From Walmart founder Sam Walton to Lowell-based J.B. Hunt, there is no shortage of entrepreneurial success stories in Arkansas. As a new generation lends its talents and ideas to the state’s business landscape, the Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition is one avenue by which aspiring entrepreneurs gain business savvy and exposure while they present their ideas to the local community.
Created by Arkansas Capital more than two decades ago, the competition provides college students with an immersive entrepreneurship experience that teaches them the ins and outs of launching a startup. Volunteer judges, including entrepreneurs, small-business owners and corporate executives, provide students with constructive feedback throughout the competition.
Although students are not required to start the businesses they pitch during the competition, its website states, almost 30 companies trace their roots back to the competition, and many competition alumni still benefit from the connections and experiences of their Governor’s Cup days.
This was the first year the competition was open to students in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The event has a $144,000 cash prize pool, including $20,000, $10,000 and $7,500 for first-, second- and third-place winners.
The winners were announced during an awards luncheon at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock April 17. The winning team in the high-growth/technology graduate category was ProPika from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Samtracs from Oklahoma State University placed second, and Hidalga Technologies from UA placed third. Hidalga Technologies also won a $1,000 prize for elevator pitch in the category.
In the high-growth/tech undergrad category, Thinking CAPZ from Philander Smith University in Little Rock won first place. DevelopIQ from UA placed second, DataDroid from UA placed third, and DevelopIQ won the elevator pitch.
In the small-business category, Arkansas REM from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway placed first. Wanderist Wines from UA placed second, Arkansas Love Kombucha Co. from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith placed third, and Sapien Financial from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff won the elevator pitch.
Arkansas Business Hall of Famer Dhu Thompson was the title sponsor of the competition. The Walton Family Foundation was the venture sponsor, Winrock International was the high-growth/tech sponsor, and Winrock Automotive was the small-business sponsor.
“Don’t wait for opportunity; you need to create it,” Thompson said during his speech at the luncheon. “You continue to learn academically, and that’s important, and you’re smart, but let me prepare you: When you begin your entrepreneurial journey, you’re going to fail. You will learn when it’s your idea and if you fail, you have no one else to blame but yourself.”
Entrepreneurs begin their journeys with naivety, but failure allows them to learn from experience, he added.
“Then when you begin to succeed, you will start to accomplish goals you’ve never imagined,” he said. “Many things in business are difficult before they become easy. You will start to recognize that failure becomes your key to success. You need to let failure open your doors to success. Understand character is built through failure.”
Learning to believe in oneself is key, he said, adding that self-confidence does not come from popularity on social media but from establishing and achieving goals.
Former professional athlete Tywanna Smith, a sports business manager and author, emceed the luncheon. During the days leading up to the awards luncheon, the finalists attended a welcome dinner at the Innovation Hub in North Little Rock April 15 and attended an oral competition and preliminary elevator pitch competition April 16.
Feature photo: Tywanna Smith speaks at the 2024 Arkansas Governor’s Cup. (Photo provided)
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