Accelerating Bentonville's Startup Scene with Matthew Ward of Fuel
- Author
- Bentonville Economic Development | Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce
- Published
- Mon 24 Oct 2022
- Episode Link
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/9aaa4545
Summary
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Matthew Ward, the Director of Fuel Accelerator, an enterprise-ready accelerator that matches growth-stage startups with key enterprise partners. Along with his role as Director at Fuel, Matthew is also a Senior Associate at Cadron Capital Partners and a Consultant for Startup Junkie. Throughout the episode, James and Matthew discuss how Fuel’s accelerator model differs from others and why Bentonville is such a great area for people to plant their startups.
Thanks for tuning in!
Show Notes:
(1:00) Introduction to Matthew
(5:03) Why Fuel Was Started
(9:22) What Fuel Is Doing Differently
(12:02) Others Involved in Fuel
(17:50) Why Bentonville Is an Ideal Place for Startups
(20:26) Fuel Success Stories
(24:28) The Criteria for Working with Fuel
(31:38) What’s Next for Fuel
(32:21) Closing Questions
Links
Bentonville Economic Development
Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC)
Northwest Arkansas Council | Life Works Here
Northwest Arkansas Startup Crawl
Quotes
“At the end of the day, what we are trying to do is have companies from around the world come to Bentonville and experience it and say, ‘I want to put down some roots here. I want to create jobs and bring in talent because that’s good for the ecosystem.’” - Matthew Ward, (11:04)
“As a whole with Bentonville, people want to help you out. And also you have a lot of diversity here with people coming to work for Walmart. So you have collaboration, hospitality, and a different view. To me that’s a really good combination.” - Matthew Ward, (19:11)
“One, their solution has to be able to have a chance of selling into the enterprises here…and the second piece is someone who’s willing to make that commitment and sacrifice to be here and make connections.” - Matthew Ward, (24:29)
“...they don’t want to be average, they want to be the best. You can experience a lot of exceptional things (in Bentonville), and alongside doing business with world-class companies, you have the chance to enjoy yourself in the off time with cycling or food.” - Matthew Ward, (27:32)
