The Shift: Entrepreneurial activity heats up in Northwest Arkansas

Back to school means more than football season — it's also when NWA's entrepreneurial activity ramps up.

• A couple of recent developments:

Arkansas Starters Coalition

The new initiative will help advance entrepreneurship across the state by convening innovators, as well as identifying and removing barriers to starting businesses.

• The coalition will work to engage with everyone, including those who have been historically excluded, Jeannette Balleza Collins, coalition manager of Right to Start, told me.

State of play: Right to Start is focused on fostering entrepreneurship and its economic benefits across the U.S., in part by growing ecosystems for small businesses.

• Arkansas' coalition consists of 12 founding-member organizations, including: Arkansas Coalition of the Marshallese, Cureate , EforAll , NWA Girl Gang , Right to Start and the Multicultural Business Xcellerator .

What we're watching: I'll be looking for any advancements in spreading the news about the coalition and any meetings it may convene this fall.

Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program

The University of Arkansas' greenhouse outdoor recreation program (GORP) recently announced its fall cohort.

• Seven NWA outdoor recreation-focused startups will spend the next 12 weeks fine-tuning their businesses and working to commercialize a product or service.

The business concepts include carbon-fiber repair (think high-end bikes), a bike library, a used-equipment marketplace, AI-enabled firearms training and making custom protective gear.

• See the full fall cohort .

The bottom line: Graduates are eligible for a $15,000 investment that takes no ownership equity.

🏁 The Shift is a regular feature to catch up quick on what's happening in Arkansas' economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem.