Summary
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Mike Steely, Commercialization Officer at Veriphix. Veriphix is a behavioral dynamics platform that leverages behavioral science and machine intelligence to empower individuals to turn chaos into creativity. Along with his role at Veriphix, Mike is an Arkansas startup champion and angel investor focused on identifying innovative ideas that can be molded into investable companies. Throughout the episode, James and Mike discuss Veriphix’s experience with Fuel Accelerator, why Bentonville is an optimal place to establish startups and how to prepare startups to become enterprises.

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‍Show Notes
(0:53) Introduction to Mike
(3:05) History of Veriphix
(6:11) Veriphix’s Experience with Fuel Accelerator
(8:54) Getting Enterprise-Ready
(13:39) A Day in the Life at Fuel
(15:56) Bentonville’s Entrepreneurial Environment
(22:52) #Bentonville Story
(30:25) Bentonville Favorites
(36:19) Why People Should Visit Bentonville
(40:43) Advice to Entrepreneurs
(47:20) Most Memorable Moment
(50:22) Closing Questions
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‍Links
JAMES BELL‍‍
‍BENTONVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT‍‍
MIKE STEELY
VERIPHIX
JOHN FUISZ
MARK WALSH
ADAM HESCH
JEFF AMERINE
STARTUP JUNKIE
FUEL ACCELERATOR*
TOBY TEETER
STEVE CASE
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS BENTONVILLE COLLABORATIVE
THE MOMENTARY
CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
HOUSE OF SONGS
BLACK FRET
21C MUSEUM HOTEL
PLUG AND PLAY TECH CENTER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
OSAGE PARK
THADEN FIELD
BENTONVILLE BREWING CO.
ZIPLINE
DRONEUP
1 MILLION CUPS – BENTONVILLE

*Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
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Quotes
“I would tell a founder, ‘If you don’t have a lot of enterprise experience, there’s nowhere better you can come to learn than Fuel because you’re living and breathing it everyday.’ Because of all the mentors that are brought into the program, you’re living and breathing how a major corporation makes decisions” – Mike Steely, (9:36)

“If you want me to give you a secret sauce to why we’re positioning ourselves here, we can talk about lifestyle and other things, but number one is I can get business done here more efficiently.” – Mike Steely, (18:22)

“…from a business standpoint, and even from a personal one, what people don’t understand about this area is that there is a mentality in this city that is ‘rising tides lift all boats.’ That means everyone you bump into and have a meeting with is truly interested in what you’re doing.” – Mike Steely, (32:46)

“You’re not going to leave [Bentonville] thinking you have wasted your time because there’s not a person I know that has come to the area that hasn’t enjoyed the experience.” – Mike Steely, (37:46)

Fostering Entrepreneurship in Bentonville with Mike Steely of Veriphix
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Mike Steely, Commercialization Officer at Veriphix. Veriphix is a behavioral dynamics platform that leverages behavioral science and machine intelligence to empower individuals to turn chaos into creativity. Along with his role at Veriphix, Mike is a startup champion for the South and an angel investor focused on identifying innovative ideas that can be molded into investable companies. Throughout the episode, James and Mike discuss Veriphix’s experience with Fuel Accelerator, why Bentonville is an optimal place to establish startups and how to prepare startups to become enterprises.‍‍‍
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Making Startups Enterprise-Ready
Mike’s first piece of advice to entrepreneurs working to get their startups enterprise-ready is to improve their LinkedIn skills, especially if they’re located in Bentonville. Most of Bentonville’s startup community conducts business on the relationship level, and there’s no better professional networking platform than LinkedIn. Knowing how to connect is as important as knowing how to generate sales because you must get in front of corporations in order to convince them of your startup’s value.
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Secondly, Mike advises aspiring entrepreneurs to participate in an accelerator program, such as Fuel. The list of advantages to participating in Fuel is extensive, but one of the greatest pros is having the opportunity to experience an enterprise environment at a high level. The goal of Fuel is to establish relationships and then pilot programs that allow entrepreneurs to test their products or services. Moreover, corporations are more willing to assist with accelerator programs and network with their participants rather than connect with a one-off entrepreneur.

“I would tell a founder, ‘If you don’t have a lot of enterprise experience, there’s nowhere better you can come to learn than Fuel because you’re living and breathing it everyday.’ Because of all the mentors that are brought into the program, you’re living and breathing how a major corporation makes decisions” – Mike Steely, (9:36)
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Knowing Where to Establish a Startup
For small startups, deciding where to establish your business should not be taken lightly. There are strategic advantages to being located in various regions. For example, Bentonville is an exceptional area to found a startup because there are over fourteen hundred brands located here due to Walmart’s presence. Moreover, since Bentonville’s entrepreneurial community is so welcoming and helpful, these brands are incredibly accessible to new founders.
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“If you want me to give you a secret sauce to why we’re positioning ourselves here, we can talk about lifestyle and other things, but number one is I can get business done here more efficiently.” – Mike Steely, (18:22)
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When entrepreneurs are looking at places to focus their efforts, it’s imperative they assess whether there are business models in the area that can be repeated to increase revenue and growth for their startups. For instance, if there are multiple mountain bike companies located in the mountain bike capital of the world and they all fail, there should be an assessment of why they didn’t make it before another mountain bike company puts down roots. When deciding on where startups should open their doors, it’s vital they find the largest mass of people and companies that fit with what they do and where they’re headed.
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Get Connected!
‍Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Bentonville Beacon! Join us weekly for more stories from entrepreneurs and business leaders who are making a positive impact on Bentonville’s culture, community, and lifestyle. Don’t forget, Bentonville is a place where you can have more of what you want and less of what you don’t!