Arkansas

FR8relay

Location: Bentonville, Arkansas
Website: https://www.fr8relay.com/
20,000 shipments processed annually

As a graduate student, Aayush Thakur was analyzing billions of trucking industry data points when he noticed puzzling clusters of trucks idling for up to 24 hours. He learned that truckers often get stuck due to driving time regulations, or they have to wait for a load to avoid returning with an empty trailer. This not only delays essential cargo and wastes fuel, it keeps drivers on the road longer. “Everything we use touches trucks, and the people doing all this hard work are spending time away from their loved ones,” Aayush notes. Determined to fix this, he patented his algorithms and with his wife and COO, Deme Yuan, founded FR8relay. The company’s software facilitates a relay model for brokers, so they can divide long routes into shorter segments, allowing drivers to swap trailers and return home daily. This reduces downtime by 20–30 percent. Today, the AI-powered platform optimizes nearly 20,000 loads annually through a partnership with a logistics broker.

FR8relay hosts their entire system on Google Cloud, turning raw data like shipping bids and locations into actionable logistics. Their proprietary Vertex AI agents analyze the data; instead of manual entry or running reports, users can simply ask a chat interface, “What was the rate on this route three months ago?” to get instant context and compare options in a single dashboard. And truckers can upload photos and documents directly to Cloud storage to speed up invoicing. Gemini parses brokers’ 3,000 daily emails, instantly summarizing complex rate quotes into clear bullet points and drafting replies that help keep deals moving. The company is testing a machine-learning tool that predicts delays by analyzing traffic and weather patterns. “Our goal is to make driving a day job,” Aayush says, “getting cargo where it needs to go faster and giving American truckers more time with their families.”

James & James Furniture

Location: Springdale, Arkansas
Website: https://carpenterjames.com/
70 employees

James & James Furniture is “a quintessential entrepreneurial story,” says CEO Jim Pike, who joined the company in 2023. The founders made their first coffee table in an Arkansas garage in 2011. By 2020, they had a showroom in Springdale, and were doing web sales of handmade, hand-finished furniture, made from solid American hardwoods. A rapid burst of pandemic-era growth led the company to reassess their strategies, Jim recounts: “The organization needed to build into that growth to maintain lead times, quality, operational effectiveness, and our customer promise. We wanted to make sure the foundation was built before we put the walls and roof on.” James & James now employs 70 people and stays true to the founders’ original spirit. “The authenticity of U.S. craftsmanship and U.S. hardwoods is at the core of what we offer,” says Jim.

CMO Tristan Cameron says their Google Business Profile helps guide prospective customers to their showroom, and also drives traffic to the website. She adds, “It does a lot for us in the e-commerce space.” Google Ads makes up 50 percent or more of their ad spend in an average month, she says. The team has been testing a blend of search ads and product-focused campaigns, and they use Performance Max campaigns to optimize their marketing mix. Since a furniture purchase is rarely spontaneous, they use Google Analytics to drill down into return user traffic patterns. “It's a long decision-making process,” Tristan explains. “It's been interesting to analyze traffic patterns and find out how often people return before a conversion happens.” James & James plans to source more hardwood from the nearby Ozark Mountains in 2025. “Our impact in Arkansas will continue to grow,” Jim says. He adds that the work really resonates with their craftspeople: “There’s a lot of pride in creating something beautiful that will be in the center of someone’s home.”

Duncan & Stone Paper Co.

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Website: https://www.duncanandstone.com/
$100K+ ad revenue in 2023

In just a few short years, family friends Stephanie and Garrett Peters and Sarah and Garland Autry grew a side hustle into a booming business–and helped thousands of families save their memories. Stephanie and Sarah were co-workers turned stay-at-home moms in Fayetteville, Arkansas, raising their young kids in tandem. Over play dates, they agreed that the pregnancy journals on the market hadn’t resonated with them. Sarah, an artist, was already selling invitations online, and Stephanie had ideas for how to take things to the next level. In 2020, they teamed up with their husbands to launch Duncan & Stone Paper Co., the stationery and keepsake journal brand that helps people record their own precious memories.

