Right to Start Launches Entrepreneurship Initiative in Northwest Arkansas

Funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the initiative will advance entrepreneurship as a community priority and create a model for the nation

Right to Start announced today that it has launched an initiative in Northwest Arkansas to advance entrepreneurship as a community priority. Its goal is to engage underserved communities and build an inclusive regional environment that supports new businesses, which create virtually all job growth in America.

The initiative is part of a national nonpartisan movement led by Kansas City-based nonprofit Right to Start to advance entrepreneurial opportunity as a priority by engaging the public, removing barriers, and supporting community assets. Right to Start currently has activities on the ground in 15 states, including Arkansas.

Right to Start’s Chief Operating Officer, Kim Lane, is based in Conway, AR. She was previously named one of the world’s top “Startup Champions” by the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

In Northwest Arkansas, Right to Start is collaborating with the Northwest Arkansas Council and the City of Fayetteville’s Economic Recovery and Vitality Plan Steering Committee. Right to Start plans to expand collaborations with local organizations to increase entrepreneurial opportunity.

In that context, Right to Start has engaged three local advocates who are members of diverse communities that have historically been underrepresented in the region’s startup space. The advocates will talk with diverse business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and business and civic leaders to understand their challenges and opportunities. They will help small businesses in the region access key relationships, build trusted connections, and collaborate to strengthen their communities.

What the advocates learn will then be aggregated and brought to the attention of policymakers at the local, state, and national levels – connecting the grassroots and the grasstops to ensure that diverse entrepreneurs’ voices are being heard. Those learnings will illuminate the needs and potential of entrepreneurs in Northwest Arkansas and serve as the basis for removing existing barriers that stand in the way of economic opportunity and job growth.

The initiative is funded by the Walton Family Foundation to enhance inclusive entrepreneurship and create a model in Northwest Arkansas that, once implemented, can be replicated elsewhere. For too long, entrepreneurship has been seen as a solitary endeavor – the small business starter working on his or her own – rather than as a community priority, which can extend economic opportunity broadly to communities that have too often been disconnected from job growth.

Right to Start’s three local advocates will support the initiative on a part-time basis, while remaining immersed in their existing community involvements. Daymara Baker, lead advocate, has more than 20 years’ experience in marketing for a Fortune 1000 company. Born in Venezuela, she lives in Fayetteville, where she runs her own social enterprise, Rockin’ Baker, training and employing young adults on the autism spectrum while producing high-quality artisan breads for leading hospitality groups and restaurants in Northwest Arkansas. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, where she also earned an MBA, magna cum laude, Daymara co-founded the Community Creative Center in Fayetteville.

Christopher Jacob and Irma Chavez are the other two advocates. Chris was born and raised in the Marshall Islands, before moving to Hawaii in 1987 for high school and later to Arkansas to attend the University of Arkansas. He has served as a community liaison for the Marshallese people ever since, interpreting and translating documents for educational and medical institutions and for legal and other firms in Arkansas and beyond. He now lives in Fayetteville and works for the Rogers Public Schools as the Marshallese Liaison.

Irma Chavez was born in El Salvador, moved to Los Angeles as an 18-year-old, and moved to Northwest Arkansas 12 years ago. In 2016, she founded Conexión de Negocios Latinos (CNL), a networking group that supports, promotes, educates, and connects Latino businesses in Northwest Arkansas, linking them to needed resources. She lives in Springdale and continues to lead CNL.

“Right to Start is excited to have these three talented individuals implementing this initiative in Northwest Arkansas,” said Victor Hwang, Founder and CEO of Right to Start. “They have longstanding experience addressing the needs of new businesses in the area and bring on-the-ground expertise that enables this initiative to be immediately connected to local communities.”

Advancing entrepreneurship nationwide is vital, as the nation was in a “startup slump” before the COVID-19 pandemic struck – with new business creation having fallen overall to its lowest rate in more than 40 years. On top of that, the pandemic has caused tremendous disruption to entrepreneurs, and at least 400,000 small businesses have closed permanently.

Expanding entrepreneurship leads to more jobs, greater productivity, wealthier communities, and broadly shared prosperity. New businesses are leading indicators of GDP growth. People who start businesses earn higher lifetime incomes. More businesses correlate to higher average incomes in communities. More new businesses starting correlates with lower income inequality.