Kai Skallerud and his startup didn't win any cash prizes at the 2022 Heartland Challenge Startup Competition. Instead, his team left Northwest Arkansas with a transformative experience that he said continues to positively impact his company more than a year after the event.

Skallerud's company, Contrast, had been on the competition circuit for six consecutive weekends when it arrived in Bentonville last spring for the third annual Heartland Challenge, U of A's global student startup competition. Contrast had won two previous competitions while reaching the finals in five out six events.

"We felt incredibly welcome and taken care of," Skallerud said. "It made it feel like we're in this together."

Skallerud praised the Heartland Challenge for its "overall kindness, welcoming presence and engagement."

Skallerud said the tone was set from the beginning of the competition, which opened with a spirited improv class featuring all of the teams, their advisers and competition staff.

Skallerud also extolled the Heartland Challenge for its "unbelievable speakers," which included philanthropist Alice Walton, famed Sequoia Capital investor Jim Goetz, and Phil Libin, CEO and co-founder of All Turtles, mmhmm and Evernote.

Skallerud said Libin was the first person he heard sincerely speak to the difficulties of entrepreneurship.

"It was such a captivating talk, I literally still draw inspiration from it to this day," Skallerud said.

Contrast, initially founded as Speak Information Technologies, is working to improve healthcare provider workflow in the electronic health record. Contrast's innovative solution combines an easy-to-navigate user interface, click automation capabilities and voice technology to realign charting tasks with the needs of high-quality patient care, according to its website.

Following the competition, the Contrast team has continued to grow its company, closing out November 2022 with $110,000 in funds raised and growing their team to nine people.

"Our team may not have won a prize at the finals, but (the Heartland Challenge) was over-the-moon amazing and it continues to make an impact on us," Skallerud said.

Student entrepreneurs from across North America will descend on Northwest Arkansas this spring, as the Heartland Challenge returns for an in-person competition in 2023.

Designed to simulate the process of raising venture capital for a high-growth enterprise, the Heartland Challenge has awarded over $350,000 since it was first held virtually in Spring 2020.

Twelve semifinalists will be selected to compete for a cash prize pool of over $100,000. The competition will be held April 13-15 in downtown Bentonville.  

The competition is hosted again this year by the Sam M. Walton College of Business and overseen by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with generous support from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. Early sponsorships secured for the 2023 competition include WhyteSpyder, ArcBest, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, ECHO Innovation Alliance, NewRoad Capital Partners, Cadron Capital and Symbiosis.

The overall winner will collect $50,000. The second place team will receive $25,000; third place, $10,000; and fourth place, $5,000.

First and second place winners in the elevator pitch competition — decided by an audience vote — win $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. 

The Startup Expo, returning for its second year, will feature a public showcase of the competitors. The free event in Bentonville will include appetizers and drinks, concluding with an audience vote for their favorite startup. The winner will receive $5,000.

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.