Venture Advisory Services

As Senior Vice President Venture Development, Mark manages our team of Venture Advisors who work closely with client companies helping them with market assessments, evaluation of technical and commercial feasibility, review and refinement of client business plans and financial models, determination of company valuations, guidance in the preparation and delivery of investor presentations, and identification of potential capital sources given the client company’s specific stage of development. He also oversees the SeedStep Angel group, managed by i2E, Inc.

A graduate of both Georgetown University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Rice University with an MBA with concentration in finance and entrepreneurship, Mark brings more than two decades of experience working for both large and small corporations. Most recently, he was Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Strategic Alliances with Reliant HR Technology in Tulsa. He also has experience at USIS in Tulsa, and Ashford, Inc., and Koch Industries in Houston.

As Senior Venture Advisor, Rick supports the overall business commercialization efforts including development of business strategies, capitalization and milestone planning, competitor analysis, preparation of investor presentations and facilitating access to the Angel and Venture Capital markets. He specializes in areas with emphasis in Life Sciences.

Rick has held management positions involving Quality Systems and Regulatory Affairs responsibilities for Pharmaceutical Formulations, Inc. and DPT Laboratories, Inc. During this time, he drafted and submitted Abbreviated New Drug Applications for OTC products, maintained company intellectual property, as well as hired and managed an Analytical Development team responsible for the transfer, qualification and training of customer methods in compliance with FDA processes.

Rick earned his BS in Chemistry from the University of Central Oklahoma which allowed him to pursue his interests in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Quality. He also holds a Masters Degree from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia in Pharmaceutical Business, where he studied the pharmaceutical business model.

As a Venture Advisor at i2E, Srijita provides direct one-on-one consulting services to entrepreneurs, researchers and/or early-stage client companies in the areas of strategic planning, market assessment, pricing policy, financial analysis, business plans, investor presentations, capital strategies, and positioning companies for potential investment. She also works extensively with management teams of these high-growth and early-stage companies within Oklahoma, in support of the company’s overall business commercialization efforts.

Prior to her position with i2E, Srijita served in the role of Entrepreneurship Specialist for the Ada Jobs Foundation in Ada, Oklahoma. In this role she oversaw the development of entrepreneurship and innovation in the city of Ada.

At her core, Srijita is passionate about her work to build and strengthen Oklahoma’s innovation economy, especially amongst rural and BIPOC communities by connecting resources, creating access to capital and opportunities, and supporting the cultivation of inclusive startup communities.

Srijita has served as an active member in several entrepreneurial development organizations including the Oklahoma Venture Advisory Council, Oklahoma Venture Forum, Oklahoma Business Incubator Association, International Economic Development Council, and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s ESHIP Champions Team.

As a Venture Advisor focusing on the life sciences and biotechnology sectors in Oklahoma, Meredith works closely with the management of early-stage ventures. Meredith serves as our primary subject matter expert within i2E and Plains Ventures in evaluating life sciences and biotech opportunities. From her background, she leverages her understanding of the basic requirements of research and drug discovery, preclinical development, and the IND filing process to provide tailored consulting services for researchers and entrepreneurs who are developing marketable medical devices, diagnostics, or therapeutics.

In coordination with the Greater OKC Chamber, Meredith directs the Oklahoma Bioscience Association which promotes the growth of biosciences and life science in Oklahoma through partnership building, education and outreach, networking, policy development and publicity.

Prior to joining i2E, Meredith worked in the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Oklahoma.  In this role she identified and evaluated life sciences technologies that were ready for a coordinated strategy of intellectual property protection and marketing to potential industry partners.  This resulted in connecting OU innovators with industry representatives to enable the commercial development of technologies.

Meredith earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Kansas and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Lynn Health Science Institute in Oklahoma City.  She has experience coordinating and managing clinical trials at the research site level across a myriad of conditions.  She is dedicated to using her professional perspectives from academia, clinical trials, and technology transfer to help grow innovative life sciences and biotech ventures across Oklahoma.

Mike serves i2E as our Executive-in-Residence (EIR). As an EIR, Mike has shared his experience, knowledge and wisdom with entrepreneurs across the state on topics such as governance, competitive analysis, knowing your markets, customer discovery and establishing a sales team and sales materials for startup companies. Over the past several years Mike has engaged with numerous client companies and E3 participants in providing sales resource reviews, providing mentoring sessions with companies and working through early commercialization strategies for companies who are aiming to scale and seek funding.

Mike has served as the Chairman and CEO of Thunderbird Resources Equity, Inc. since 2014. Prior to the formation of Thunderbird Resources, he was the President and Director of GMX Resources, Inc. an E&P company based in Oklahoma City. Before joining GMXR, Mike was the SVP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for ON Semiconductor, a multi-billion-dollar semiconductor manufacturing company. He received his MBA from MIT and has over 30 years of experience in corporate leadership and business development in the energy and technology industries.