Canoes

GORP kicks off 5th outdoor recreation incubator

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

The Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) has launched its spring startup incubator with eight Northwest Arkansas startups, including those that rent outdoor gear and make quivers, according to a Jan. 24 news release.

GORP is a business incubation program led by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (OEI) at the University of Arkansas. GORP is focused on helping outdoor recreation startups and is based at the Collaborative in Bentonville. GORP is supported by a $4.1 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

Semiannually, GORP has offered 12-week business incubators for early-stage outdoor recreation startups. The incubator offers workshop training, team mentoring and product and service development to help them scale. GORP provides up to $15,000 in non-dilutive seed money per startup. It’s money that doesn’t require the owner to give up equity in the company.

GORP kicks off 5th outdoor recreation incubator