Risk Taker: U of A Alumna Shares Startup Journey

Intrigued by the startup scene percolating in Northwest Arkansas, Bhavya Patel uprooted her life and switched career paths in 2019 when she moved from Little Rock to Fayetteville.

Patel had been studying biology at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and kept hearing good things about the startup culture and ecosystem in NWA when she decided to make the leap to U of A during her junior year.

“I realized that I’m good at (biology), but this is not what I want to do long term,” Patel said. “I had a really great interest in business, and I wanted to be connected to this space.”

Patel got involved with U of A’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which helped embed her in several programs to kickstart her innovation journey. She soon joined the McMillon Innovation Studio, U of A’s campus innovation space, serving as a project lead for how to better address mental health challenges for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“McMillon taught me a lot about empathy, … being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes and learn about their problems, their pain points, then solve problems based on that,” Patel said.

Patel also took advantage of the office’s Venture Internship Program. Serving nearly 300 students since launching in 2020, the internship program pairs undergraduate students with early-stage ventures, entrepreneurship support organizations, regional accelerator programs and investor networks across Northwest Arkansas for a semester.

Patel interned with U of A’s Technology Ventures, which helps faculty and research scientists commercialize their research. Patel was tasked with analyzing the competitive landscape of innovations disclosed to the office to evaluate the current market and develop business cases.

“Bhavya also helped our office by formalizing standard operating procedures for using intellectual property intelligence software,” said David Hinton, executive director of Technology Ventures. “Bhavya is bright, inquisitive and a problem solver.”

From Student to Founder

After graduating in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on small business and entrepreneurship, Patel enrolled in OEI’s graduate programs, which introduced her to New Venture Development.

Also known as NVD, the intensive, incubator-like course sequence helps students develop the knowledge and skills to bring new innovations to society — whether by creating their own company, working for a startup, taking a greater role in an established company or founding a non-profit.

Once embedded in NVD, Patel and two other classmates, Joshua Upshaw and Lauren Fitzgerald, formed a team to tackle challenges in oncology care. The challenges, presented by HealthTech Arkansas, emerged from the Northwest Arkansas BioDesign Sprints program, which was launched by OEI to cultivate collaboration between the U of A and local hospitals. The NWA Arkansas BioDesign Sprints program seeks to create new solutions to bring to the marketplace.

That led to them co-founding a healthcare startup, Hidalga Technologies, which is revolutionizing oncology care by offering a software solution built on proprietary algorithms to streamline the prior authorization process. Hidalga’s solution aims to reduce administrative time up to 50 percent and increase patient throughput by 30 percent, in turn minimizing treatment delays and enhancing patient outcomes.

Patel said the resources provided by OEI, from NVD programming to Mentor Weekend, were “so crucial, so impactful” to Hidalga’s launch.

Also through NVD, the team was able to participate and secure funding through several local and international competitions, including the Arkansas Governor’s Cup, OEI’s Heartland Challenge and the Stu Clark New Venture Championship.

Hidalga has grown significantly since its launch and is in the fundraising stage. They’re in the process of prototype testing with Highlands Oncology.

“We’re all super passionate about growing this company and making an impact in the oncology space,” Patel said. “We’re going to take it to the next level.”

A Supportive Ecosystem

Some of Patel’s inspiration to switch career paths came from her parents. Her father was an entrepreneur in India, starting a business from the ground up. And her mother encouraged her to chase her dreams.

“They’re super supportive,” Patel said. “I think at the end of the day, they want me to be happy with what I do, and they clearly saw that I had this passion for business.”

Patel said similar support permeating the NWA startup ecosystem fueled her drive.

“Meeting people in this space who kept my interest going and kept on motivating me, believing in me — I think that was so important.”

Deb Williams, OEI’s senior director of student programs and operations, saw Patel’s journey up close — practically from the start – and said she was “incredibly proud” to have worked with her. She said Patel’s achievements reflect her strong character and the skillset she developed at the U of A.

“Most students aim to secure a great job upon graduation, and Bhavya achieved this by becoming an associate client manager at NielsenIQ. However, very few can also say they are the co-founder of their own company, as Bhavya is with Hidalga Technologies,” Williams said.

“Her active engagement in OEI programs was instrumental in providing her with the practical knowledge and experience necessary to thrive in both corporate and startup environments.”

And five years after she embarked on her entrepreneurial journey, Patel is confident she made the right choice.

“One hundred percent,” Patel said. “I really wanted to take the risk. I love what I do. Absolutely, absolutely love it. I took a risk, and I’m going to continue taking the risk.”