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If you are in NW Arkansas and into startups, entrepreneurship and innovation, you probably know or have heard the names Canem, Josh, Phil, Rishi, Carter and Steuart. If you haven’t, allow us to make some intros. For those already familiar, make sure you catch all of their latest interviews and talks!

Canem Arkan

Canem is managing director of Endeavor in the Heartland. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, raised in Baghdad, Iraq, and New York, NY, Canem Arkan has spent almost 20 years in finance. She launched Endeavor’s Northwest Arkansas chapter in March 2019 as the founding executive director. Established in 1997, Endeavor is leading the global high-growth entrepreneurship movement to drive economic impact and job creation by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best entrepreneurs around the world.

Canem was recently interviewed by Chris Coy at Cartwheel Startup Studio for their blog series called Full-on Arkansas, an interview series featuring Arkansas-based startup and entrepreneurial leaders.

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Phil Shellhammer

Phil Shellhammer is the director of the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) at the University of Arkansas. Phil is also the co-founder and CEO of two education-focused tech startups: Eksplor Gaming, and Wize Computing Academy.

The mission of GORP is to provide broad small- and startup-business support for outdoor recreation entrepreneurs across multiple domains, including regionally focused hospitality and tourism businesses as well as product- and service-focused ventures with an ambition to scale globally.

Phil recently sat down to discuss his new role and the mission of GORP with Randy Wilburn for an episode of the I am Northwest Arkansas podcast.

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Rishi Mittal

Rishi is the founder of Mycelium Networks, which deploys decentralized wireless networks and has built one of the densest Helium networks in the United States, right in Northwest Arkansas.

Mycelium’s blockchain-based network provides coverage all over the region on which IoT devices can communicate 200x further than WIFI, at a fraction of the cost of cellular.

Rishi recently sat down on The Startup Junkies Podcast to discuss his history and interest in blockchain and how his company is creating a new type of internet architecture right here in Northwest Arkansas.

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Josh Stanley

Just prior to Rishi, Startup Junkie sat down with Josh Stanley, the CEO of Cartwheel, a Northwest Arkansas-based startup studio that creates B2B SaaS and Web3 companies.

Josh is an experienced leader, serial entrepreneur and digital product expert. In addition to Cartwheel, Josh is also a co-founder and board member at PushKin, a communication ecosystem for frontline teams. Prior to Cartwheel, he was the founder of multiple companies that went on to get acquired and also served as president of RevUnit for a period of time.

Follow the link below to listen or watch Josh discuss the methodology behind Cartwheel Startup Studio, the difference between venture and startup studios, and how regional growth is beneficial.

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Carter Malloy

Carter is the founder and CEO of AcreTrader, a company that empowers its customers to buy and sell land smarter through advanced technology, data, and expertise. Since its founding in 2018, AcreTrader has broadened access to buy, sell, and invest in land for thousands of investors, farmers, and landowners across the U.S. The company has raised over $70M in venture capital, and it continues to grow and invest in the Northwest Arkansas community.

Carter recently joined The Stacking Benjamins Podcast to share lessons he has learned along his journey as an entrepreneur.

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Steuart Walton

Steuart is the co-founder of Runway Group, a holding company that invests in real estate, hospitality and outdoor recreation in Northwest Arkansas. He is also the founder and chairman of Game Composites, LLC, a company that designs and builds small composite aircraf—and serves on the board of Walmart, Flipkart, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Earlier this month, Steuart joined Cyrus Sigari, co-founder and managing partner of UP.Partners, for the “Northwest Arkansas: Creating the Silicon Valley of Transportation and Logistics” fireside conversation at the FreightWaves Future of Supply Chain event.

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