By Scott MeachamCopyright © 2019, The Oklahoman I value benchmarking. Whatever the goal, comparing metrics with industry leaders is the best way to test and improve results. Especially when the comparison is not what we would want it to be. It is no surprise that when it comes to the key indicators of a robustRead more
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By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman A few years ago, I attended an executive education program in venture capital at the University of California at Berkeley. The program, which promises to give investors, executives and serious entrepreneurs a window into venture capital and tips on how to succeed with VC firms, delivers asRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman Every Jan. 1, Pitt Island, an island in New Zealand’s Chatham Island archipelago, is the first populated location on earth to welcome the first sunrise of the new year. Located about 430 miles east of mainland New Zealand and just west of the international date line, PittRead more
By Scott MeachamCopyright © 2018, The Oklahoman Every year at this time, I think about my grandparents — about how different their world was from ours today, and about how much about it, happily, is still the same. I had two sets of grandparents growing up. On my dad’s side, we go back to theRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman Oklahoma continues to strive for a more diversified economy. As a state, we have historically depended too much on oil and gas. At the same time, we share a tremendous appreciation for and experience in the energy industry. When entrepreneurs apply energy industry know-how toward new companiesRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Tulsa World My previous column I concluded by comparing starting a company to a long trip down a bumpy road. It’s true; there is nothing easy about building a business from scratch. There are plenty of bright spots, moments of pure elation — succeeding with a prototype, signingRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman Startup companies are like snowflakes — no two are exactly alike. Uniqueness, after all, is a vital part of every new company’s secret sauce. The most successful startups always break new ground. They do original things in original ways. They invent new materials (nanoparticles anyone?), new systemsRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman I recently had the opportunity to meet Gov.-elect Kevin Stitt, his campaign manager, Aamon Ross, and a handful of other Oklahomans with diverse backgrounds who are passionate about the future of our state. I had never met our soon-to-be governor, and, frankly, I was impressed. I couldRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman Last week I wrote about Mohammad and Jalal Farzaneh, businessmen who immigrated to Oklahoma as students and stayed here through boom and bust to build a construction business that earns a hundred million dollars in annual revenue, creates jobs for hundreds of Oklahoma workers, and builds terrificRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman Oklahoma’s annual Entrepreneurial Summit features first-person startup stories from Oklahoma entrepreneurs. This year’s Summit lineup included Jalal and Mohammad Farzaneh, the co-founders of Home Creations. Jalal and Mohammad Farzaneh were born in Iran, the oldest of six brothers. They finished high school and two years of collegeRead more
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
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
