The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group (ACCG) is pleased to name Marie Bruno as executive director of the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF), an affiliate of ACCG. Bruno’s role as executive director will focus on improving and expanding the education-based initiatives for students in grades 5-12, as well as collegiate students. “Marie’s excellent communication skills, along with her experience in leading non-profits, uniquely positions her to continue building and nurturing partnerships with the business and education communities that will result in the group’s ability to reach more students throughout the state,” said C. Sam Walls, chief executive officer of Arkansas Capital Corporation. “Her expertise will allow us to further expand and improve on our student-based entrepreneurial endeavors.” Marie Bruno joined Connect Arkansas, an affiliate of ACCG, in August 2010 as a vice president, where she was responsible for coordinating and facilitating high-speed Internet deployment, access, and adoption activities in Arkansas and related initiatives at the regional, state and federal levels. [Read more…]

Arkadelphia’s TrustedWills.com went live this month. Trusted Wills, you may remember, is the Ouachita Baptist startup that won the elevator pitch competition in the undergraduate level at the 2013 Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup. [Read more…]

Fayetteville drug development startup BiologicsMD announced on Tuesday a partnership with an Oklahoma firm that will make the company’s osteoporosis treatment. BioMD, which has developed what it considers a breakthrough treatment for the disease called PTH-CBD, has contracted with Cytovance Biologics of Oklahoma City to develop a manufacturing platform for the drug. In addition, the firm has welcomed its newest board member, Ensysce Biosciences CEO Lynn Kirkpatrick, to help guide it through the Food and Drug Administration approval process. [Read more…]

University of Arkansas startups HomeDx and Picasolar represent “highly scalable, investable deals,” according to IA advisor Jeff Amerine. (Despite what some Tri-State judges may think.) Amerine knows something about startup ventures. He provides his take below on the two ventures after HomeDx’s second-place Tri-State finish and Picasolar’s unexpected miss in Las Vegas. Also shut out were Arkansas undergrad representatives Catch-22 from UALR and eScout from Ouachita. [Read more…]

University of Arkansas startup HomeDx won the elevator pitch portion and finished second overall in the graduate-level division of the 2013 Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Governor’s Cup business-plan competition Tuesday in Las Vegas. Four Arkansas teams — the top two winners in the undergraduate and graduate divisions of the Arkansas DWR Governor’s Cup — competed against the top winners from Oklahoma and Nevada. Teams from Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma took home top honors. [Read more…]

Startups launched from the Walton Business College at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville are earning both accolades at national business-plan competitions and money as viable, high-growth businesses. Picasolar is the latest graduate-level UA startup to fare well on the national business-plan circuit. Since 2008, the UA entrepreneurship program has launched 10 startup ventures that grew to become high-growth businesses. Those firms employ roughly 100 Arkansans and pay above-average salaries, and they’ve raised more than $16 million in private investments, grants and incentives. They are: [Read more…]

Picasolar’s 2013 successful run in national business-plan competitions is reminiscent of past University of Arkansas startups. Here’s a look at five teams formed over the past five years in the entrepreneurship program at the UA’s Walton Business College that are becoming viable businesses: Movista, cycleWood Solutions, Boston Mountain Biotech, Silicon Solar Solutions and BiologicsMD. [Read more…]

Picasolar is a University of Arkansas graduate-level startup which created a technology that improves solar cells. It’s made an impressive run through the 2013 cycle of national business-plan competitions. Here’s a look at its 2013 accomplishments: [Read more…]

Picasolar, a University of Arkansas startup that created a way to make solar cells more efficient, won the MIT Clean Energy Prize business-plan contest and $250,000 Monday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Picasolar, fresh off its win at the 2013 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup and appearances at the prestigious Rice University and VLIC competitions, defeated 55 of the nation’s best sustainability startups to win the $150,000  top prize at MIT. In addition, the win earned the team a $100,000 prize from the U.S. Department of Energy. [Read more…]