Oklahoma Venture Forum Podcast

Kris Murray is the OVF Power Lunch Presenter on October 12th, 2022 to discuss Building and Consolidating Brands plus his recent exit from the Flight agency. Kris has built multiple million-dollar businesses with a unique focus on growth through acquisition and consolidation. Day to day, Kris dreams big for both companies and their clients by helping to develop business-building ideas that they can put into motion. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Everything you need to know about Venture Capital (Pt3) with Justin Wilson, Managing Partner and President of Plains Venture Partners, a growth-oriented venture fund focused on investing in entrepreneurs and technologies with a strong potential for disruption. Plains Venture Partners was spun out of i2E in 2019 and represents the next natural progression in i2E's evolution as a proven venture investor. https://plainsventurepartners.com/ With more than $90 million in assets under management and dozens of portfolio companies, i2E has a track record of sourcing, vetting, and investing in early-stage companies across many sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software/IT, energy, and advanced materials. https://i2e.org/ Wilson is responsible for leading the private, for-profit Fund portfolio that supports innovative entrepreneurs who are making an incredible impact here in Oklahoma. With a background in private equity, the medical field, federal government, and non-profit leadership, Wilson brings a variety of perspectives to the firm. He is a proud Tribal Member of the Choctaw Nation, where he served as Director of Strategic Investments at Choctaw Global. Prior to his time with his Tribe, he served as Advisor to the Special Trustee for American Indians in the Federal Government. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science in Physiology from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

A brief preview of the upcoming 2022 OVF Awards event on May 18, 2022 with Jennifer Hankins, Head of Partnerships at Tulsa Innovation Labs. Hankins will be joined by Cody Dupler of Summit Utilities in Lawton and Josh Merrill of Echo Investment Capital for a discussion on the importance of collaboration for innovation in Oklahoma. The OVF Awards incorporate some of the most prestigious recognitions a company can receive because they represent the triumph of the entrepreneurial dream and spirit. Evaluation criteria for the Economic Impact Award, the Venture of the Year Award, and the Most Promising New Venture award are based on: product or service innovation, market potential, potential economic impact, and more. OVF is partnering with Oklahoma Innovate Technology Alliance (OITA) to present the Entrepreneurial Champion Award. This award will recognize an Oklahoma Legislator distinguishing themselves as entrepreneurial champions supporting and growing opportunities, ecosystems, and growth potential for IT & Technology small businesses and economic entrepreneurship within Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Everything you need to know about Venture Capital with Kevin Moore, Partner at Spur Capital Partners. Moore is one of three VCs on a panel discussion at the April 2022 OVF Power Lunch. This is the second VC panel discussion for the 2021-22 session. We discuss the "big picture" of venture funding plus changes being created by COVID-19, the rise of cryptocurrency, blockchain, cloud computing, etc... Kevin has over 14 years of experience in finance having worked at i2E as the Director of Angel Investments, the Federal Reserve Bank as a Supervisory Analyst, and an Investment Advisor with Morgan Stanley and Northwestern Mutual in Chicago. Spur Capital Partners was founded in 2001 and has a successful history of building durable relationships with top-tier venture capital firms in early-stage technology and life science as well as uncovering up-and-coming firms. Limited partners are leading endowments, family offices, foundations, and institutional investors in the United States and abroad. https://www.spurcapital.com/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Everything you need to know about Venture Capital with Aaron Webster, Managing Director at Cameron Ventures. Webster is one of three VCs on a panel discussion at the April 2022 OVF Power Lunch. This is the second VC panel discussion for the 2021-22 session. We discuss what leading Oklahoma venture funders look for in pitches, what makes them want to learn more and what gets an automatic "no" response. Cameron Ventures is an early-stage venture fund with affiliate operating companies that serve customers across the United States, primarily in insurance, banking and asset management. The Cameron team is able to empower its portfolio companies with access to financial and strategic capital, seasoned real-world management teams and a substantial customer base. https://www.cameronvc.com/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

