By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman I realize I am preaching to choir on this one, but just let me say that the Heartland of the United States is very different from the Coasts. That’s what makes the information in the State of the Heartland: Factbook 2018 so relevant to Oklahoma and soRead more
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By Joshua Blanco © 2018 OKLAHOMA GAZETTE / TIERRA MEDIA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Beer lovers across the state will gather this month for the seventh annual BrewFest to enjoy a taste of the up-and-coming brew scene in Oklahoma. With four wineries, four distilleries and 26 brewers coming together under one roof, those who attendRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman I’m always writing about the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education on the future careers and aspirations of Oklahoma’s young people as I think we need more STEM to continue to diversify and build our economy of the future. There’s another area of educationRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman There is a lot of science that goes into making beer, wine, and spirits. There is also plenty of experimentation, creativity and just plain fun. Oklahomans can get an insider’s view of Oklahoma’s emerging libations industry at the 2018 OKBio Brewfest, coming up Nov. 8 on theRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman It’s always eye-opening to gain a fresh perspective on something you think you know so well. Janet Neufeld, Ed.D., whose 35-year career in public education started in Kansas and ranges from guidance counselor to superintendent of schools, came to the Oklahoma School of Science and Math (OSSM)Read more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman I’m a numbers guy; lately, the number 22,000 has been stuck in my mind. That’s how many Oklahoma jobs have been created so far through the public/private partnerships of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST). When you think about it, 22,000Read more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman It seems like the conversation everywhere today is about how much or how little government should or should not do. No matter which side you take in that particular debate, I believe that it makes economic and business sense for government — both federal and state —Read more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. It seems like the conversation everywhere today is about how much or how little government should or should not do. No matter which side you take in that particular debate, I believe that it makes economic and business sense for government — both federal andRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Drew Rhodes, senior government teacher at U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City, is teaching financial literacy using game-based learning tools from K20. What I did not include in that column was that Drew is theRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. As regular readers of this column already know, I am a huge advocate of education. My emphasis tends toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), but I am equally passionate about sparking the fire of innovation in the hearts and minds of the students inRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. I lost a hero last week. My heroes tend to not be athletes or celebrities but regular people who rise to the occasion and do extraordinary things. They stand strong for their personal convictions in the face of intense pressure. My list includes relatively obscureRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. The K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal is an Oklahoma powerhouse of authentic resources for teaching and learning for Oklahoma’s educators and students in grades K-12. The K20 Center is all about research-based initiatives that improve student engagement, critical skills and problem solving. TheRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. I received a call from a reporter from HBO’s “Vice News” recently asking my perspective on President Donald Trump’s announcement that Oklahoma’s Kelvin Droegemeier is his choice to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The White House Office of Science andRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. At current course and speed, the U.S. is expected to need at least a million more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workers over the next decade than the current pipeline will produce. Focusing just on Oklahoma, recent statistics show that in our state, fromRead more
By Greater OKC Chamber staff i2E, a nonprofit that focuses on growing innovative small businesses in Oklahoma and making a positive impact on the state’s economy, is celebrating its 20th year of investing in entrepreneurs to build successful high growth companies in the state. While i2E officially started in 1998, the need for its servicesRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Last week, after I wrote about valuation — the negotiation that happens between entrepreneur and investor over what the startup company is worth on the day the investor writes a check — I got a little good-natured kidding from some of my friends. You soundRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. There is no aspect of the relationship between entrepreneur and potential investor that has more opportunity for conflict than the negotiation of the value of the company for the purpose of the investor making an investment. Every company founder wants the value of the companyRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. The other day, Bob Hogrefe, CEO of Access Optics, posed this thought-starter: What is it that battlefield observation systems, minimally invasive robotic surgery, and cellphones all have in common? The answer? All three rely on very small compact imaging systems — systems that Bob andRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Oklahoma’s innovation economy is a complex system with many moving parts. Our state’s innovation engine is driven by motivated and coachable entrepreneurs with ideas and technologies that disrupt. To be successful, Oklahoma’s entrepreneurs need investment capital from angels, venture capitalists and banks. They need world-classRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. In entrepreneurship, just like anything else, ratings and rankings are important, if for no other reason than they help shape how we view ourselves. Therefore, it’s important to know how Oklahoma stacks up to other states, especially states that are most like us. Oklahoma wasRead more
