U of A Startup Village to Open in November at Block and Dickson

Photo by Raleigh Woods

Peyton Smith of MORE Technologies works with robots in the UA Startup Village.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will add another facility dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship when the U of A Startup Village opens in early November.

Located in the Hathcock Building at 240 N. Block St. in Fayetteville, U of A Startup Village provides seed-stage entrepreneurial teams with reservable office space as well as a conference room, kitchen, storage rooms and mailboxes.

Equidistant to the Fayetteville Square and University of Arkansas campus, U of A Startup Village offers teams access to training, mentorship and event opportunities not only at the U of A campus but at the nearby Arkansas Small Business Development and Technology Center, U of A Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub and Startup Junkie Consulting. Office space at the facility will be open to U of A students, faculty, staff and alumni from any discipline with incorporated and operational businesses, as well as companies that have licensed university-owned intellectual property from Technology Ventures.

“U of A Startup Village is a great step forward in the university’s drive to bolster the state’s entrepreneurial efforts,” said Stacy Leeds, vice chancellor for economic development. “By providing flexible office space near mentoring and U of A services such as the Small Business Development and Technology Center, we are providing a path to entrepreneurs to integrate with the Arkansas Research and Technology Park and the vibrant community of inventors, startups and nonprofits we have within our university ecosystem.”

Nhiem Cao, left, and Jared Greer of Lapovations in the U of A Startup Village conference room. Photo by Raleigh Woods.

U of A students Kyle Berger and Kyle Sadler drafted the operating policies for U of A Startup Village. Photo by Raleigh Woods.

Through a competitive and fair application process, startups will have a renewable term of three to six months in a module selected for their needs. Doing business at U of A Startup Village will provide exterior branding along the Dickson Street corridor, giving the fledgling businesses critical visibility within the community. Policies and management of the space will be shared by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Technology Ventures, with the goal of being sustained through other grants, rental fees and corporate sponsorships after the first pilot year.

“U of A Startup Village will integrate seamlessly with the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub and the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, giving emerging U of A entrepreneurs a vital head start for their businesses,” said Anne O’Leary-Kelly, senior associate dean in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “This is a great investment in the university’s innovative undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni, and in the state’s economic development.”

U of A students Kyle Berger and Kyle Sadler, both undergraduate directors in the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, drafted the operating policies for U of A Startup Village and furnished the space. They will welcome the facility’s first two startups, medical device company Lapovations and educational robotics firm MORE Technologies, at the beginning of November. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and interested U of A entrepreneurs can register to receive updates and application information by emailing oei@uark.edu. There will be an open house on Nov. 20.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.