Before graduating in spring 2022, Brady Collard, Colby Richardson, Kevin Gamboa and Abigail Tzunún created the Rover Mobile Tree Stands and Hunting Equipment project for the Innovation Launch Lab class. The project was entered for competition, and the group won first place in the small business division at the 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Cup.
After a lot of support and encouragement from family, faculty and friends, Collard and Richardson decided to turn this school project into something much bigger and founded the Rover Hunting Equipment Company. This fall, they were one of eight startups selected for the University of Arkansas Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) to support with training, mentoring and financial funding.
GORP is a business incubator focused on outdoor recreation companies and one of three community-facing business incubation programs led by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (OEI) housed at The Collaborative, according to a University of Arkansas press release.
The 12-week program provides workshop training, team mentoring and up to $15,000 in “non-dilutive seed funding” per company – funding that doesn’t require the owner to give up equity in the company.
In an interview with Richardson, he shared that he and Collard will be working toward the big goal of developing a functional prototype design so they can test and patent their startup’s design and be able to start this business successfully. Alongside the creation of this startup, their primary purpose is to provide an all-in-one mobile tree stand system that takes hunters from carry-on to harvest. This startup brings innovation to the table for hunters, who had not been offered a different design for mobile tree stands in the last 20 years.
Richardson said, “It has been a new experience to juggle full-time jobs and this new business, but overall, it has been rewarding for me and Brady to see how far we have come.” He is currently living in Northwest Arkansas while Collard resides in Texas, so it takes a lot of continued effort and trying to be in a consistent pattern of pursuing this dream together by working remotely. Collard and Richardson are currently hiring an intern for the new stage the company is about to begin.
Although their teammates Gamboa and Tzunún, are not involved in this startup, they are still good friends. The co-founders attempt to meet once a month to share their progress with their former teammates. “I hope we can make them proud,” said Richardson.
Richardson affirms that he and Collard are excited and passionate about this great opportunity, and they have very high expectations about what the future holds for them as they begin this journey in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Photos courtesy of Brandon Howard