Fundraising Fox
The Venture Center
AcceleratorLittle Rock · Pre-Seed–Growth · 19 people tracked
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Investment thesis
The Venture Center is a 501(c)(3) entrepreneur support organization focused on driving social and economic change in Arkansas and beyond. It helps early-stage startups become viable, high-growth businesses by combining a network of mentors and industry experts, intensive educational programming, and introductions to the investor community. The organization emphasizes three pillars: educating founders through workshops and seminars, fostering collaboration across universities, government economic development bodies, and corporate partners, and running immersive corporate accelerator programs such as the FIS Fintech Accelerator. These programs connect growth-stage companies with C-suite executives and help large enterprises innovate while advancing go-to-market strategies.
Source: firm website, verified Oct 25, 2026.
Team · 19 people
from the firm's website
CEO of Watch House International.
Chad Brown is Managing Partner at Venture Center Arkansas Fund, where he invests in early-stage and growth businesses based in Arkansas. His investment focus includes B2B services, digital transformation, enterprise software, IT services, and telecommunications.
Executive in Residence affiliated with FIS.
Daniel Schutte is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at The Venture Center, where he collaborates with corporations and government entities on large-scale initiatives and leads accelerator programs for startups. His background includes founding and exiting multiple companies in music advocacy and early-stage fintech, as well as managing operations and teams across various sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology from Cleveland State University and an MBA from the University of Southern Indiana.
CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Executive Vice President of Business Development at PrivacyStar.
President and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Circumference Group.
Josh Nguyen is a Program Manager at The Venture Center who works with small businesses and the entrepreneurship ecosystem. He has interests in photography and martial arts.
Lindsey LaBarba is Director of Marketing at The Venture Center. She has marketing experience in the food and beverage industry, with skills in sales, event management, and social media. She holds a marketing degree from the University of Mississippi.
Michelle Royal serves as Membership Engagement Manager at The Venture Center and works as a fractional AI operating partner advising organizations on AI adoption, operational strategy, and business growth. With over 20 years of experience across startup, nonprofit, healthcare, corporate, and public-sector environments, she has founded companies, led innovation initiatives, designed programs, and supported entrepreneurial ecosystems. Her work focuses on operational excellence, community building, service design, and helping organizations implement technology and process improvements while maintaining human-centered approaches.
Executive in Residence affiliated with FIS.
President of Stone Ward.
Philanthropist and retired CEO of Deltic Timber Corp.
Viktoria Capek is co-founder and executive director of Hairpins, a queer-led events and programming platform that produces pop-up nightlife, public programs, and cultural gatherings for lesbian, queer, and gender-diverse communities. She also serves as communications and community engagement manager at The Venture Center, where she develops storytelling, media, and program strategy for entrepreneurship and economic development initiatives.
What they invest in
from 2 of 2 portfolio companiesFintech ×2SaaS ×1
HQs:Nigeria×1United States×1
Portfolio companies · 2 tracked
alumni founders can tell you what the program is really like
Flutterwave builds payments infrastructure, technology, and tools for businesses and banks to make and accept payments across Africa.
FintechLagos, NG
Adeleke Adekoya(Founder)inOlugbenga GB Agboola(Founder)inIyinoluwa Aboyeji(Managing Director)inOlugbenga Agboola(Founder)inWill Szczerbiak(Director)Joseph Saunders(Director)
Co-investorsGlynn Capital ManagementGreycroftOmidyar Network4DX VenturesAAF Management Ltd.Accelerate Africa+54 more
Gas Pos provides a cloud-based point-of-sale system designed for gas stations and truck stops that replaces expensive legacy hardware with affordable software-based alternatives.
FintechSaaSLittle Rock, US
Joshua Smith(Founder)inNannette Smith(Founder)inGuillermo MartinezCameron Hogan(Chief Legal Officer)
Co-investors500 GlobalPioneerY CombinatorCoyote VenturesManiv MobilityMerus Capital
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Flutterwave · disruptafrica.com · Jul 19, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does The Venture Center invest at?
- The Venture Center invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Growth stages.
- What sectors does The Venture Center focus on?
- The Venture Center focuses on Cleantech, Cybersecurity, Fintech.
- Where is The Venture Center located?
- The Venture Center is headquartered in Little Rock, US.
- Does The Venture Center lead rounds?
- The Venture Center typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
From the blog
visit blog ↗Recent posts cover The Venture Center's Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA) third cohort—its launch and Demo Day featuring battery-supply-chain startups—and the 10th annual JOLT Cyber Challenge focused on AI-driven cybersecurity risks. AI summary
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