When the pandemic hit a few months later, people had more time at home to work on baby books and journals, leading to an unexpected spike in sales. Suddenly, all four were working nights and weekends, fulfilling orders from a pallet-stuffed garage. “It was complete shenanigans,” says Garrett, who soon left his day job to focus on Duncan & Stone full time. With help from Google Ads and Google Analytics, they discovered people from around the world coming to their website and searching for specific types of products. “We're constantly using the customer feedback we get to expand our business, and most of that traffic comes through Google,” Garrett says. Last year alone, Duncan & Stone had over 3.8 million Google Ads impressions. They have expanded their offerings from five items to 38 and now sell millions of dollars in products each year. “Our Google Ads outperform every other channel. The longer we sell online, the better the insights get and the more intentional we can get to reach the audiences we want,” Garrett says. “That allows us to see where our audience and customers are at, and helps us as we look at international expansion.”

Float Eureka

Location: Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Website: https://floateurekasprings.com/
30% YoY increase in online bookings

Max Deitchler and Rachel Spencer grew up on the water–floating, kayaking, and swimming. Eager to share the peace and perspective they got from the outdoors, they often lent friends the boats and gear needed to float on the lakes and rivers around Eureka Springs. To get even more people onto the water, they decided to turn their passion into a bona fide business and opened Float Eureka. “Being on a river float trip is one of the most fulfilling, stress-relieving, happy, fun times that someone can have. We get to share that with thousands of people and help them connect with nature,” Max says. Today, Float Eureka operates dozens of boats, shuttle buses, and trailers while serving over 2,000 customers per season, taking them on canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boarding trips throughout the Ozarks. From the beginning, Max and Rachel have trusted Google tools to help them manage their business.

Their Google Business Profile shares their hours, directions, and photos of their retail storefront and water adventures with anyone searching for family fun in Eureka Springs. The profile now features over 100 reviews from satisfied customers. “For a small business like Float Eureka, Google Reviews are critical to attracting and encouraging tourists to check us out,” Rachel says. Cloud-based Google Workspace tools like Sheets and Docs help Max and Rachel stay on the same page by letting them update rosters and inventory lists on the fly, whether they’re in the office or out on the water. And the suggestions they get from using Google Ads help them make the most of every marketing dollar by reaching customers searching for keywords related to trip planning for Eureka Springs. As they look to the future, Max and Rachel plan to expand their in-store gear and online retail to stay busy in the offseason–and Google tools will be right there to help them weather the ebbs and flows.

White River Hardwoods

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Website: https://whiteriver.com/
Double-digit YoY growth

When Joan and Bruce Johnson got into the Arkansas hardwood business in 1977, they never imagined a future with major international resort clients. Their family-owned business was supplying lumber for the southwest construction boom when they discovered a budding market for ornate mouldings. “Mouldings at that time weren’t very important, and we just started running them and decided to make them important,” says Joan, founder and president of White River Hardwoods. “We didn’t have computer aided drafting, so I would draw every profile by hand.” The combination of Joan’s steady drawing hand and sharp business mind turned White River into a national distributor of mouldings in just five years. As the internet arrived, they bought the domain Mouldings.com for consumer sales and added their own WhiteRiver.com as a B2B site. In today’s world of online shopping, the two sites act more like an omnichannel. “We were selling online years before other people,“ Joan says. “And we were on the cutting edge of design. This was an ignored industry that we brought up and gave it value.”

Richard Enriquez, White River’s director of marketing and e-commerce, says that Google Ads and Google Analytics make it easy to find potential buyers and keep their websites on point. White River has been using Google Ads since 2013; in 2021, their Ads generated over 800 orders. “Our return is great: four to one for every dollar we spend,” Richard says. “Google tools have played an important role in growing our online and offline businesses.” Today White River Hardwoods employs 35 people–including the Johnson’s sons, Ben and Jesse–and sells around the world. And Joan has seen progress in more than just the business. “When I started, there were no other women I came in contact with in the lumber industry,” she points out. “Now you’ve got women spread throughout millwork, building, and construction.”

Jordan Bedding & Furniture Gallery

Location: Hot Springs, Arkansas
Website: https://www.jordanbedding.com/
6 employees

There’s nothing better than a great night’s sleep, which may be why Jordan Bedding & Furniture Gallery has been going strong since 1958. The business was started in Little Rock, Arkansas by Buddy Jordan who, after serving in World War II, began making mattresses in his garage for friends and family. The business soon outgrew his garage, and sixty years later is run by Buddy’s daughter-in-law, Shanna, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They’re still known for selling high-quality, handmade mattresses at reasonable prices. Jordan Bedding has successfully competed on a local and national level in part by promoting their products with Google Ads campaigns and positive customer reviews on their Business Profile on Google.

