludot Llc, Lapovations, LLC, LockStop, PushKin, GammaVet and Horizon Health Solutions. Let's get connected: https://lnkd.in/eNgfcbj #StartSomethingAR #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

We welcomed eight companies into the spring 2025 cohort of the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP). ⛺🚴 Join us next week for Demo Night! We'll kick things off at 5 p.m. on April 15 at Meteor Guitar Gallery in #Bentonville as we highlight the significant progress each company made! The #GORP cohort: 🌊🚣♂️ Arkie Cypress River Excursions – Founder: Joe Haney 🚵♀️👕 BEAR10 – Founder: Anneke Beerten 🚲🛠️ Hi.Lo Mobile Bicycle Repair LLC – Founder: Ben McGranaghan 🏔️🚶♀️ Hilary Lex Treks – Founder: Hilary Lex ⚙️🔬 Surftec, LLC – Founder: Samuel G. Beckford, Ph.D. 🚲🚦 Take the Lane – Founders: Beatrice Becerra, EI, Sarah Bodine MPH, RDN, LD, and Mal Sebeck 🚐🌲 Vamonos Vans Inc. – Founder: Ben Pryzby 🌊🏄♂️ Zink Lake Recreation – Founder: Creed Hendrickson RSVP now: https://lu.ma/by3r5msm Enjoy free food & drinks while we learn the next step each company in our spring 2025 cohort plans to take on their entrepreneurial journey. 🚀✨ #StartSomethingAR #OutdoorRecreation #StartupSuccess

Choosing the right framework in your startup can make or break your product. 🛠️💥 Join us for Tech Products Framework, where Colin Shaw, senior AI engineer at Ox, will break down how to identify and select the best framework based on your project’s requirements and goals.  Whether you're a developer, product manager, or entrepreneur, this session will give you the insights you need to make smarter technical decisions. 💡📈 RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/gxmdc_nU #StartSomethingAR #FutureTech #ProductInnovation 

Why pursue a master's in product innovation? Come learn the answer to this question and more at an upcoming meet and greet about MSPI. 🤔🚀 This hands-on program is geared towards both product managers and entrepreneurial types who want to expand their skill set in taking a product, digital or physical, from "zero to 1."  Drop by for breakfast snacks at The Ledger and meet Eva Fast, director of MSPI, and other faculty and students in the program. 🥐☕  RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/gfkjAXC8 #StartSomethingAR #ProductInnovation #FutureTech

HUGE congratulations to our 2025 Heartland Challenge winners!🎉🎉 What an incredible display of innovation, dedication, and entrepreneurial spirit at the Heartland Challenge! We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our finalist teams. Your hard work and groundbreaking ideas have truly shone bright! Let's give a massive round of applause to our incredible top contenders: 🥇 1st Place & $40,000 Winner: Intero Biosystems from the University of Michigan 🥈 2nd Place & $20,000 Winner: MabLab representing the powerhouse combination of Columbia University and Harvard University 🥉 3rd Place & $10,000 Winner: Xatoms from Western University and the University of Toronto 🏅 4th Place & $5,000 Winner: Humimic Biosystems from the University of Arkansas (our fantastic wildcard entry)! 🏅 5th Place & $1,000 Winner: DioTeX Diagnostics, LLC from The Johns Hopkins University! 🏆 Track 1 (Cadron Capital Partners) Winner: Intero Biosystems 🏆 Track 2 (Dickson & Main) Winner: CounselAI (Johns Hopkins University) 🏆 Track 3 (Physicians Capital Fund) Winner: Imagine Devices Inc. (The University of Texas at Austin) And a special shoutout to the winner of the Startup Expo prize: 🌟 Startup Expo Winner ($5,000): Humimic Biosystems Finally, a huge congratulations to Intero for its investment potential: 💰 Most Investable Company (Evaluated by Walton MS in Finance Students) Photos courtesy Iron Lotus Creative #StartSomethingAR #HeartlandAR25 #StudentInnovation

