2020 Arkansas Capital Scan
Case study
In 2020, the University of Arkansas’ Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship envisioned a new project to expand the capital inflows and performance of venture investment in the state of Arkansas. Based on an ongoing research project done by the University of Oregon, this project aimed to create and maintain a view of the landscape of capital resources in an effort to identify gaps and opportunities at the state level, while illuminating gaps where additional private funds could be deployed to help entrepreneurs connect to capital sources.
After five months of planning and data collection, the University of Arkansas contracted GRAY Ink to support data analysis and lead technical writing for the first Arkansas Capital Scan. The Capital Scan team identified policymakers and stakeholders with influence in policy and programming as the primary audience for the report, followed by entrepreneurs, investors, and organizations supporting entrepreneurs throughout the state as the secondary audience.
Given that it was the first year for the report and in consideration of the goal audience, GRAY Ink proposed:
drafting sections introducing the basics of each type of capital to contextualize the analysis for readers not experienced in investing;
collecting data on demographics (race and gender) and integrate race and gender analysis into the report and provide a full picture on the gaps and opportunities;
build case studies to give real world examples on how businesses capture and utilize capital to grow in Arkansas.
As a part of this scope of work, GRAY Ink collected and analyzed data on:
Arkansas economic indicators;
race and gender distribution of equity, debt, and non-dilutive investments;
comparative distributions of equity, debt, and non-dilutive investments by region and industry;
COVID-specific investments, including the Paycheck Payment Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
We also lead the technical writing and data visualization of the report and its revisions. The end report was 86 pages and provided a strong foundation for local foundations and government offices to assess needed programs to advance capital investment in companies headquartered in Arkansas.
