U of A Startups Altaris MedTech, Bubby Band Earn More Than $40,000 at Arkansas Governor's Cup

U of A startups earned more than $40,000 at the 25th annual Arkansas Governor's Cup, a startup competition open to students in seven states across the mid-south with a $141,000 cash prize pool.

Altaris MedTech, which is developing a spray-based strep test that eliminates the need for traditional throat swabs, earned first place in the High Growth/Technology Graduate division to take home $20,000.

The company, which was formed by Joey Hobbs and Lance Lockwood, has seen success on the competition circuit, winning the 2025 SEC Pitch Competition and the Servin' the South Business Model Competition. The team finished fourth at the 2026 Rice Business Plan Competition.

Bubby Band, which aims to prevent toddler drownings through its "invisible rope" between parent and child, finished in second in the same division, earning $10,000. The startup also earned an additional $1,000 by winning the elevator pitch for their division.

Tomonari, who made the team's elevator pitch, said he was "incredibly happy to bring a win back" to U of A, Bubby Bands mentors and everyone who supported them.

"It feels great to validate all the hard work the entire team has put into this," he added.

Tomonari said Bubby Band is working hard on more protypes, conducting further user testing and finalizing its initial build.

The graduate teams emerged from the New Venture Development sequence of courses. The two-semester sequence is available to graduate students seeking certification in entrepreneurship. The courses are led by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is a division of the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

New Venture Development helps students develop the knowledge and skills to bring new innovations to society. Some teams launch their businesses directly from the class, while others apply the tools learned to work for startups, take greater roles in established companies or found nonprofits.

Print Ease, a company formed by Jude Crowson to allow users to print wirelessly via traditionally wired printers, finished second in the High Growth/Technology Undergraduate division, earning $10,000.

Crowson, a finance and real estate student, said the competition validated his hard work and put into practice what he learned in school.

"It also allows me to network with people way smarter than me," Crowson said.

Since 2001, the Governor's Cup has impacted more than 3,000 Arkansas college and university students.

The competition recently expanded to include graduate student teams outside of Arkansas, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

The final round, held April 14-15 in Little Rock at the Statehouse Convention Center, featured 18 teams from four states. The U of A led among all institutions in the final round with four teams.

Phil Shellhammer, OEI's executive director, called this year's event a "pretty good day" for NVD, the Walton College and the U of A. Shellhammer co-teaches the NVD course sequence alongside David Hinton, U of A's associate vice chancellor for research and innovation and executive director of Technology Ventures.

"David and I are so proud of the work these teams have done this year, and the payoff of these wins definitely makes it worthwhile," Shellhammer said.

"Everyone at (OEI) is excited to keep supporting these founders as they graduate out of NVD and launch these businesses into the market."

The Winning Teams

Altaris MedTech

• First place, High-Growth/Technology Division-Graduate Track: $20,000

• ​Mission: 
  • Developing a painless, non-invasive Strep A diagnostic experience designed to eliminate the most dreaded part of sore-throat care: the swab.

• Members:
  • ​Joey Hobbs, Master of Science in biomedical engineering; Lance Lockwood, Executive Master of Business Administration

BubbyBand

• Second place, High-Growth/Technology Division-Graduate Track: $10,000

• ​Mission: 
  • Prevent toddler drownings through a wearable system that creates an "invisible rope" between parent and child. Bubby Band uniquely empowers parents to let toddlers explore freely while staying safe and close.

• Members:
  • ​Trent McKenzie, Master of Science in product innovation; Benton Moss, Master of Science in product innovation; Sayer Koduah - Master of Science and Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship; Sayer Koduah - Master of Science in human environmental sciences and Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship; Toma Tomonari, Master of Science in product innovation.

Print Ease

• Second place, High-Growth/Technology Division-Undergraduate Track: $10,000
• Mission:
  • Print Ease creates wireless adapters for wired legacy printers, allowing users to print wirelessly via traditionally wired printers.
• Member:
  • Jude Crowson, finance and real estate

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, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.