When COVID-19 struck and store foot traffic and sales dropped due to quarantine and safety concerns, Robin and Shanna knew they had to adjust to maintain their business. The Jordan Bedding team got creative, making the most of their Google Ads campaigns. “We set up a $50 off coupon tied with our online ads that helps customers find the right mattress based on their needs,” Shanna says. Then something unexpected happened. Shanna recounts, “After that initial phase, business has bounced back like crazy. It’s as if people were staying in, taking stock of their homes, and saying ‘Wow, we need a new mattress.’” She estimates that 90 percent of their customers now come through Google Ads and their Business Profile on Google. They’re also finding that their old-school dedication to making high-quality products might have even more of an impact in a digital-first world. “Online is word of mouth today. We have all 5-star reviews on our Business Profile on Google and that goes a long way,” says Shanna. Yet as much as they’ve embraced digital tools, Jordan Bedding still takes pride in being a part of the local Hot Springs community: The family-owned business counts winning the local Reader’s Choice Award for Best Mattress Store several years in a row as their crowning achievement.

Juice Palm

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Website: www.juicepalm.com
12 employees

Like many successful small business owners, Omar Kasim’s story begins with a setback (and perseverance). When Omar graduated from college in 2015, he opened his first restaurant with the help of an outside investor. After more than a year of success, the investor pushed Omar out of his own company. “I was left with nothing, reduced down to a shareholder,” said Omar. Instead of giving up, Omar got going. He traveled to major cities to see what was happening in the food scene. He kept coming across juice bars filled with happy customers. “I was intrigued because I was having a really difficult time finding health-conscious options as a busy individual,” said Omar. He liked the idea of starting a juice business, but he wanted to put his own stamp on it, so he spent a year working on the certified organic process. “I wanted to be fully transparent,” he said. “Our smoothies don’t feature any sugars, sweeteners, or purees — just whole food ingredients.” In January 2018, Omar opened the first Juice Palm location in uptown Fayetteville, Arkansas, followed by a second spot in Bentonville less than a year later.

Juice Palm’s immediate success was spurred, in part, by its digital presence and online marketing tactics. “The competitive landscape has changed — it can’t be done on paper anymore,” said Omar. Juice Palm uses Google My Business to boost visibility on Google Search and Maps and Google Ads to reach users searching for cold-pressed juices or similar items in the area. “Our engagements have significantly increased since we started using Google Ads,” Omar said. Omar and his team also use G Suite tools like Gmail, Docs, and Drive to stay connected. “G Suite is extremely important to us for operational purposes and organization,” said Omar. “It’s nice to have Google Docs and Drive to collaborate in a single space.”

Omar plans to open a third location in Fayetteville, where he will continue using Google tools to reach like-minded college students in need of a healthy fix. “As we start going into new areas, it’s important to rely on Google to know that we’re marketing to the right people,” Omar said. Despite its success, the company is committed to sustainability, using biodegradable supplies and composting more than 1,000 pounds of produce a month. “When I was with my original business, I saw firsthand how much food waste we produced and how much single-use plastic we used,” said Omar. “For Juice Palm, we want to have a sustainable mission and approach to our business.”

Lauren James

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Website: www.laurenjames.com
100 employees

Inspiration can strike at any moment. For Lauren Stokes, a registered nurse, it struck while on maternity leave after the birth of her first child. “I was sketching dresses for fun and discovered a real love for designing clothing,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to give up on this passion.” In 2013, Lauren left her job and founded Lauren James, a combination of her and her son’s names. Offering classically-inspired clothing with a modern flair, the business has grown from a small family shop to one of the fastest-growing companies in Arkansas. “We started with t-shirts and dresses. Now we offer everything from activewear to custom-made bridesmaid dresses. All made right here in the U.S.,” Lauren says proudly.

From the first stitch, Lauren James has always used the Internet as their digital runway. Their e-commerce website features stylish photos of hundreds of eye-catching products. They attract fashionable customers from across North America and Europe using AdWords, Google’s advertising program. “AdWords is huge for us. About 90 percent of our digital advertising budget in 2017 went to Google ads,” Lauren explains. “We have a very loyal following, and we use these ads to win a strong conversion rate with them.” The company also uses fun and instructional YouTube videos to showcase their new seasonal lines. “We do videos for all of our launches and sneak peeks,” Lauren says. To keep their online storefront running at peak performance, they turn to Google Analytics as the “one source of truth” for optimizing their online presence and keeping web traffic flowing smoothly through checkout.

