Four individuals have been selected to participate in the latest cohort of FLIPspace, a program designed to empower innovators through deep venture development support and guided by industry-leading experts and mentors. The participants are developing a catalytic vision for their innovations, which represent a range of disciplines from enterprise sales to medical data and beyond, each with a focus on artificial intelligence.
The program aims to build capacity and deepen connections within Arkansas’ regional innovation ecosystem, with a focus on venture creation. At the May 29 kick-off in Bentonville, Arkansas, at Highway Ventures’ headquarters, participants met their colleagues in person, began their customer discovery training, and connected with and learned from the FLIPSpace 2.0 cohort, who were celebrating the completion of their program. The group will continue to meet weekly in 90-minute sessions over the next three months, receiving tailored support along the way from industry-leading mentors and advisors.
“This cohort represents a compelling evolution of the FLIPSpace program and our work in connecting founders to transformative venture development,” said Katie Dzugan, VentureWell senior program officer. “We’re supporting scalable innovation rooted in customer discovery, while creating pathways for founders to discover what the innovation ecosystem of Northwest Arkansas has to offer.”
FLIPspace is made possible through the support and dedication of partners, including the Walton Family Foundation and Highway Ventures. These organizations are committed to empowering Arkansas’ role in supporting the next generation of problem-solvers, providing valuable resources, guidance, and expertise to help each selected team develop solutions with realized impact.
Meet the Innovators
Bardia Saeedi
Building on a career scaling venture-backed software startups combined with experience as a visual artist, Saeedi is working to bridge the gap between ideation and execution through an AI-powered collaboration platform tailored for creatives and enterprises. His vision is to transform the future of work by leveraging artificial intelligence to solve real-world problems and streamline the evolving gig economy, generating sustainable value for all stakeholders as they navigate the transition into an AI-integrated labor market.
Graham Theisen
Theisen is developing inCycle AI to automate the high-stakes IVF coordination process, leveraging over a decade of expertise as a reproductive endocrinologist and a proven ability to build custom clinical software. Motivated by the chronic burnout he witnessed among frontline nursing staff, he has designed an AI-powered engine that instantly transforms complex physician notes into structured, dynamic cycle calendars. His long-term vision is to provide independent clinics with a sophisticated operational backbone that enhances patient safety and ensures they remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented healthcare landscape.
Walter Alejandro Sarmiento and Siddarth Suresh
Sarmiento and Suresh are exploring multiple venture ideas, one of which is Hyde, an AI enterprise sales tool. Building on their experience scaling peer-to-peer platforms, they designed this tool to solve the timing failures and delayed insights that can derail high-stakes enterprise deals. They are working to innovate the category of sales counterparty intelligence, utilizing AI to analyze buyer-side shifts and stakeholder movements that traditional customer relationship management (CRM) tools may miss.
We congratulate the selected innovators and look forward to seeing their continued success in the program in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for more updates, and stay informed about VentureWell’s expanded offerings and opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs by joining our mailing list.
