For more information contact: Tonya Nkokheli

Innovative Markets, Inc. (Contact information removed)

nwa.startupcup.com

For Immediate Release Sept. 12, 2012

Eleven to compete in NWA StartUp Cup semifinals Business model competition demonstrates region’s thriving entrepreneurship

ROGERS, AR —The competition and entrepreneurial spirit will be intense Thursday as 11 semifinalists vie for one of seven places in the next level in the Northwest Arkansas StartUp Cup, a business model competition that features businesses from a wide assortment of industries. The semifinal rounds will begin at 9am Thursday, Sept. 13 at the University of Arkansas Global Campus in Rogers. Each business representative will have 20 minutes to pitch their business to a panel of judges who will then decide which models will move on to the Top 7 final pitch round. The Top 7 will appear before the judges one last time Nov. 1 and top three will be announced at a gala awards celebration on Nov. 15. This is one of many premier events being planned in the Northwest Arkansas community to commemorate Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 12-18. What is NWA StartUp Cup? This is the first year for the NWA StartUp Cup, which is a business model competition for any startup business from idea to five years or less in operation. An entrepreneurial idea in its own right, the first StartUp Cup was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2007 and has become a global network of locally-driven business model competitions in more than seven countries. “If they are not in business, we want to get them in business and if they are already in business, we want to help them grow their business,” said Tonya Nkokheli, President of Innovative Markets, Inc., a marketing and sales consultancy. Innovative Markets holds the license for the Northwest Arkansas affiliate of the StartUp Cup and Nkokheli is the chief organizer. Entrepreneurs submitted their business model ideas in May of this year and the judges, consisting of successful entrepreneurs from the NWA area, narrowed the field to the Top 20. Those entrepreneurs pitched their business models to the judges in person and the field was narrowed to the Top 12. One competitor withdrew from the competition and the remaining 11 will pitch before the judges again Thursday. A list of the competing companies is attached to this press release. Organizers, judges and competitors agree that the most beneficial aspect of the StartUp Cup is the mentoring. Each competitor is paired with a mentor that helps the business owner modify and further develop the business model between each competition round. This increases the participant’s chances of winning the competition, but also increases their ability to have a successful venture after the competition. “They are going to end up getting thousands of dollars’ worth of free mentoring,” Nkokheli said. “There’s a huge incentive for startups and small companies to participate.” Mark Tocco is on the board of directors for the Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurial Alliance and serves as a judge for the NWA StartUp Cup. He also serves as a mentor for the ARK Challenge, which is a similar competition for the technology industry.

“I’ve been impressed with the diversity of companies that come through,” he said. “It’s industry agnostic and we’ve had businesses from retail, technology and the service sector.” Tocco said that most people in the country might not think of Northwest Arkansas as a center for entrepreneurial endeavors because it’s also home to so many large companies. What is easy to forget, however, is that each one of those companies started in the mind of an entrepreneur. “People forget that big companies are started by entrepreneurs,” Tocco said. “We need to make a statement about the potential for Northwest Arkansas. The more of these businesses that we successfully add to our community, the easier and better it will be to get that word out nationally and internationally.” StartUp Cup Founder Sean Griffin and his wife Kristen Bergman operate the StartUp Cup organization. Sean is a judge at the NWA StartUp Cup. “Northwest Arkansas was the first licensee, which is really cool,” Bergman said. “It’s near and dear to our hearts and it has a big impact that we can have a StartUp Cup there.” Bergman said the StartUp Cup is different from most business competitions in that it requires entrepreneurs to compete with their business model, not business plan. “Business plan competitions tend to award a good plan, but there’s no incentive to go out and build the business,” Bergman said. “We’re about job creation and business creation.” More About StartUp Cup StartUp Cup is global network of a locally driven business model competitions open to any type of business idea. It can be replicated in any community and is a proven model to create viable businesses, grow jobs, and enhance entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Since its inception in 2007:

Of the 5 Grand Prize winners 100 percent remain in operation and one is now listed on the Inc. 500.

Of the 15 “Top Three” winners 74 percent are still alive and operating.

Of the 60 “Top 12″ semi-finalists 61percent are still alive and operating.

The above results are for the Tulsa competition. For more information, visit startupcup.com/ About Innovative Markets Tonya Nkokheli, Founder and President of Innovative Markets, Inc., works closely with clients to offer services such as market channel research, strategic market development, business process consultation and sales and promotion consultation.

For more information, visit innovativemarkets.net

The top 11 companies competing Thursday are: Tech Adventure Club

Tech Adventure Club is a summer coding camp for young people that includes programming and graphic design. Deck Book LLC Deck Book LLC reimages books as Presentation Decks (PowerPoint, etc.) and calling them Deck Books. Dummy Drummy Dummy Drummy LLC is a start-up Arkansas based company that sells the Dummy Drummy®, a GPS enabled multi-application self-launching, self-sustaining non-inflatable sea rescue pod having zero maintenance and no-in-depth training to operate Chez l ‘Hair Chez l'Hair is a startup designed to cater to the uniqueness of individuals through their expression of wigs and extended hair. More Than A Review More Than a Review.com is a book review website that uses a simple rating system lets you grade a book on violence, rough language, sex, and drugs and alcohol, and to see at a glance whether a book will overstep your personal boundaries. Jet-Setting Divas The Jet-Setting Divas are a fun group of girlfriends that share a passion for traveling and all things chic. The website and blog chronicles their adventures in the places they visit, shop, and all the fun they experience together. They provide travel information, hotel reviews and take the guesswork out of planning itineraries. Tackle Tronics Tackle Tronics is a door-to-door campaign platform that offers a map-based mobile app to help political candidates target voters and reach them efficiently. Jack Bragg Shoes Jack Bragg Shoes is a socially conscious, eco-friendly company that up-cycles highway billboard vinyl into footwear. A portion of sales is then donated to Action Against Hunger, a international humanitarian organization that combats world hunger. Capto Tag CaptoTag is a promotional marketing tool that allows easy access to the cards and ID’s in your wallet. Olive Loom Boutique Olive Loom is a local studio offering textile products that are designed and customized for each person. Products are introduced and sold at the local Fayetteville Farmers’ Market and other venues. Geek Mapper Geek Mapper offers a free social media tool for finding entertainment conventions, learning about attendance of celebrities and vendors, and coordinating with friends. From Anime to Video Gaming and back around to Sci-Fi, the goal is to make information on conventions easy to find before you even know they exist.