In 2017, the Brookings Institution and Project for Public Spaces completed an 18-month study of Oklahoma City and its Innovation District potential. Katy Boren seized the opportunity to guide the creation of a collaborative ecosystem in Oklahoma City around knowledge-based and STEM economies. Every innovation district is a unique undertaking. Boren shares with us the vision, actions and motivation behind the OKC Innovation District. The Oklahoma City Innovation District, a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2019, is a thriving, 1.3 square mile ecosystem of collaboration, innovation and economic growth located in historic Northeast Oklahoma City, surrounded by internationally acclaimed organizations spanning Oklahoma's diverse sectors – healthcare, bioscience, aerospace & unmanned systems, specialized manufacturing, academia, technology and energy. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Factory Obscura is an Oklahoma City-based art collective creating immersive experiences that awaken wonder, build community, and make the world better. Factory Obscura, Inc was founded as a B-Corporation, existing to create fully immersive art environments and events that awaken joy and wonder, while supporting artists and arts education. Factory Obscura co-founders Laura Phillips and Laurent Massenat discuss bigger plans for a new facility, expanded programming and a major economic impact in Norman, OK. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

On this podcast episode, we revisit the teen entrepreneurs responsible for Wristworld AR game and their adult mentors at Loveworks Leadership. Wristworld is an augmented reality puzzle RPG using wristbands. Created by students who are participating in the Loveworks Leadership, a program designed to empower the creativity, resourcefulness, and potential within each student in an effort to develop their character, academic, and leadership abilities to ensure future success. What better way to design a toy line than to let kids be the creators? That's the idea behind Wristworld. www.wrist.world Loveworks Leadership is a youth leadership organization committed to helping middle school students discover their potential and live into their dreams. Our vision is to empower youth to become leaders by giving every student an opportunity to lead. www.loveworksleadership.org The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Venture Capital Investors: What do leading Oklahoma venture funders look for? The January 12, 2022 OVF Power Lunch will feature a panel discussion by three VCs in Oklahoma who will discuss what type of deals they are looking for, what make's them want to “learn more” and what makes them want to say “Yes”! On this podcast episode, we talk with panelist Nathaniel Harding, a managing partner at Cortado Ventures. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

November Power Lunch presenter Devon Laney is President and CEO of 36 Degrees North in Tulsa, OK. Known as Tulsa's base camp for entrepreneurs, innovators and startups, 36 Degrees North is an entrepreneurial support organization focused on providing the resources, the community and the programs needed to support entrepreneurs as they build, grow and scale businesses. "36 Degrees North is a non-profit, 501C3, and it would not exist without the public and the private partnership together,” says Laney. “In 2017, when 36 Degrees North launched, you had philanthropic community, public, private, chamber. They all came together to create this thing, and it's a success story." https://www.36n.co/ November Pitch Presenters Luke Simkins and Grant DeLozier are co-founders of OKC startup AnnoLab. Simkins and DeLozier cut their teeth building software to automate document processing tasks in Oil and Gas. Eventually, they realized that lots of companies face issues scaling business processes to extract actionable data from documents, images and text. AI and Machine Learning can help solve these problems, but using them is far from easy. AnnoLab offers simpler, less costly ways for businesses to start building custom document AI models. Once an AI model is built, the platform allows them to be used at scale in a safe, human-in-the-loop way. https://annolab.ai/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Rick Nagel is the Managing Partner of Acorn Growth Companies. This small middle-market private equity firm focuses exclusively on ladder stage and growth investments in the aerospace, defense, and intelligence sectors. The company has been around since 2000, starting as the first privately certified incubator in the state of Oklahoma. After 30 deals and on their fifth fund, the firm seeks opportunities to add value as an operating team. Nagel said OVF is great for entrepreneurs and potential investors. “My advice to anybody that might be reading this that's not currently engaged would be to get engaged,” said Nagel. “If you're an early-stage investor, whether you do a deal or not, you'll see things that will make you smarter in that process by listening to these presentations.” www.OVF.org The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries.

