Kate

Associate & Platform Manager at 46 Venture Capital 

Bachelor of Finance

Before joining 46VC, Kate worked at Wefunder, an equity crowdfunding platform, where she led their expansion to Northwest Arkansas and Tulsa. Prior to that, she was Venture Intern at Rejoicy, a Bentonville-based e-commerce startup.

“One thing I really loved about the Venture Intern Program and just Northwest Arkansas is the entrepreneurial community in general and how tight knit it was. I remember even during my internship I was able to connect with so many different founders and entrepreneurial support organizations. I met many of these people when I was an intern, and now I get to still see them at events and collaborate with them often. It was really great to start building that relationship so early.” 

“There's nothing better than learning by doing and the exposure that I was able to get working right alongside the cofounders of the  Rejoicy team was really awesome. I definitely learned how to take initiative and become more comfortable in these ambiguous environments. I learned how to pivot and fail quickly.” 

“I think you get out what you put into it. My biggest encouragement is just to really lean in and try to go to as many of the events as possible. Try to connect and build a deep relationship with the team that you're working with and your supervisor, but also take advantage of connecting with the others at your company and within Venture Intern Program. It was great to build that network early on as well. Other biggest thing is to be curious, ask good questions and take initiative.” 

Toma

Technical Product Manager at Ox

Bachelor of Computer Science

Originally from Japan, Toma came to US to study computer science and during his junior year he joined McMillon Innovation Studio followed by OEI Student Advisory Board.

“I would say entrepreneurship is about being comfortable with the unknowns. I found the problem I wanted to solve, and during senior year I started to work on my own entrepreneurial project. Initially I was doing the project by myself, and I invited other members to join the team, help further develop the idea, and prepare for pitch competitions. I didn’t know much about business plan or pitch competitions, but I received help from multiple OEI mentors who helped us identify the problem, navigate uncertainties, and prepare the pitch.”

Toma’s team won $10,000 in Small Business Division at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition.

“Every single thing that I did [during these programs], helped me form holistic view and understanding of design thinking and startups. As a product manager, we always have to think about the user persona, what do they do, what do they know, how do they struggle, what do they struggle with, what's the challenge and how do we solve that. At Ox, I realized, design thinking is huge in product management. Typically, people get a product manager position after advanced degrees, but I was able to get it right after graduation due to the many projects I worked at the Studio. I learned a lot from the Studio, like effectively working with teams, keeping everyone motivated, and building good relationships.”