Entrepreneurship News
OSU recognizes Bob Austin, Kayvon Olomi
as 2012 Alumni Entrepreneurs of the Year
Bob Austin was selected as Oklahoma State University’s 2012 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year.
Entrepreneurs are difference makers, and Oklahoma State University recently recognized two of its alumni for their outstanding entrepreneurial contributions. The 2012 Alumni Entrepreneurs of the Year were honored at the annual Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises Banquet held on campus April 21.
Bob Austin was selected as the Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year and Kayvon Olomi was selected as the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.
The Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year award recognizes a career of entrepreneurial accomplishments. Austin, who graduated from OSU in 1976, worked for several years for Nordam in Tulsa, Okla., in airline and helicopter marketing. In 1981, he started Helicomb International, Inc. to repair helicopter bonded structures, and grew it to more than $100 million in sales and captured 85 percent of the world market.
Along the way, Helicomb diversified into services for satellite space station structures, the Boeing C-17, the Lockheed Joint Strike Fighter and various projects for Northrop Grumman. Since selling Helicomb, Austin has been involved in a number of ventures, most recently helping to found Granite Mountain, LLC, in Tulsa.
Creativity Challenge contest award winners
receive more than $6,000 in prize money
The Fourth Annual Creativity Challenge was a huge success.
The Institute for Creativity and Innovation (ICI) proudly announced the winners of the Fourth Annual Creativity Challenge. The festival, held earlier in April, asked students, faculty, and staff to answer the question, “What legacy will your creativity leave for future generations?” More than $6,000 was awarded to the Creativity Challenge and festival booth contest winners for their creativity and innovation.
“We were really pleased with the level of campus engagement with the question. OSU has a lot of really bright, talented people who want to make a difference in their communities,” said Melanie C. Page, director of the ICI. “The creativity of the OSU community is coming up with ways to solve problems and enhance lives. It is truly amazing, and we are happy to provide a showcase for all the hard work people do every single day.”
Riata Business Plan Competition
awards over $43,000 in prize money
MesoBio was awarded a $25,000 check after winning first place in the Fourth Annual Riata Business Plan Competition. Michael Morris, second from left, head of OSU School of Entrepreneurship, presents the check to MesoBio team members Jose Fulgencio, Jamie Solberg and Xiao Xiao. Shoaib Shaikh, the fourth member of MesoBio, is not pictured.
The Fourth Annual Riata Business Plan Competition awarded more than $43,000 in prize money on Saturday to help winning student teams finance their plans and turn them into viable business ventures.
MesoBio, a business providing highly differentiated miRNA vectors to facilitate researchers’ development of therapeutics for diseases, received top honors and the $25,000 for capturing first place. MesoBio team members are OSU students Jamie Solberg, Jose Fulgencio, Xiao Xiao and Shoaib Shaikh.
The Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business launched the campus-wide competition in December with 90 teams of OSU students competing. The top 16 teams presented business plans to a group of successful venture investors from Oklahoma, New York, Chicago, Texas and Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 20, and four teams were selected to advance to Saturday’s finals.
School of Entrepreneurship helps re-position
East Central as entrepreneurship magnet school
East Central High School students paired up with OSU students to consult entrepreneurs at the 2011 Cowboy Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs.
A partnership between the School of Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University and East Central High School in Tulsa, Okla., is reaching new heights this spring. Formed in May 2011, the partnership fosters collaborations between OSU and the Tulsa high school around creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
East Central is an urban school that boasts greater student diversity than any high school in the Tulsa area. Of the 1,170 students, 31 percent are Hispanic, 29 percent are African American, 27 percent are Caucasian, 9 percent are American Indian, and 5 percent are Asian. The school suffers from low graduation and attendance rates, and low performance on core educational outcomes. Of those students graduating, few attend college.
Re-positioning the school as an entrepreneurship magnet school is the vision behind this partnership with OSU’s School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business.
Sweet 16 advance to semifinals
in Riata Business Plan Competition
The 2012 Riata Business Plan Competition field has been narrowed to the Sweet 16 from the initial pool of 90 teams that entered in December. The final 16 teams now advance to the semifinals and the finals on April 20-21, when a group of entrepreneurs and venture investors will serve as judges of the final two rounds.
