FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Heartland Challenge, a global graduate student startup competition, will return in spring 2021 as a virtual competition. 

The inaugural Heartland Challenge was hosted in spring 2020 by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. 

The 2021 Heartland Challenge, which is designed to simulate the process of raising venture capital for a high-growth enterprise, will be held April 15-16.  

Applications open Jan. 4, 2021. 

Students will compete across three rounds, including an audience-choice elevator pitch and a 15-minute investment pitch, for a cash prize pool of $95,000. They will be questioned and receive feedback from a network of judges, including angel investors, serial entrepreneurs and industry executives.

Full eligibility and competition rules are available here.  

"We are grateful to host the Heartland Challenge for a second year, thanks to support from the Walton Family Foundation," said Deb Williams, director of student programs in the U of A's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

"Hosting the competition virtually is not the same as welcoming talented student entrepreneurs from across the world to Northwest Arkansas, but it does allow us to showcase the region's most important assets: our community and, most importantly, the ecosystem of mentors and entrepreneurial support organizations who are committed to helping startups flourish here."

Aurign, a music publishing startup from Georgia State University, won last year's competition, securing $50,000 for their idea of using blockchain technology to securely file music-publishing documents. 

"Winning the Heartland Challenge opened doors for the company and put us in incredible position to receive further funding," said Robert Hatcher, Aurign's chief executive officer. 

Hatcher said his company is currently in beta testing and working through legal aspects of implementing the platform. 

The University of Arkansas Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, alongside the Arkansas Capital Corporation, will oversee the competition. The Heartland Challenge is made possible by generous support from the Walton Family Foundation.  

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio and Startup Village, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new. 

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.