Skip to content
i2E
  • Programs
    • E3
    • ACT Tulsa
    • Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup
    • OKBio
  • Client Portfolio
  • Services
    • Access to Funding
    • Venture Advisory Services
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Corporate Partners
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Programs
    • E3
    • ACT Tulsa
    • Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup
    • OKBio
  • Client Portfolio
  • Services
    • Access to Funding
    • Venture Advisory Services
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Corporate Partners
  • Contact
  • Media
Search

ACT Tulsa is very intentional in building trust with founders of color

Get in Touch

[vc_row][vc_column][button size=”medium_rd_bt” url=”https://i2e.org/?na=view&id=31″]Back to Newsletter[/button][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

By Scott Meacham

ACT Tulsa is very intentional about creating an on-ramp to trust with founders who are Black and Brown.

ACT Tulsa, the six-month cohort-driven accelerator program aimed at cultivating underestimated founders located in Tulsa and beyond, is up and running with its inaugural cohort of nine startup companies. The 17 entrepreneurs, working out of the 36 Degrees North Incubator, are one-month into their 90-day “incubation” segment.

Except that ACT Tulsa founders don’t call it “incubation,” they call it a “sprint.” That is a very fitting description of the hard work and determination early stage ventures demand.

When we read the headlines of exits involving Selexys and Alkami Technologies, two extremely successful companies that were Oklahoma startups and OCAST TBFP recipients, we focus on the headlines — and appropriately so. After all, Selexys scaled from a TBFP investment back in 2008, to being acquired by Novartis in a $665 million deal. Alkami Technology, Oklahoma’s first unicorn, received early TBFP and Oklahoma Seed Fund investment and went on to go public this spring with an IPO valuation of more than $1 billion.

It’s a journey

But innovation and job creation through entrepreneurship isn’t only about the destination; it’s about the journey it takes to get there.

ACT House CEO Dominick Ard’is, describes it, “We see the six championships that MJ won, or look at Oprah being a billionaire, or at Reginal Lewis taking companies to IPO, and people don’t see all the work that happens behind the veil.”

The difficult work behind the veil is what ACT Tulsa is all about.

“The first element of our program is dealing with the entrepreneur and founder as a human,” Dominick said. “No matter if the person is black, white, Asian, Malaysian, there are challenges. Entrepreneurs of color face additional challenges in navigating the system. Entrepreneurs and founders have to be strategic in how they navigate that. Developing the entrepreneurial mindset is mental and psychological work. I have experiences with some of those things, and as a founder of color that’s just a reality.”

Building trust

ACT Tulsa is very intentional about creating an on-ramp to trust with founders who are Black and Brown. There is a certain level of cultural awareness that had to happen — changes that we all are going through — to connect with this segment of our state’s population.

Having multiple stakeholders from across the ecosystem involved has been so important. ACT Tulsa is a joint venture between i2E and ACT House, with the engagement and investments from Biolchini Family Foundation, Black Tech Street, Build In Tulsa, Coretz Family Foundation, Schusterman Family Philanthropies and Vast Bank.

“We have gained inroads from these powerhouse organizations,” Dominick said. “This work is not charity work. It is not philanthropic. The focus is creating an access point. How we bring in great founders. How we center them around our team model. How we position them to build revenue within their company and prepare themselves for growth.”

This is happening. Imagine the community and state-wide impact when we have six, eight, or a dozen underestimated founders in Tulsa who are growing their startups and creating jobs.

Let’s make the dreams of the first 17 ACT Tulsa founders our dreams, too.

Scott Meacham CEO of i2E Inc., a nonprofit corporation that mentors many of the state’s technology-based startup companies. i2E receives state support from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and is an integral part of Oklahoma’s Innovation Model. Contact Meacham at [email protected][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Sarah Graves
    Sarah Graves

More News

Loading...
Black doctor smiling with stethoscope
Blog, i2E
02.09.23

Titan Intake Automates Patient Referrals to Accelerate Care

Read more
man and woman reviewing paperwork at a table
Blog, i2E, News
01.10.23

Stories of Oklahoma Innovation: Building a Startup

Read more
woman in lab conducting a study
Blog, i2E
12.13.22

Bayesic Technologies Improves Effectiveness and Efficiency of Data Analysis in Healthcare

Read more
Bison grazing fields
Blog
11.30.22

Bison Underground Merges Nature, Science, and Technology to Tackle Climate Change

Read more
African American family sitting on couch reading and chatting
Blog, E3, i2E
11.22.22

Fokes Connects Families, Caregivers and Care Agencies for Smoother Communications and Care 

Read more
i2e blog post graphic
Blog, News
11.03.22

Introducing: Stories of Oklahoma Innovation

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.28.22

Oklahoma Grown! i2E Invests in BIO startups

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Moleculera Labs BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Oklahoma State University BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

ECHO Investment Capital BIO

Read more
i2E

Oklahoma City Office

840 Research Parkway, Suite 250
OKC, OK 73104
+1 (405) 235.2305

Tulsa Office

100 S. Cincinnati Ave – Suite 514
Tulsa, OK 74103
+1 (918) 582.5592

  • Client Portfolio
  • About Us
  • Media
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Resources

© 2022 i2E Privacy Policy

Follow us:

Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Programs

  • E3
  • ACT Tulsa
  • Love's Entrepreneur's Cup
  • OKBio
  • Client Portfolio

Services

  • Access to Funding
  • Venture Advisory Services
  • Contact
  • About
  • Our Values
  • Our Team
  • Board of Directors
  • Corporate Partners
  • Media
i2E