The 16 teams are competing for more than $40,000 in prize money.
The teams will present their business plans in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday, April 20, in Business Building Rooms 123, 124, 234 and 235 of the Spears School of Business. The top four teams will then advance to the finals at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, in Business Building Room 018. The public is invited to attend the semifinals and finals.
Spears School of Business teams win $5,000
at Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup
The PristineCal team won first place in the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Healthcare Award competition.
Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business was well represented recently at the first Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Interviews. Two groups of students representing the Spears School were on winning teams at the Governor’s Cup Interviews.
OSU students comprised two of the five winning teams in the competition, with each team earning $5,000 for placing first in their respective categories.
The PristineCal group of School of Entrepreneurship graduate students Stacey Brandhorst (leader), Rachel Mui, Jay Omanson and Cory Perkins won first place in the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Healthcare Award competition.
Student entrepreneurs capture awards
during Spring Elevator Pitch Competition
Elevator Pitch Competition winners were, from left, David Walker (Nanga Equipment), Stacey Brandhorst (PristineCal) and Jacob Crawley (Clean NG).
Three members of the Entrepreneurship Club at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business were recognized for their outstanding presentations during the Spring Elevator Pitch Competition earlier in March.
Stacey Brandhorst captured first place and was awarded $500 for her presenation “PristineCal.” Second place and $300 was given to David Walker for “Nanga Equipment,” and Jacob Crawley won third place and $200 for “Clean NG.”
“This semester’s Elevator Pitch Competition was amazing,” said Fash Fadaei, president of the Entrepreneurship Club. A record 27 contestants with backgrounds ranging from business to engineering, health care, agriculture and IT competed. Judges consisted of entrepreneurs from across the state, OSU faculty, and financial professionals.
“This competition was an excellent opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs not only to win cash, but also to get valuable feedback on their ideas, and network with successful entrepreneurs who could serve as mentors, partners, or even investors for them as well. This event proves that the American dream is alive and well among college students, and that this generation is up to the challenge to solve the problems that are facing our world,” said Fadaei, who thanked sponsor ISNetworld for providing the prize money.
Riata Center, NAWBO seeking nominations
for Women Entrepreneur of the Year awards
In conjunction with the Women Entrepreneurs (WE Inspire) Conference on April 4 in Oklahoma City, the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business and the National Association of Women Business Owners are partnering to honor outstanding women entrepreneurs.
Nominations are now being accepted for the INSPIRE/NAWBO Distinguished Women Entrepreneur Awards, to be presented to outstanding Oklahoma women entrepreneurs in the following categories:
- Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (Small Business): A woman entrepreneur who has founded a small business with a local customer base, generally fewer than 20 employees and less than $1 million in annual revenues, and has distinguished herself through contributions to our community;
- Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (High Growth): A woman entrepreneur who has created a growth business with over $1 million in annual revenues; created substantial employment for others with more than 20 employees, contractors or franchisees; has an international, national or regional customer base; and has distinguished herself through contribution and giving back to the community;
- Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: Recognizes an early stage woman entrepreneur who has had a business for two years or less with annual revenues of under $250,000, and has demonstrated a commitment to growing her venture;
- Legacy Award: Recognizing contribution and support for women entrepreneurs by an individual in the Oklahoma community.
OSU’s 1st International Conference on Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Health Attracts Top Professionals
The First International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Health attracted attendees from several countries and 18 states across the nation. Healthcare executives and leaders from Australia, Denmark, India, Slovenia, South Africa, and Trinidad traveled to Oklahoma to attend the two-day conference.
The conference was held at the Reed Conference Center in Oklahoma City and was presented by OSU’s School of Entrepreneurship, the Center for Executive and Professional Development in the Spears School of Business, and the Center for Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University.
“The Spears School of Business is dedicated to the mission of improving Oklahoma health care by bringing together physicians, educators and medical executives from all over the world. We want to help create innovative solutions that will lead to better health for all Oklahomans,” said Larry Crosby, dean of the Spears School of Business.