With an annual growth rate of 30 percent, Lauren James shows no signs of slowing down. They run two brick-and-mortar locations, serve over 250,000 customers each year, and operate a state-of-the-art inventory warehouse in Fayetteville. For Lauren, however, success is measured in people, not dollars. She works with local teenagers to help them pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship. “We take mentorship very seriously here, because we ourselves have had such amazing mentors,” she shares. To the young entrepreneurs who follow in her footsteps, Lauren reminds them to not be afraid to try. “A lot of time is wasted thinking that your ideas or passions could never work,” she says. “But it can—especially with all of the digital tools and resources that are available today. You just have to be willing to try.”

Riffraff

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Website: www.shopriffraff.com
32 employees

When she founded Riffraff in 2009 as a senior at the University of Arkansas, Kirsten Blowers shared her unique eye for design with the city she loved. “We're very community-based. We absolutely love Fayetteville,” Kirsten says. Riffraff is a home-grown Arkansas fashion boutique, designed for women by women. Her vision has since blossomed from a tiny pop-up retail space on the edge of town to a wildly successful online storefront operating out of a new 6,000-square-foot facility downtown. “It's lighthearted. It's funny. It's local,” she says proudly.

Riffraff grew into a major player in the retail fashion market thanks to the Internet. “The web lets us get in front of so many more eyes, here in Fayetteville and all over,” Kirsten explains. Riffraff shares favorite looks and products with over 800,000 followers on social media. They use AdWords, Google's advertising program, to attract customers and drive 30 percent of their online sales. “We make sure we’re a top result when people search for Fayetteville or for the best boutiques in the southern United States,” Kirsten says. “We want to be their first pick.” Google Analytics gives them a clear view of their web traffic, so they can adjust their marketing accordingly. Google My Business ensures customers can always find the store's hours and directions, and YouTube provides a creative, digital-friendly way to connect with their growing audience. “Thanks to Google, I don't think anyone in Fayetteville hasn't heard of Riffraff,” Kirsten remarks.

Today, Riffraff ships their products to customers all over the globe, and their sister company, Charlie Southern, wholesales to over 500 boutiques across America. Amidst their growing reach and influence, they remain true to their roots of supporting the local economy. They use printers in Fayetteville to manufacture their t-shirts, and all of their employees are female and under 30. “When you support a local business, you're supporting the town and everyone in it,” Kirsten says. “We try our best to stay local, present local, and sell local.” With impressive growth and plans to expand, Riffraff will keep on sharing its hometown with the world.

Rock City Outfitters

Location: Maumelle, Arkansas
Website: www.rockcityoutfitters.com
Rock City Outfitters has 4,500 online customers

Arkansas Tech graduates Ryan Ritchie and Matt Jones have been making humorous t-shirts to display their state and team pride for years. "We were just a couple guys printing shirts at home for fun," Ryan says. "Then we realized people would actually pay money for them." Rock City Outfitters originally just marketed their products at festivals and local events, but the business really took off once they launched a website. "People from all over the state wanted our shirts," he says. "Once Rock City Outfitters went online, we really broadened our reach."

Google Analytics helps the entrepreneurs keep a beat on where website visitors are coming from and which shirts are most popular. "Before Google Analytics, we were just throwing whatever up there and seeing what sticks,” explains Ryan. “Now we can see where we're getting business and where we should be designing more t-shirts.” For example, they learned that, surprisingly, 25% of their e-commerce traffic was coming from Texas, “a whole other market we need to explore." Google Analytics also helps them fine-tune their social media marketing strategy, so they know which campaigns are most effective. "Social media lets us interact with our customers and fans. Some of our best t-shirt ideas come from them." Google Apps for Work, including Gmail and Google Calendar, makes it easy to communicate with employees and helps the business run smoothly.

Rock City Outfitters’ online presence grew the business far beyond its small-town base. “If it wasn’t for Google, we’d still be poking around at little festivals. It’s helped us nearly double our sales every year.” The company now employs two full-time and six part-time staffers. They operate a custom-orders department and provide officially licensed collegiate apparel from Arkansas universities and other schools. And Ryan expects business to continue booming. "We're still getting our heads around Arkansas, but we hope to go national," he says. "Thanks to Google, our website, and our social media—the sky's the limit."