With over 20 years of experience, Melissa Houston has made a career in public service in various roles. She has recently served as the Oklahoma Labor Commissioner, Secretary for Education and Workforce Development, and previously as Chief of Staff for the Oklahoma Attorney General and the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security. She's worked under four governors, both Democrat and Republican, and has been referred to as the Swiss army knife of public policy. www.OVF.org The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries.

During Jay Martin's early days of his clinical work in prosthetics, he learned his patients' functional abilities were limited not as much by their amputation as by the lack of technology available in the field. With his love of inventing, Martin saw an opportunity to advance the field of prosthetics to provide more comfort, more functional abilities, and quality of life back to amputees. “We think of prosthetics as being a very high-tech field, there are some great advancements have been made in recent years, artificial intelligence and new control systems and robotic devices, but prosthetics, in my opinion, has really been a very stagnant field, and it's very much in its infancy still,” said Jay Martin, founder of Martin Bionics. “I'd argue the vast majority of amputees, quality of life with prosthetics is but a shadow of what it could or should be if technology were further along.” The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

While headquartered in Oklahoma City, Daniel Maloney was a transplant born in New York, who grew up in South Florida, went to school in Philly, and then made his career in either New York and Silicon Valley before moving to Oklahoma. When he came to the state about a decade ago, Maloney came with the perspective of needing to build a community, build a friend network, and figuring out how to build a company somewhere where you don't necessarily have deep roots. “I always found the community incredibly welcoming and was grateful for that,” said Daniel Maloney. “But that said, it's been a really fun ride, fun journey so far, and I'm excited for what's coming up.” Maloney is one of the co-founders of Tailwind, whose mission is to make world-class marketing easy for everyone. That word, everyone, is essential to them. When Maloney initially looked at the digital marketing landscape, he saw that the vast majority of tools were geared at larger enterprise-tier businesses with complex needs and sophisticated marketing functions. The tools available at the time created an unlevel playing field as well. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

With the experience of having raised nearly $800 million for companies, and buying and selling approximately 40 companies, Tra Pippin considers himself qualified in the turnaround industry arena. He's also turned around businesses that ranged from a low of 1 million in revenue to a high of about $150 million. Pippin got into the industry happenstance manner. “I bought a company back in June of 1982 called Perfection Equipment Company,” said Pippin. “And at the time, I think our revenues were roughly $2 million a month. Well, there was a little shopping center bank here in Oklahoma City called Penn Square Bank that crashed on July 5, 1982. And I don't think either myself or my partner recognized the fact that a little shopping center bank could have the impact that it did, but it caused probably the greatest crash in the oil industry, certainly in my lifetime.” Their revenue went from two to two-and-a-half million dollars a month to approximately $300,000 a month. Based on that, at the time, Pippin purchased the company. They had about 130 employees. A year later, they were down to 30 employees and were making decisions on how to cut based on whether someone had been there 15 years or 20 years. The industry turned around, and Perfection Equipment Company today is a lively, growing company in Oklahoma City. Pippin said he learned how to save a company before there were associations, conventions, and resources dedicated to the turnaround industry. When buying a company now, Pippin has several things he looks for to inform his decision. If you're considering attending Pippin's OVF talk, he said he could help give broad-brush solutions to their issue with their company. Tra Pippin will be speaking at the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch on Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Be sure to register for the online ZOOM event to learn more about turning around a business, asking your questions, and networking with entrepreneurs in Oklahoma. https://ovf.org/Blog/10043372 https://ovf.org/

With a background in government and public affairs, Tom Robins is putting his political knowledge to help Oklahoma grow as a Top 10 place for IT. In the fall of 2019, Robins started the OITA, the Oklahoma Innovative Technology Alliance, to give Oklahoma IT companies a voice in the public policy process. As part of his presentation for the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch, Robins will highlight the gist of their mission statement and how they educate policy members, members of the legislature, and others, the best way to create an environment for IT and technology in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

