Fuel

Fuel is a 12-week enterprise-ready accelerator that matches growth-stage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) startups with key enterprise partners in order to accelerate the development of tangible technology solutions.Program details: Fuel is a 12-week startup training program hosted on-site in Northwest ArkansasParticipants will engage with a diverse group of senior supply chain & logistics experts, including: Fortune 500 leaders, tech founders, venture capital firms, higher ed institutions, and public policy officials. Activities include weekly CEO roundtables, enterprise-ready working sessions, mentor office hours, supply chain lunches, site visits, and a demo day showcasing event. Unique differentiators: - Collaboration Not Competition We are building out this program to be one that focuses on collaboration: between both startup entrepreneurs and enterprise partners. We want to build a community, so we will not take on more than one startup in a competing space and are not running the program as a competition.- Tangible Business Growth We expect you to come out of this program having made clear, tangible strides. Some smaller outcomes include feedback sessions, training, pilots and demos with enterprise mentors. But our bigger goal is for you to leave with access to funding, sales opportunities, or a potential acquisition.- No Equity Exchanged We do not take any equity for this program because the expectation is that this will be a mutually valuable exchange between startups and their enterprise mentors through deep learning and connections. We simply ask for your time and commitment to make this program worthwhile for all involved. About the region: Northwest Arkansas is among the fastest-growing areas in the United States and is home to both a vibrant startup ecosystem and three Fortune 500 companies: Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt. Retail capital of the world, NWA provides a competitive advantage with a density around both mentors and partners interested in supply chain innovation.Northwest Arkansas has also been ranked in the Top 5 Places to Live for the last three years by U.S. News and World Report for its bike trails, museums, restaurants, low cost of living, and proximity to nature. So don’t worry, there’s plenty to keep you busy.The team behind Fuel: RevUnit and Startup Junkie have teamed up to bring this program to seed-stage startup ventures. In 2013, RevUnit, then a small team of just 12 full-time employees, became one of Walmart’s key, strategic technology partners before its first official birthday. Six years later, RevUnit is a key strategic technology partner to each of the Fortune 500 companies in the immediate Northwest Arkansas area, including Walmart, J.B. Hunt, and Tyson. Headquartered at the Exchange in the heart of the Bentonville Arts District, RevUnit has grown at a triple-digit rate for the past three years and now employs a close-knit family of nearly 100 talented designers, developers, and strategists who are scattered all across the country building technology to help enterprises work better. RevUnit is proud to have been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies for each of the past two years and was recently named on Entrepreneur’s list of Top Company Cultures. RevUnit has also been named as a Best Place to Work in Arkansas for three consecutive years, and its founders, Joe Saumweber and Michael Paladino, were recognized by the Small Business Administration as the 2018 Arkansas Small Business Persons of the Year.Having helped scale hundreds of ventures in Northwest Arkansas, Startup Junkie is an Entrepreneurial Support Organization and the drumbeat for activity in the local startup ecosystem. Specifically, Startup Junkie helps entrepreneurs start and grow ventures through 1:1 consultation, events, workshops, and programs like this accelerator. The Startup Junkie team has facilitated 10 previous accelerator programs with nearly 150 alumni companies. They engage thousands of entrepreneurs in the region through a vibrant startup culture. Their clients have raised $130.8 million in private investment capital and scaled to a collective $564.8 million in annual revenue.