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
News
By Scott Meacham Act Tulsa understands what it is like to be in the shoes of minority founders. Each of us has our own perspective on the plusses and minuses of 2021. There were plenty on each side of the ledger — 2021 wasn’t a quiet year by any measure. We celebrated our first unicornRead more
By Scott Meacham As Dirk Spiers knows, it’s really hard work building a technology business from the ground up. From 50,000 feet and the hindsight of 20/20, building a startup can look smooth with just a few blips. But down on the ground, the reality is always something else. Spiers New Technologies (SNT) — anRead more
By Scott Meacham Success of Oklahoma ventures has given me renewed admiration for the entrepreneurs who built those companies. We have had multiple successful portfolio exits in recent years — including Selexys, WeGoLook, and Alkami (originally iThryv). Just this month, Spiers New Technologies (SNT) was acquired by Cox Mobility, a division of Cox Automotive, aRead more
By Scott Meacham The acquisition of Spiers New Technologies is the Oklahoma Innovation Model working at its very best. At i2E, we are in the business of commercializing new technologies. It’s exciting work, especially when we have the opportunity to connect with a new startup in the first year or two of its existence andRead more
By Scott Meacham The inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines created a source of wealth and jobs. Arthur A Jones, the inventor of Nautilus exercise machines, grew up in Seminole, OK. His father practiced medicine. His mother graduated from medical school, reportedly the family had a dozen more members in the medical profession. But medicineRead 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 Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman For a young company, it’s never easy and the hard work is never over. It’s a long, difficult battle full of fits and starts and failure before success. That’s why it is especially inspiring when an Oklahoma startup sprints out ahead of the pack and continues toRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Innovation drives everything. Without innovation, we wouldn’t have entrepreneurs, startup companies, or job and wealth creation. And we wouldn’t have shopping carts. Sylvan Goldman, the Oklahoma grocer who in 1937 invented the shopping cart, had a business problem that was keeping him from increasing whatRead more
By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2017, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. A year ago, Spiers New Technologies had about 40 employees. Today that number is close to 60, and the young company continues to grow more than 100 percent a year. Spiers New Technologies provides a one-stop solution to battery life cycle management and has become,Read more
If you are in a decision-making position in an Oklahoma company, is there any reason you wouldn’t want to consider doing business with a startup? You might think that there’s too much risk with a startup. Personally, I like optimism and passion. I favor businesses that stretch, that run lean, and that focus on cashflow. And I like to be part of helping a new business grow. I bet when you think about it, you do too.
The Tech Showcase audience also heard presentations from Pryor’s HE&M Saw; Optecks and Synercon, both of Tulsa; Spiers New Technologies from Oklahoma City; and Amethyst Research Inc. of Ardmore. The event was sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).
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.
While Oklahoma’s economic fortunes have long been tied to the energy industry, the state’s ability to draw in new and emerging industries has been a particular focus of economic development and political leaders. Spiers New Technologies is one firm involved in the emerging sector of battery refurbishment and manufacturing. Its founder, Dutch-born Dirk Spiers, spoke to the OKGIT.com about opening his business in the Sooner State and its plans for future international expansion.
This year’s group of honorees for The Journal Record’s Innovator of the Year program demonstrates that Oklahoma’s pioneering spirit is still alive and well. The companies, representing a variety of industries, will be recognized during the Innovator of the Year luncheon Aug. 11 in Oklahoma City.
Most auto makers haven’t really thought very much about what to do with old EV batteries. They are too busy making new ones. That was the opening Dirk Spiers of Oklahoma City needed. In March, 2015 he started Spiers New Technologies.
Spiers New Technologies (SNT) is just over a year old, but its founder has been focused on developing the market and technology for secondary-use batteries as long as anyone in the business. Dirk Spiers is one of the more passionate figures in the EV industry.
An Emerging Tech Center: Oklahoma City notable home-grown startups in Innovation Magazine Copyright © 2016 | Innovation America Accele BioPharma (founded in 2011) — Biotechnology business accelerator located in the University Research Park, formed to create a capital-efficient mechanism to identify, finance and manage groundbreaking early stage life science technologies. http://accelebio.com Analytical Research Laboratories/DNA Solutions/The KupiecRead more
Dr. Elaine Hamm, vice president, Accele Biopharma Inc., will lead the students in the Who Wants to Be workshop where they will learn the basics of writing and presenting a business plan, including what investors are looking for in an entrepreneur.
Oklahoma City startup works on electric car batteries By Paul Monies Copyright © 2015 The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Electric cars are few and far between in Oklahoma, but that isn’t stopping a startup company from charging ahead to find uses for the large advanced batteries once their driving life is over. Spiers New Technologies beganRead more
