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status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news"> <header class="entry-header "> <h1 class="entry-title">News & Announcements</h1> </header><!-- .entry-header --> <div class="container single-container"> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="post-thumbnail"> <img width="1200" height="600" src="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release.jpg" class="attachment- size- wp-post-image" alt="group of people standing behind a gong" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release.jpg 1200w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release-300x150.jpg 300w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release-768x384.jpg 768w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release-50x25.jpg 50w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/spark_cohort_press_release-500x250.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /> </div><!-- .post-thumbnail --> <p><strong>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. September 18, 2019</strong> – The Venture Center and the Little Rock Regional Chamber today announced the inaugural Spark! Pre-Accelerator cohort at a kickoff ceremony held at The Venture Center. Spark! is a pre-accelerator program offering free office space in The Venture Center, while providing mentorship and training to launch the cohort’s businesses to the next level of growth.</p> <p>The Inaugural Spark! companies are:</p> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="https://www.littlerockchamber.com/love-little-rock-blog/posts/2019/september/the-venture-center-little-rock-regional-chamber-and-local-businesses-kickoff-inaugural-spark-pre-accelerator/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read more</a></div> </div> <footer class="entry-footer default-max-width"> </footer><!-- .entry-footer --> </div><!-- .entry-content --> </div> </article><!-- #post-3369 --> <nav class="navigation post-navigation" aria-label="Posts"> <h2 class="screen-reader-text">Post navigation</h2> <div class="nav-links"><div class="nav-previous"><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/little-rock-regional-chambers-kristi-barr-named-2019-outstanding-economic-developer/" rel="prev"><span class="meta-nav"><i class="fas fa-arrow-alt-left"></i> Prev</span></a></div><div class="nav-next"><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/hms-mfg-co-chooses-little-rock-for-new-facility/" rel="next"><span class="meta-nav">Next <i class="fas fa-arrow-alt-right"></i></span></a></div></div> </nav> </main> <div class="site-footer-container"> <footer class="site-footer"> <ul class="site-footer__widgets"> <li><div id="acf_wp_widget-3" class="widget-container acf-wp-widget"><div class="acf-wp-widget__logo"><img width="178" height="169" src="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-6748.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="metro little rock arkansas logo" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-6748.png 178w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-6748-50x47.png 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px" /></div><!--acf-wp-widget__logo--></div></li><li><div id="acf_wp_widget-4" class="widget-container acf-wp-widget"><div class="acf-wp-widget__links"><ul><li><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/business-resources/">Doing Business</a></li><li><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/county-profiles/">County Profiles</a></li><li><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/industries/">Industries</a></li></ul></div><!--acf-wp-widget__links--></div></li><li><div id="acf_wp_widget-2" class="widget-container acf-wp-widget"><div class="acf-wp-widget__links"><ul><li><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/news/">News</a></li><li><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/about-metro-little-rock/">About Us</a></li><li><a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/contact-us/">Contact Us</a></li></ul></div><!--acf-wp-widget__links--></div></li> </ul><!--.site-footer__widgets--> <div class="contact_profile"> <div class="contact_profile__thumb"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jack-Thomas-300x300-1-150x150.jpg" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jack-Thomas-300x300-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jack-Thomas-300x300-1-50x50.jpg 50w, https://metrolittlerockalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jack-Thomas-300x300-1.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></div><div class="contact_profile__content"><h5>Jack Thomas</h5><p class="position">Vice President, Economic Development</p><p class="email"><a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#79130d111614180a3915100d0d151c0b161a121a1118141b1c0b571a1614"><span><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c8a2bca0a7a5a9bb88a4a1bcbca4adbaa7aba3aba0a9a5aaadbae6aba7a5">[email protected]</span></span><span class="mobile">Email Me</span></a></p><p class="phone"><a href="tel:501.377.6007"><span>501.377.6007</span><span class="mobile">Call Me</span></a></p></div></div> </footer> <div class="site-info"> <div class="col copyright_and_links"> <div class="copyright"> Copyright © 2025 <a href="https://metrolittlerockalliance.com" class="footer-site-name"> Metro Little Rock Alliance. <span>All Rights Reserved.</span> </a> </div> <div class="sub-footer-links"> <span> <a href="/privacy-policy" target="_self"> Privacy Policy </a> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script><script> (function(e){ var el = document.createElement('script'); 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