Forty Under 40: Katie Thompson

Katie Thompson has helped Northwest Arkansas companies secure more than $17 million in federal funding since the launch of Science Venture Studio in 2020.

Over the years, she’s helped startups receive funding through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs of various federal agencies. The programs help startups and small businesses engage in research and development, with high commercialization potential.

The Walton Family Foundation has supported Science Venture Studio since its inception in 2020, when Thompson joined the organization as its leader.

Thompson is also a program manager with Little Rock-based nonprofit Winrock International.

In her existing role, she partners with ARise, Arkansas Research Alliance, and the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center to support founders. These partnerships allow Science Venture Studio to provide its services statewide.

Fayetteville is Thompson’s hometown, but she has roots in northeast Texas. She moved to Northwest Arkansas to attend the University of Arkansas. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in teaching in 2011 and 2012, respectively, before becoming a teacher at Harp Elementary School in Springdale. She spent four years as a teacher before starting her career helping entrepreneurs.

She founded Rooted Startups in 2018 to serve the region’s entrepreneurs and scaled her impact through leadership roles at Startup Junkie and Science Venture Studio.

As a volunteer project, she co-founded Surge Arkansas to help close the gap between companies, philanthropy, academia and government in navigating and securing federal funding. In her free time, Thompson enjoys trail running, camping and backpacking, and traveling.