For Clete Brewer, the real reward of entrepreneurship isn’t starting companies. It’s helping them grow. That passion took root soon after he graduated from the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business and joined his father in building Staffmark from a small business into a national company. The experience helped shape the approach to growth he brings today as co-founder of NewRoad Capital Partners.
At Staffmark, Brewer helped grow the staffing and recruiting company from less than $1 million in sales to more than $1 billion as co-founder, president and CEO. He later was president and a minority owner of Sport Clips. He helped scale the business from 42 locations to more than 675 nationwide and served as chairman and CEO of water technology company BlueInGreen.
In 2012, Brewer and fellow Walton College graduate Jeremy Wilson co-founded NewRoad Capital Partners to address a shortage of venture capital opportunities across Arkansas, Oklahoma and North Texas. What began with $15 million in raised capital has grown into an operator-led investment firm managing more than $600 million in assets and supporting more than 30 companies across logistics, transportation, retail technology and consumer sectors. Today, four of the firm's six partners are Walton College graduates.
“My time at the Walton College and the opportunity to build a business with my dad early on sparked a passion for growth that has never left me,” Brewer said. “I’m still driven by the challenge of helping companies achieve more than they could on their own.”
Beyond his business ventures, Brewer remains deeply connected to the Walton College through its Dean’s Executive Advisory Board and through his family’s support of the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub. Located in downtown Fayetteville, the Hub serves as a collaborative workspace, training center and gathering place where students, faculty and alumni can develop business ideas, connect with mentors and access entrepreneurship programs designed to help turn concepts into companies.