Skip to content
i2E
  • Programs
    • For Startups
      • E3
      • Bridge2
      • OCN
    • For Students
      • Entrepreneur’s Cup
    • For Corporations
    • For Investors
  • Client Portfolio
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Corporate Partners
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Programs
    • For Startups
      • E3
      • Bridge2
      • OCN
    • For Students
      • Entrepreneur’s Cup
    • For Corporations
    • For Investors
  • Client Portfolio
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Corporate Partners
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Media
Search

Blake Trippet’s excellent GovCup adventure

Get in Touch

Blake Trippet, GovCup alumnus, now works for MetaFundBlake Trippet had a very good year in 2010.   Then a senior at the University of Oklahoma, Trippet was team leader for team UniPhi, which won the Undergraduate Division of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plan competition.  UniPhi then took second place in the Tri-State competition in Las Vegas, where Trippet also won the 90-second undergraduate elevator pitch.

UniPhi’s success in the Governor’s Cup earned Trippet, along with teammates Lucas Rice and Hamid Pezeshkian, $40,000 in cash awards. Their business plan outlined a technology that would permit health care providers to easily share information between health care databases.

Since then, Trippet has gone on to work for the investment firm, Goldman Sachs, before returning to Oklahoma 18 months ago to take a position with Oklahoma City-based MetaFund. He handles sourcing and due diligence of investment opportunities for MetaFund, as well as working closely with portfolio companies.

Trippet recently took time to answer questions about his Governor’s Cup experience. Here are excerpts:

Q: How did the Governor’s Cup experience and the networking it offered impact your career as you moved on into the business community after college?

A: There is no better way to learn business than trying to start one from the ground up.  The Governor’s Cup experience required me to combine and utilize all of the things I learned in a classroom, including subjects I discovered I should have paid better attention to.  Also, through building an advisory board, meeting with financial and technical experts across Oklahoma, cold calling people across the country for market research and practicing our presentation in front of anyone who would listen, we were able to network with numerous business leaders.  This is a network I continue to use today.  Finally, I would say that the confidence I obtained from creating a business plan and defending it inside the “shark tank” has been indispensable to my career to date.

Q:  What was the highlight of the Governor’s Cup experience for you?

A: The highlight of the competition for me was working with the team.  Hamid, Lucas and I spent our first meetings sitting in a room staring at a blank whiteboard, trying to figure out what we were going to do.  We worked relentlessly, often until 3 or 4 a.m. and on weekends, to build the plan we finally submitted.  We wanted our writing to be coherent and consistent so we actually group-wrote the entire plan.  We also worked frequently with our faculty advisor, Dr. Lowell Busenitz, the OU CCEW staff and i2E, who were all extremely helpful.  The teamwork skills developed through this process have been essential in everything I’ve done since the competition.

Q: What was the biggest challenge in the experience and why?

A: Our biggest challenge was determining the best method to present our business on paper, especially as it related to explaining our technology, which was fairly complicated.  We went through multiple iterations of that section, eventually settling on a visual diagram that showed things much better than we could have ever penned it.

Q: What advice would you have for other students who may be working to write their business plan and put together a presentation and pitch for the competition?

Start as early as you possible can and pick solid team members that complement your skills well. Each team member should know every detail of every section. Proofread objectively and continuously.  Have as many people read your plan as possible. Practice your presentation in front of anyone you can, as well.   Think hard about what questions the judges will ask and be prepared for them.  Prepare appendix slides to provide more in-depth information and to answer questions you expect to see. Be prepared for anything. We even had a judge checking us on his iPhone as we were presenting and answering questions.

Q: As you reflect on your GovCup experience, what comes to mind?

A: The Governor’s Cup was one of the best educational experiences I had in school, and I got paid to do it.  I also got a free trip to Vegas and made several great friends through the process.  My only regret is that I waited until my senior year to do it.  I should have tried it my sophomore and junior years as well.

 

More News

Loading...
Blog, Featured, News
12.16.24

MidAmerica and i2E Announce Award Winners

Read more
Blog, Featured, News
11.21.24

i2E & Plains Ventures Surpasses $100M Milestone in Total Investments

Read more
Blog
09.30.24

i2E Receives 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Award from IEDC

Read more
Blog
06.18.24

Bridge2 Demo Day Returns, Highlighting Promising Oklahoma Startups

Read more
Blog, Entrepreneur's Cup Featured, Entrepreneur's Cup News
05.13.24

Student Entrepreneurs Triumph at 20th Anniversary Entrepreneur’s Cup, Winning $158,000 in Prizes

Read more
Default Featured Image
Blog, Entrepreneur's Cup News
04.24.24

Beyond the Cup: Tracking Success Stories from the Entrepreneur’s Cup Series – Jessica Kinsey

Read more
Default Featured Image
Blog, Entrepreneur's Cup News
04.23.24

Beyond the Cup: Tracking Success Stories from the Entrepreneur’s Cup Series – Nathan Fountain

Read more
Default Featured Image
Blog, Entrepreneur's Cup Featured, Entrepreneur's Cup News
04.23.24

Beyond the Cup: Tracking Success Stories from the Entrepreneur’s Cup Series – Srijita Ghosh

Read more
Default Featured Image
Blog, Entrepreneur's Cup Featured, Entrepreneur's Cup News
04.18.24

Beyond the Cup: Tracking Success Stories from the Entrepreneur’s Cup Series – MaxQ

Read more
Blog, i2E
01.30.24

i2E Celebrates Success of Inaugural Bridge2 Demo Day

Read more
Blog, i2E, News
12.18.23

i2E and MidAmerica Industrial Park announce award winners for high school entrepreneurship program

Read more
Blog, i2E
12.13.23

Entrepreneur’s Cup Marks 20 Years: Reimagined Competition and Brand – Same Entrepreneurial Spirit

Read more
i2E

Oklahoma City Office

201 Robert S Kerr Ave, Suite 600
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
+1 (405) 235.2305

Tulsa Office

12 N. Cheyenne Ave, Suite 112
Tulsa, OK 74103
+1 (918) 582.5592

  • Client Portfolio
  • About Us
  • Media
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • Funding
  • Venture Advisory

© 2025 i2E Privacy Policy

Follow us:

Linkedin Twitter Facebook Instagram Youtube

Programs

  • For Startups
    • E3
    • Bridge2
    • OCN
  • For Students
    • Entrepreneur’s Cup
  • For Corporations
  • For Investors
  • For Startups
    • E3
    • Bridge2
    • OCN
  • For Students
    • Entrepreneur’s Cup
  • For Corporations
  • For Investors
  • Client Portfolio

Services

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