The Innovation Hub

What do innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and Saline County all have in common? As of late, it’s quite a bit. Thanks to the Innovation Hub in North Little Rock, all Arkansas residents with big ideas have a place to go to receive support and mentoring. And if things continue to go as planned, one day soon there may be a satellite Innovation Hub located right here in Saline County.

Warwick Sabin is the Executive Director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, and shares the purpose of the organization and where they are in their growth plan. “The purpose of the Innovation Hub is to support enterprise development and talent development in Arkansas, which is the key to growing our economy. We currently have a 20,000 square-foot Innovation Center in downtown North Little Rock where we have aggregated a wide array of resources to assist people with anything they may need, including access to equipment and technology for prototyping new products, expert advice and consulting, as well as education and skills training.”

Warwick points out that the Hub “Serves people of all ages, and can accommodate any interest or need. The Innovation Hub offers extensive education opportunities for young people through our school field trips, after-school programs, summer camps, and other events, and we even offer professional development for teachers. Adults can also take classes or become members of the Innovation Hub, which entitles them to full access to our equipment and expertise. If you simply have an idea for a product or business, we can help you bring it to fruition.”

When asked about the growth of the Hub to other areas of the state, Warwick says “The Innovation Hub already has programming and facilities available through our Innovation Center in downtown North Little Rock, and we are working with other communities in Central Arkansas and around the state to develop a network of affiliate locations with similar resources.”

Terry Benham works for Impact Management Group and is a Saline County resident who is working hard to bring a satellite hub to Benton. Terry shares, “I began working on this over a year ago with those on the Economic Development Committee with the Benton Chamber of Commerce. We have had conceptual discussions about a satellite hub and I believe we all agree it’s something we need to pursue. Over the next few months we will continue to build support within the business community and try to define a specific role where our hub can provide the basic needs of entrepreneurs and the Saline County community.”

To bring an idea like this to life, it takes a lot of people working together on a lot of fronts. According to Terry, the tasks that lie ahead of them are big ones, but progress is being made. He shares, “Right now, we have done a good job of quietly building support and have about 20% of the start-up budget committed with another 40% in discussion. That’s way ahead of where I thought we would be at this time. We don’t have a location selected but we are in the process of analyzing what makes sense. Obviously, finding the right person to lead the effort is a big deal too.”

When asked about the purpose of a Saline County hub, Terry says “Our mission is to unlock innovation and break down the barriers to good ideas that never go anywhere. There are millions of creative and innovative solutions out there that have no knowledge on how to get that idea to market. The mission of the hub is to help those ideas become tangible and marketable.”

As for the benefits, Terry shares “Entrepreneurship is the key to growth. Everyone knows that small businesses are the backbone of our entire economy. How many people in Saline County have a great idea but don’t have a clue how to make it, fund it, or take it to market? What if they could collaborate with engineers that don’t have a good idea but know how to build things? What if they could collaborate with people that know how to raise venture capital and work with them to build a solid business plan? What if that idea was a big success and it created 50 jobs in Saline County?”

“The thing about innovation is it needs a place to find opportunity. Saline County is a great place to raise your family but it’s also a great place to raise ideas. It’s time we started doing that,” says Terry. It looks like Saline County is well on its way to doing just that.