By Scott Meacham If you asked me to name the profession most similar to entrepreneurship, I would say science. Both are based on problem-solving, experimentation, data, and the confidence to recognize that failure is a critical aspect of the path to success. Paige Johnson, founder and CEO of Tulsa-based Ten-Nine Technologies, is a noted researchRead more
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By Scott Meacham I often get the question “What is a typical day like working with entrepreneurs ?” My answer is short: There is no such thing as a typical day, and that is perfectly okay. I like it that way. The variability and unexpected nature of entrepreneurship is what makes working with startups andRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman This summer, I’ve been writing about lessons learned since coming to i2E nearly six years ago — specifically lessons about technology entrepreneurship in our state. It seems fitting as we head toward Labor Day, that I wind up this summer series with a recap of my heartfeltRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman This month we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It was President John F. Kennedy’s idea. In 1961, the president challenged NASA and the nation to land an astronaut on the moon before the decade was over. Russia had taken the lead inRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman Oklahoma’s expanding innovation economy is having a significant and lasting effect on our state. Oklahoma’s entrepreneurs build companies and create jobs through the realization of their dreams, inventions and hard work. I wanted to contribute, and I wanted to learn — about innovation, about creating sources ofRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2017 The Oklahoma Publishing Co. There have been multiple articles recently in the national press about how the middle of country is gaining attention as a source of promising technology deals. Big-name investors, including Steve Case, billionaire cofounder of America Online, are in the hunt. Case’s investment firm, Revolution, hasRead more
This state is always going to have to reconcile times of boom and bust until we reduce our collective dependence on oil and gas. We need investment from the state, but we also need creative participation from everybody else. There are Oklahoma corporations, initiatives, and people who get that and are doing something. One such business is Kimray, Inc., a world-class manufacturer of control equipment used extensively in oil and gas production around the globe.
This state is always going to have to reconcile times of boom and bust until we reduce our collective dependence on oil and gas. We need investment from the state, but we also need creative participation from everybody else. There are Oklahoma corporations, initiatives, and people who get that and are doing something. One such business is Kimray, Inc., a world-class manufacturer of control equipment used extensively in oil and gas production around the globe.
BrewFest attracts more than 500 people. It’s a unique opportunity for the entrepreneurial community in Oklahoma to come together for a few hours to network and enjoy tasting products from yet another emerging and nontraditional segment of Oklahoma’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Events like BrewFest draw together people from across Oklahoma who are interested in the innovation economy here. In this casual environment, they learn things they didn’t know about making wine, brewing beer and about what’s happening in innovation across Oklahoma.
As the cost of living continues to rise on either coast, but particularly in places like California and New York City, it is becoming more and more attractive for entrepreneurs to start companies somewhere else. They need talent and capital to do that of course, but as those critical components are more in evidence, we’re seeing startup activity branching out geographically.
For venture and economic development organizations like i2E, a key aspect of our responsibility is acceleration. It’s figuring how to find the best athletes, amp up their training, speed up the track, improve the car. We also measure and communicate the metrics of innovation progress over time by distributing an economic impact survey to our entire population of client companies every year. In March, we submitted the 2016 economic impact survey to 153 active clients.
The Kauffman Index of Startup Activity focuses on new business creation activity and people engaging in business startup activity. In 2016, Oklahoma ranked No. 4 for startup activity for smaller states, up from No. 8 in 2015.
The Achilles heel of entrepreneurship is thinking you know all the answers. Everyone agrees that it takes phenomenal confidence and courage to start any business from scratch. But when confidence and courage become certitude and cockiness, it leads to disaster. As most of us in the investment industry can tell you, we see too many entrepreneurs who believe that they have figured everything out.
There are many entrepreneurs who are developing a product that would have the best chance at success if someone else took that product to market. Instead, we see entrepreneurs — and this gets back to “loving the baby” — who are determined to try and break into a market that’s already dominated by powerful players such as Microsoft, Cisco or P&G.
Three OSU teams make Governor’s Cup finals By Ariel West © 2016 – Spears School of Business @ Oklahoma State University The School of Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University has three teams in the High Growth division finals of Innovation to Enterprise’s statewide Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Competition. The OSU finalists are: Haley KurtzRead more
Since we introduced the Donald W. Reynold’s Governor’s Cup collegiate business plan competition 12 years ago, more than 1,700 college students have taken the Gov Cup challenge. This year, 55 teams entered business plans. This competition involves college students across the state, with divisions for two-year and regional colleges, for research universities, and for graduate students.
I get really excited when I see an Oklahoma startup improving the lives of people who have incurable debilitating disease. That’s the story of Progentec Diagnostics, a startup that is focused on developing breakthrough diagnostics. The firm’s initial focus is on developing a diagnostic test to identify patients at increased risk for flare in lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease that afflicts 1.5 million patients in the U.S.
New Year’s resolutions could help entrepreneurship grow in Oklahoma By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2016, The Oklahoma Publishing Company As I talk with people about entrepreneurship, it’s always interesting just how many people from different walks of life express a heartfelt desire for entrepreneurs to succeed. I’m not one for a long list of NewRead more
New year is a time to seize momentum on diversifying Oklahoma’s economy By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2015, The Oklahoma Publishing Company It’s that time of the year again — a time for facing forward while looking back at what has occurred over the past year. In the world of startups, there’s no time toRead more
Sometimes, Oklahoma investors don’t realize the great opportunities for early-stage companies that exist in this state. When Oklahoma money goes “off-shore” to invest in entrepreneurs, startups, and innovation in Texas, Colorado or California, we need to speak up and remind people to take a good hard look at the early stage opportunities that exist right here before they help create jobs and wealth in some other state.
