Connections, Feedback 'Priceless' for Brown University in Winning Heartland Challenge

Matt Waller, Dean of the Walton College, welcomes teams and guests to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for the keynote event of the 2023 Heartland Challenge.

Heartland Challenge semifinalists teams participate in a improv session led by Stacey Mason and the Improv Lab at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville.

Charu Thomas, left, CEO of Ox, speaks with Little Rock native and venture capitalist Earnest Sweat, during the Heartland Challenge awards ceremony at the Ledger in downtown Bentonville.

Dana Biechele-Speziale smiles after she and co-founder Selahaddin Gumus, right, won the Heartland Challenge, securing $50,000 for their startup.

Michael Basch, managing partner at Atento Capital, questions teams during the final round of the Heartland Challenge at the Ledger in downtown Bentonville.

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Dana Biechele-Speziale smiles after she and co-founder Selahaddin Gumus, right, won the Heartland Challenge, securing $50,000 for their startup.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – A Brown University startup revolutionizing the storage and process of digital data by harnessing small molecules captured the 2023 Heartland Challenge and more than $50,000 in prize money. 

AtomICs, co-founded by graduate students Dana Biechele-Speziale and Selahaddin Gumus, has already patented its process and demonstrated that it can store and retrieve megabytes of images, audio and text that are encoded in the presence or absence of unique molecules, Biechele-Speziale said. 

Similar to how microelectronic devices can represent digital information in 1s and 0s physically embodied by high and low voltages, Biechele-Speziale said molecular systems can store information in the presence or absence of unique molecules within complex mixtures. 

AtomICs, which earned the top prize of $50,000, also secured $3,000 by winning one of three Investor Roundtable events and earned the Delta Solar Innovation Award, also worth $3,000. 

The competition's atmosphere was "electric," according to Deb Williams, senior director of operations and student programs at the U of A Office of Entrepreneruship and Innovation. 

"The Heartland Challenge Startup Competition attracts talented startup founders, innovators and inventors to Northwest Arkansas," Williams said.  

"The air was electric with excitement throughout the weekend as our entrepreneurial ecosystem rallied around these entrepreneurs and really showed them what is possible in Bentonville, Arkansas."  

Designed to simulate the process of raising venture capital for a high-growth enterprise, the Heartland Challenge is the first global student startup competition in Arkansas and has awarded over $465,000 since it was first held virtually in Spring 2020.   

"Winning the Heartland Challenge was such a wonderful experience for AtomICs," Biechele-Speziale said. "The connections we made and the feedback we got throughout the weekend were priceless." 

AtomICs plans to put the winnings toward one of its first products in data security. The company will officially spin out of Brown this summer, when Biechele-Speziale and Gumus graduate, with the pair becoming full-time CEO and CTO, respectively. 

Biechele-Speziale plans a return trip to explore Northwest Arkansas, adding that she and Gumus were shocked by the region's "support, network and infrastructure that is available to entrepreneurs." 

"For the past week, I've been telling everyone who will listen about how incredible the Northwest Arkansas area is," she said. 

There were a record 90 applicants in the fourth annual Heartland Challenge, which was narrowed down to 12 semi-finalists representing eight universities and seven states.  

"One of our goals has always been to put our region and state on the map for talented founders looking for the best place to build their businesses and plant roots," said Sarah Goforth, executive director at the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.  

"There is no doubt that when founders travel here for the competition and experience the beauty of the Ozarks and the energy of our entrepreneurial community, it leaves a mark. When asked whether they would be likely to return to Northwest Arkansas for a business meeting or outdoor recreation in the next two years, nearly 75% of this year's participants said yes." 

The competition was held April 13-15 in downtown Bentonville, primarily at the Ledger. The event kicked off with a keynote event at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and featured a Startup Expo to showcase all 12 teams to the public. The other top prize winners focused on medical innovations. 

EndoShunt, a team representing Vanderbilt and Harvard universities, finished second and won $25,000 for its device that aims to improve treatment for abdominal hemorrhage. EndoShunt also captured one of the three Investor Roundtable events, each worth $3,000, and won the HealthTech Arkansas Medical Innovation Award, also worth $3,000, to leave NWA with $31,000 in prize money. 

MiraHeart from Johns Hopkins University finished third, taking home $10,000. The team is working to stop the progression of pediatric heart failure, and has created a novel, noninvasive monitoring technology for central venous pressure (CVP), which is critical for adjusting heart failure medications.  

CatheSure, a medical device startup from Clemson University, placed fourth and won $5,000. CatheSure is a pressure sensor that wirelessly detects a shunt malfunction in hydrocephalus patients in under five minutes. The device streamlines the diagnostic process and prevents unnecessary exploratory brain surgeries, prolonged hospital stays and repeated radiation exposure.   

The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation oversaw the competition, which was hosted by the Sam M. Walton College of Business. The competition received generous support from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.   

Additional sponsors for this year's competition include: 

• Presenting Sponsors: ArcBest and WhyteSpyder 

• Premier Sponsors: New Road Capital Partners and Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield in collaboration with ECHO Innovation Alliance.   

• Event Sponsors: Cadron Capital Partners, SymBiosis, 46 Venture Capital, Natural Capital and Affirma Consulting 

Other teams taking home prize money:  

• SomnOSA, one of three semifinalist teams from Johns Hopkins University, won first place in the Elevator Pitch competition and one of three Investor Roundtable events, to earn $6,000 overall. The team is working to improve treatment for sleep apnea and has created a neurostimulation device that prevents airway collapse during sleep. 

• UNCL, Co., short for Universal Network Controlled Lock, is an app-enabled security device that easily attaches to existing bike racks, allowing riders to secure and monitor their device without the need to carry a personal lock. UNCL was the only U of A team to win prize money at this year's contest, capturing $5,000 at the Startup Expo via an audience vote and finishing second in the Elevator Pitch to earn another $2,000. 

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.