BENTONVILLE, Ark. — KLAW Industries, a Binghamton University startup on a mission to save the planet by decreasing the carbon footprint of concrete, won the 2022 Heartland Challenge on April 16 and captured more than $100,000 in prize money. 

Clad in steel-toed boots, jeans and hoodie sweatshirts — attire fit for a construction site — KLAW Industries' Jacob Kumpon and Nicholas Walling embraced after it was announced their team was the competition's overall winner. 

"With our winnings, we will be purchasing a tractor trailer to transport our product," Walling said. "This will allow us to secure a contract with our second customer, which will involve delivering many tons of our product to them every month."  

The first-place award of $50,000 had grown to $100,000 the day before, when keynote speaker Jim Goetz, a partner at Sequoia Capital, surprised competitors by announcing he would match the top prize. 

"We will be painting 'The Heartland Challenge Trailer' on our tractor trailer, as this would not have been possible without everyone who made the Heartland Challenge possible," Walling added. 

KLAW Industries processes glass from landfills into a powdered cement replacement, dubbed Pantheon, which the company then sells to ready-mix concrete plants. So far, KLAW Industries has performed nearly 20 concrete projects and raised more than $450,000. The company purchased a pilot plant in New York and is working to scale for production of 25 tons of Pantheon per month. 

"Compared to traditional Portland cement, Pantheon is a higher-performing, lower-cost alternative," Kumpon said. "It allows concrete mix directors to increase the compressive strength of their concrete while improving their bottom line." 

Cement production accounts for 8 percent of global carbon emissions, which is higher than the entire aviation industry. Kumpon said. Pantheon replaces 30 percent of cement in concrete, thereby decreasing its embodied carbon, Kumpon said. 

"Our ultimate goal is to prevent all glass from being thrown in the trash," Walling said. "The more we scale, the closer we get towards this goal while at the same time providing cheaper, higher quality concrete that is more environmentally sustainable."

KLAW Industries' leaves Northwest Arkansas with a total of $107,000. The team also captured two sponsored awards — Atento Capital's Grit Award ($3,000) and Delta Solar's Innovation Award ($2,000) — and tied for second in the Elevator Pitch ($2,000) to round out their purse. 

KLAW Industries bested 12 teams from across North America that descended on Bentonville for this year's competition.  

Deb Williams, who oversaw organization and planning of the Heartland Challenge, said the 2022 field was particularly competitive. 

"The finalist teams are incredibly impressive, and to have made it to the finals in this competition speaks volumes to the quality of their businesses," said Williams, who is also student programs director at the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

"Based on my conversations with the judges, I know there were some really intense deliberations to decide on the final four teams."  

EipSLS, a University of Michigan team that developed a novel rapid test for allergy testing, finished second and won $25,000.  

Beam Commerce, from the University of Waterloo, finished third and took home $10,000. The company builds software to help grow sales for independent eCommerce stores. 

CiphrX Biotechnologies, one of three U of A teams to reach the semi-final round, finished fourth overall and won $5,000. CiphrX, which is working to advance brain cancer diagnostics, has developed a patent-pending test kit that enables same-day genetic sequencing. CiphrX tied for second with KLAW Industries in the Elevator Pitch, securing a total of $7,000. 

The Heartland Challenge was held in-person for the first time in its three-year history, with the bulk of the competition taking place at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville. The competition kicked off with a keynote event at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and featured a Startup Expo at the Scott Family Amazeum to showcase all 12 teams to the public. 

Williams described the three-day competition as "transformational." 

"There is just no way to replicate what it feels like to have face-to-face conversations and build real human connections with people," Williams said. "Whether you were a competing team, a judge or an attendee, everyone walked away with the same feeling of energy, excitement and hope for the future of entrepreneurship in this region." 

The U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation oversaw the competition with help from the Arkansas Capital Corporation. The U of A Sam M. Walton College of Business hosted the competition again with generous support from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.  

Other teams taking home prize money: 

• EasyFlo from the University of New Mexico is an eco-friendly baby bottle that eliminates the hassles of making a bottle on-the-go while eliminating the waste of millions of single-use plastic bottles and storage containers. 

• GammaVet from the U of A is working on a clinical test for Felis catus gamma herpesvirus, a novel feline herpesvirus affecting more than 32 percent of cats worldwide. GammaVet is developing a prototype for a commercial diagnostic device.  

• Horizon Health Solutions from the U of A has developed software to help independent pharmacies boost their profit margins and compete against industry giants. 

• Pareto from Stanford University is building the next legacy retail brand by using its farm-to-closet supply chain to make getting ready the easiest part of your day. 

Special awards: 

• Natural Capital Economic Impact Award: $1,000 

  • Pareto 

• Arkansas Community Foundation Health Impact in Arkansas Award: $1,000 

  • Horizon Health Solutions 

• Woman-Run by Wright Lindsey Jennings: $1,500 

  • GammaVet 

New to this year's competition was the Investor Roundtable. Sponsored by Cadron Capital, this optional event awarded three $3,000 prizes and was a supplement to the main competition for teams that wanted to simulate an informal conversation with investors. 

• First roundtable — Beam Commerce 

• Second roundtable — GammaVet 

• Third roundtable — EpiSLS 

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, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.