Meet Xatoms, one of 12 teams competing in the 2025 #HeartlandChallenge! 🏆🚀 Formed by students at Western University and the University of Toronto, Xatoms is on a mission to create a world where safe, clean, and sustainable water sources are accessible to everyone. The team includes Shirley Zhong and Kerem Topalismailoglu. Xatoms uses its patented AI and quantum chemistry technology to discover new photocatalytic materials that can purify water from bacteria, viruses, agricultural pesticides and heavy metals. They'll be competing April 3-5 in #Bentonville for a $100k prize pool at our sixth annual Heartland Challenge! RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/dGq5QeA 🎉📈 #StartSomethingAR #StudentInnovation #HeartlandAR25

The Heartland Challenge Startup Expo is back for its fourth year, and you’re invited to witness the future of innovation! 🚀🌟 Join us at the Ledger in #Bentonville this weekend for a FREE event packed with game-changing ideas, bold entrepreneurs, and the chance to crown the crowd favorite with a $5k prize. Enjoy appetizers, drinks, and network with trailblazers from across North America! 🌍✨ 🗓 April 5th 📍 The Ledger, Downtown #Bentonville 🎟 RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/gSHe5d46 #StartSomethingAR #StudentInnovation #HeartlandAR25

Meet VitaWave Tech Inc. Tech, one of 12 teams competing in the 2025 #HeartlandChallenge! 🏆🚀 Formed by students Purdue University and the University of Colorado Denver, VitaWave Tech is developing a novel, cuffless in-ear blood pressure monitor. VitaWave Tech leverages advanced photoplethysmography (PPG) and pressure sensor technology to provide accurate, continuous and noninvasive BP measurements with reliable readings. The team includes T. Hingba and Taluba Aron Hopson. They'll be competing April 3-5 in #Bentonville for a $100k prize pool at our sixth annual Heartland Challenge! RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/dGq5QeA 🎉📈 #StartSomethingAR #StudentInnovation #HeartlandAR25

The Heartland Challenge Startup Expo is back for its fourth year, and you’re invited to witness the future of innovation! 🚀🌟 Join us at the Ledger in #Bentonville for a FREE event packed with game-changing ideas, bold entrepreneurs, and the chance to crown the crowd favorite with a $5k prize. Enjoy appetizers, drinks, and network with trailblazers from across North America! 🌍✨ 🗓 April 5th 📍 The Ledger, Downtown #Bentonville 🎟 RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/gSHe5d46 #StartSomethingAR #StudentInnovation #HeartlandAR25

We welcomed eight companies into the spring 2025 cohort of the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP). ⛺🚴 Join us this month for Demo Night! We'll kick things off at 5 p.m. on April 15 at Meteor Guitar Gallery in #Bentonville as we highlight the significant progress each company made! The #GORP cohort: 🌊🚣♂️ Arkie Cypress River Excursions – Founder: Joseph Haney 🚵♀️👕 BEAR10 – Founder: Anneke Beerten 🚲🛠️ Hi.Lo Mobile Bicycle Repair LLC – Founder: Ben McGranaghan 🏔️🚶♀️ Hilary Lex Treks – Founder: Hilary Lex ⚙️🔬 Surftec, LLC – Founder: Samuel G. Beckford, Ph.D. 🚲🚦 Take the Lane – Founders: Beatrice Becerra, EI, Sarah Bodine MPH, RDN, LD, and Mal Sebeck 🚐🌲 Vamonos Vans Inc. – Founder: Ben Pryzby 🌊🏄♂️ Zink Lake Recreation – Founder: Creed Hendrickson RSVP now: https://lu.ma/by3r5msm Enjoy free food & drinks while we learn the next step each company in our spring 2025 cohort plans to take on their entrepreneurial journey. 🚀✨ #StartSomethingAR #OutdoorRecreation #StartupSuccess