Leap is a growing community of current and aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators who are driven to bring their ideas to life.
What Is The Leap Program?
Leap supports individuals taking a leap of faith on themselves –
whether into entrepreneurship or their highest aspirations – by providing
education, unique networking opportunities, and a supportive space to
pressure test ideas and concepts in a collaborative way.
Leap is a six-month program that incorporates elements of authentic
relating experiences and entrepreneurial education each month.
Key Benefits
Educational Sessions
with Studio Team
Authentic Relationship-
Building Activities
Mentorship & Peer
Accountability
Connection to Local
Resources
Prerequisite to Fieldbook’s Founder-In-Residence program
How The Leap Program Works
With a focus on collaboration, as well as personal and professional growth, Leap members work together in bi-weekly sessions that take participants through Fieldbook Studio’s concept-to-launch model.
1. Founder Fitness
- Explore all the dimensions of being a founder: social, emotional, financial, physical, and intellectual.
- Build a solid foundation for well-being being a founder can be brutal.
- Personal growth orientation and goal setting.
- Experience authentic relating and accountability: peers asking the right questions (without judgment) to get to measurable goals.
2. Founder-Market Fit
- Pursue your passions/interests and evaluate your expertise in your chosen field.
- Identify and conduct research on specific markets.
- Learn about “Product-Market Fit” (and if you’re a fit for that product or market).
- Discuss avenues for building the product and testing the MVP.
- Think critically about startup culture and values for team building.
3. Preparing To Launch Your Idea
- Better understand Fieldbook Studio’s process (i.e. the venture studio model).
- Develop expertise in product testing with a focus on product validation, user research and building product from zero-to-one.
- Gain exposure to the NWA entrepreneurship ecosystem and local programs.
- Acquire knowledge in startup fundraising and venture deals.
What Leap Cohort members are saying they loved…
Frequently Asked Questions
Leap will meet in person bi-weekly from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m on Fridays. Sessions will take place at the Ledger in downtown Bentonville with lunch provided.
The Leap program is completely free of charge for cohort members.
Yes! Fieldbook Studio’s thesis is retail value-chain related, but we are looking for members with a variety of industry backgrounds. We believe the most important thing is having a shared life experience with challenges that many entrepreneurs face and curiosity around different ways to approach problem solving in your area of interest.
We are setting the expectation for committed engagement - where all Leap members agree to prioritizing in-person attendance and missing no more than two out of twelve sessions. If you do have to miss - we get it! Life happens and there are certainly other things (like family) you may have to prioritize.
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely experience - we believe in-person connection is vital to building trust and accelerating learning. Our connection time is set aside to build friendships, share ideas, build emotional intelligence, and provide encouragement to each other as peers.
In our time launching startups, we have found that the educational information available to entrepreneurs can lack depth on certain topics and neglect other crucial topics completely. Our educational content is driven by subject matter expert presentations and peer-to-peer learning.
Leap is designed for ambitious, critical thinkers. It’s made up of individuals with a wide variety of life stages and industry backgrounds. This program might be right for you if you are:
- Currently an early-stage startup founder or business owner
- A recently serial entrepreneur considering what’s next
- Leading innovative corporate teams
Seeking to tap into the Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem
“We are not currently accepting applications at this time.
Email Kathryn Carlisle directly at kathryn@fieldbook.studio.