Arterial Charts a Bold Path Toward Launch
Kyle Wandashin and Wade Turner are continuing to impress the young entrepreneurship world. Their company, Arterial, has only taken massive strides since their last edition in the Entrepreneurship Pulse.
In a space where startups commonly struggle, it seems that nothing can stop Arterial from turning every opportunity into momentum. Kyle and Wade are not just advancing their technology - they’re redefining what it means to scale, partner, and build thoughtfully in the young entrepreneurship world.
In late February, the team traveled to North Carolina for the Techstars AI and Life Sciences Startup Weekend event, where they had the chance to validate their product with key stakeholders, including officials from the City of Winston-Salem. Those conversations not only provided valuable feedback for scaling and launching a business, but opened the door to exciting future pilot opportunities.
Techstars, which is a global startup ecosystem that offers various programs and competitions, proved to be instrumental in their growth. Arterial’s exciting and differentiated AI model turned plenty of heads, resulting in a first-place finish. Winning the competition was a major milestone, bringing more than just recognition. Arterial now has 60 hours of free consulting across business growth, marketing, accounting, and finance. They also landed office space in North Carolina, an unexpected but welcome bonus as the company continues to expand its footprint.
On the technical side, while Arterial's AI model has mainly stayed the same in functionality, it has steadily improved. The team has been refining the dataset by training new and multiple models. As a result of Techstars, they also have secured a new employee, Calianna Priebe, who assists in AI and Web Development. She’s played a large role in ensuring the training progression. Their approach is less about flashy new features and more about building reliability, which is a large focus as they move closer to their launch.
Building Momentum
Along with their technical progress, Arterial has made big moves on the business side of things. This involved finalizing a paid pilot agreement with the City of Boulder and aiming for a Q4 deployment. They're also close to securing a similar partnership with the City of Denver, pending cybersecurity reviews and final approvals.
Boulder’s unique entrepreneurial ecosystem has provided valuable resources to the team, and in turn, Arterial has used these resources to build various parts of their company. By starting with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, they were given the tools and vote of confidence to take their business to the next level. Other resources through Leeds School of Business like Tracy Jennings, helped extensively create and build their project management and team management infrastructure.
Beyond Boulder, Arterial is expanding its network, gaining product interest from Colorado Department of Transportation (and municipalities in New York’s Hamptons region. Through New Venture Challenge and Smart Futures Lab, they’ve received valuable resources, and Catalyze CU, led by Karen Crofton, has provided funding, engineering support, lab space, and warm referrals to prospective city clients. Together, these programs have accelerated their progress and built a strong foundation for scaling after launch.
It’s clear Arterial is exceptional at using their resources, and they have Boulder to thank for that.
"The mixture between Boulder being so tech forward and so tech positive, being willing to have these conversations and being willing to have these changes, is what really helped us. Starting with a city like Boulder that is open to allowing those changes is helpful."
They encourage aspiring student entrepreneurs to use their “student status” to gain leverage to all of these resources.
The Power of Partnership
One of Arterial’s major advantages has nothing to do with tech, but rather the strength of their co-founder relationship. Wade and Kyle describe a dynamic that is built on deep trust paired with mutual respect. Their clear division of labor ensures company efficiency. Wade handles business development and client relationships, while Kyle leads technical development, allowing each of them to work independently without stepping on each other’s toes.
Disagreements between the two are rare, and even when they occur, they’re lighthearted. One memorable quarrel even ended with a pineapple being launched at a door, something the two describe as something that actually brought them closer together. More importantly, when real decisions need to be made, their ideas align quickly.
The pairs’ ability to separate personal feelings from business decisions has been key to their successful partnership. They see each other not as opponents in discussions, but as equal partners working toward a shared goal. That mindset, combined with an even distribution of responsibilities, has allowed Arterial to grow without much friction. This dynamic is one that many co-founder teams can only hope to achieve.
The Humble Hustle
As Arterial looks to the future, the team strides to remain coachable and keep a continuous learning approach. They've built an extensive advisory board of more than 20 mentors, with a collective 200+ years of Fortune 500 and startup experience. Instead of trying to solve every problem themselves, Wade and Kyle have learned to seek out experts when needed. This has rapidly accelerated their progress towards launch while allowing the team to still learn.
At the heart of their message is a reminder that entrepreneurship doesn't have to be terrifying. Speaking to students back at their old high school, they emphasized that while building a company is a lot of work, it’s not an overwhelming journey. Being willing to be wrong, open to feedback, and eager to learn are the real keys to success, not having all the answers from day one.
In a world where entrepreneurship is often portrayed as high-stakes and high-risk, Arterial offers a refreshing take: success comes from humility and persistence. As they prepare for their Q4 launch, it’s clear that the team’s mindset, just as much as their technology, is what’s propelling them forward.