Thank you for reading this column for nearly a decade By Scott Meacham This is my final column for The Oklahoman. As CEO of i2E, I have had the wonderful opportunity since January 2013 to write this weekly column for the readers of this newspaper. That stacks up to more than 460 columns on all aspects ofRead more
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We must preserve, expand even, our state’s investment in research and development. By Scott Meacham The state recently appropriated $15 million to be matched by local funds to create three entrepreneurial accelerators — one in Oklahoma City, one in Tulsa, and a third to serve rural Oklahoma. It is great to see the state directRead more
By Scott Meacham Entrepreneurs are the rising tide that lifts all our boats. It is the season to count our blessings and the people and things for which we are most thankful. In some industries, the last few weeks of the year provide time to take a breath and take a break. That is notRead more
By Scott Meacham We have to make sure that Oklahoma innovators know that there are resources and mentoring available to them here. Twenty-five years ago, Oklahoma did not have a continuum of venture capital serving concept to growth stage companies. Now we do — thanks to assistance from the state acting through OCAST — fromRead more
By Scott Meacham It is time to lean into the opportunities that are already in front of us to build our own Oklahoma version of the economy of the future. Will Rogers, Oklahoma’s Cherokee cowboy philosopher, delivered a quote that aptly sums up our state’s challenge with innovation and the “new” economy. As Will putRead more
By Scott Meacham Oklahoma companies change people’s health and their lives. In a recent conversation, an associate described Dr. Steve Prescott’s impact on Oklahoma’s bioscience economy as “standing on the shoulders of a giant.” Indeed, as the leader of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), Steve was a visionary who got things done. However, SteveRead more
By Scott Meacham Let’s raise our eyes and raise our goals Oklahoma. Christian Kanady is a fourth-generation Oklahoman. “My roots don’t touch any state besides this one,” he said. “Like most Oklahomans, I grew up steeped in this state’s sense of being both an underdog and a pioneer.” These days, Kanady is channeling that pioneeringRead more
By Scott Meacham In building a startup pipeline, keep it simple. Occam’s razor (also known as the law of parsimony) is a principle attributed to William of Ockham, a Franciscan friar and philosopher born around 1288. William did not originate the problem-solving model named for him; however, he practiced it relentlessly. Plus he was aRead more
By Scott Meacham Oklahoma businesses and college students benefit from OCAST internship program. Across Oklahoma, our college and university students, who have been pulled from pillar to post these last few months, are gearing up for internships. The time is right for Oklahoma’s startups and corporations to get in the hunt. The OCAST (Oklahoma CenterRead more
By Scott Meacham In 1943, when the musical Oklahoma opened on Broadway, our state had only been a state for 36 years. Oklahoma not only gave us the best state song in the entire country, this play, named for our state, spawned innovation at every turn. Before Oklahoma, Broadway musicals were a series of bigRead more
By Scott Meacham We are in difficult times — and when times are difficult, individuals, business, and even entire states have to do things differently. Think back to what was happening in Oklahoma in the eighties. It was like living The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath jammed into less than ten short years.Read more
i2E, Inc. had a record-breaking number of investments in FY2020 with $12.89M in closed investments across its 4 venture funds and concept fund. In total, 19 Oklahoma companies received financing and attracted an additional $16.34M from private investors, for a total of $29.3M invested in Oklahoma-based companies. i2E Management Company Inc. (iMCI ), i2E’s investmentRead more
By Scott Meacham This past week, we reopened our offices. For a few weeks, for the safety or our staff and the community, we shuttered our space and worked remotely, although we never really “closed.” Working remotely, we negotiated term sheets, concluded a major funding round for an exciting new Oklahoma startup, and held theRead more
By Scott Meacham It is hard to start a business — very, very hard. This is true on Main Street, for information technology businesses and in biotech. For all entrepreneurs, building a company is a race against time, a race in which every milestone of success increases the pressure on the business plan. The biggestRead more
By Jim Stafford STILLWATER – Don’t look for a sign in downtown Stillwater advertising the presence of HostBridge Technology, which has maintained its headquarters just off Main Street for two decades. There isn’t one. Founded by Russell Teubner in 2000, HostBridge Technology occupies a historic building along E. 7th Street, just off Main Street. TheRead more
By Scott Meacham This time of year, Christmas music is everywhere. Some people get a little tired of it, but for me it’s all part of the season, and I like it. Christmas music reminds me of family, friends, and memories of Christmas mornings and meals. The other day, I was on an errand, andRead more
By Jim Stafford Once a year, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) gathers scientists from across the state who are currently receiving funding from its health research program in a sort of show-and-tell educational event. Recently, about 100 OCAST-funded life science researchers assembled at the Samis Family Education Center onRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman Of the more than 120 types of brain and central nervous system tumors, Glioblastoma (also called GBM) is the most aggressive — a deadly brain cancer with no cure. Glioblastomas often appear with no warning or prior symptoms. These Type IV tumors tend to produce their ownRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman In today’s world, a state’s economic growth demands investment in innovation and high-tech industries — especially for a natural resource-rich state like ours that must leverage our existing resource base to diversify our economy for the future. It’s a straightforward proposition. If we believe that more andRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman Oklahoma is a great place to live. Oklahoma is a great place to work. We are a state that seems ready to seize the moment and leverage the quality of life and business-friendly advantages here to add innovation and technology-based economic development to Oklahoma’s list of “greats.”Read more
