The fourth cohort of Conductor’s 10X Growth Accelerator has launched, with businesses from around the state participating in the entrepreneurship program.

Fourteen companies have been selected to participate in the newest iteration of Conductor’s 10X Growth Accelerator. Partnering with both Metova and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Conductor runs the 14-week program, which consists of a “peer-driven entrepreneurship education curriculum,” along with coaching, support services and connections to a support network and capital sources.

“The fourth cohort represents a great variety of industries and sectors, which always leads to great conversations and great perspective. We’re looking forward to the value that will bring to this year’s cohort!,” Grace Rains, Conductor director of operations, told Arkansas Money & Politics.

In addition, five companies are participating in the augural associate program, which has been designed to provide resources for businesses that did not meet the requirements to participate in the accelerator but show potential to scale in growth.

“The Associate Program came out of a desire to innovate & provide as many resources as possible to businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.” Conductor Managing Director Jeff Standridge said in a statement. “Our team worked to take all of our assets to a digital platform and with the current business climate, we wanted to ensure these assets were available to other businesses well positioned to scale.”

To be eligible for the accelerator, companies are required to be Arkansas-based with average annual revenues between $100,000 and $10,000,000.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the accelerator program, forcing them to innovate and develop new strategies for the program. However, the organizers expect to deliver the same offerings as in previous cohort – just in virtual form.

“COVID-19 has changed a few things – we’ve gone virtual for this year’s cohort, but we’re bringing the same value, speakers, and content to the participants. We’re monitoring the situation and hope to transition to in person meetings,” Rains said. “Additionally, participants like Crystal Ridge Distillery have had to pivot during the COVID-19 crisis to provide differentiated services, which brings another angle to our discussion this year.”

“The constraints around the COVID-19 crisis also caused us to innovate and allowed us to provide the Associate cohort to companies that would normally be ineligible for the program. We’re streaming and recording the content, so this allowed us to provide a different program to those companies and tailor the support to the stage of their venture.”

The 14 companies chosen for the 10X Growth Accelerator include:

  • 360 Therapeutics
  • Amazing Grace Restoration Services
  • Boost Midwest
  • Crystal Bridge Distillery
  • Golf IQ
  • com
  • Infusion Marketing Group, LLC
  • iProv
  • MakerMade
  • Power Technology
  • Roadway Management Technologies
  • RX Results, LLC
  • Sentinel Manufacturing
  • Think Idea Studio

The five companies chosen for the associate program include:

  • 37 North Expeditions
  • Best Seller Bound
  • FemPAQ
  • Hook-n-Launch
  • My Lovely Day