With a background in government and public affairs, Tom Robins is putting his political knowledge to help Oklahoma grow as a Top 10 place for IT. In the fall of 2019, Robins started the OITA, the Oklahoma Innovative Technology Alliance, to give Oklahoma IT companies a voice in the public policy process. As part of his presentation for the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch, Robins will highlight the gist of their mission statement and how they educate policy members, members of the legislature, and others, the best way to create an environment for IT and technology in Oklahoma.“We got organized at the end of this last year, and we’re really kicking things off in January,” said Robins. “We’re going to be doing a coffee and conversation with the Oklahoma legislators, with Oklahoma IT leaders. So I think that’ll be a great thing for investment, the investment community in Oklahoma, for OVF members, for people that are involved with businesses that have an IT innovative component that are either just starting or that are established, that want to network with other companies, but also want to start talking to policymakers about that.”Robins’ main topic of his presentation will be on the autonomous vehicle side. As president of the consulting company, Solid Foundation Consulting, Robins helps build projects and coalitions around different issues. One of those he got tapped to lead was on behalf of the secretary of transportation, was to head the Oklahoma autonomous vehicle working group. The purpose of the group is to signal to the markets, signal to investments, and signal to people who are interested that Oklahoma is open for business when it comes to autonomous vehicle technology.An example of the group’s earliest win they had was the issue on truck platooning. Similar to how flocks of birds drift off of each other to converse energy, the state of Oklahoma passed a bill that allowed for that technology with trucks.Tom Robins, along with Jim Grimsley, will be speaking at the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch on Wednesday, January 13, 2021. Be sure to register for the online ZOOM event to learn more about how technology is shifting in Oklahoma, ask your questions, and network with entrepreneurs in Oklahoma.https://ovf.org/

Before becoming an International Business Coach, Stacy Eads had been the CEO of a Norman technology company for over a decade when she fell in love with the book, Scaling Up by Verne Harnish. For Eads' presentation for December's OVF power lunch, she will teach a tool that helps expedite decision-making processes during stressful times, especially with all of the pandemic's pivots. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Before becoming an International Business Coach, Stacy Eads had been the CEO of a Norman technology company for over a decade when she fell in love with the book, Scaling Up by Verne Harnish.For Eads’ presentation for December’s OVF power lunch, she will teach a tool that helps expedite decision-making processes during stressful times, especially with all of the pandemic’s pivots. The OODA Loop, which stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, has helped her clientele make better designs during moments of fight or flight.Eads said one of the things she loves about the tool is that the first step is to make sure that you observe that you’re observing facts only. She explained that when people are in a crisis mode, their emotions are at play or there is competing information, and they’re unsure which way to go.Stacy Eads will be speaking at the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. Be sure to register for the online ZOOM event to learn more about OODA, ask your questions, and network with entrepreneurs in Oklahoma.“Many of them might’ve even heard of the OODA loop before, but maybe they have not put it into the perspective of how to use the OODA loop within the year 2020, and within the type of anxiety that CEOs are having these days,” Eads said. “The types of pivots that they’re making during this pandemic. So I’m excited to take an old concept that’s been around for decades and maybe breathe in some new life into what the year 2020 has to offer.”OVF.org

As a smart truck and trailer movement leader, Drōv Technologies enables intelligent and safe technology in the transportation industry. They're developing the AirBoxOne, which controls tire inflation and deflation on the trailer dynamically based on the vehicle's load. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

As a smart truck and trailer movement leader, Drōv Technologies enables intelligent and safe technology in the transportation industry. They're developing the AirBoxOne, which controls tire inflation and deflation on the trailer dynamically based on the vehicle's load. "As the trailer's loaded, it calculates the optimal tire pressure and adjust accordingly," explained Lisa Mullen, . "Then, in that same box, we have set an IoT gateway that will connect to sensor capabilities around the trailer. Everything from the door lock, GPS, accelerometer, refrigeration, temperature, wheel-end temperature, light out detection, camera, cargo sensing capabilities, just to name a few of the initial feature sets." The benefits of the system include safety and financial ROI. There are fuel efficiency savings that come with standard tire inflation and management. In terms of safety, having correctly inflated and managed tires will prevent critical issues such as blowouts or leaks that lead to that. "Our system can detect not only typical leaks like when you roll over something, but we can get down to valve stem leaks," Mullen said. "And diagnose situations that could ultimately, if left undiagnosed, become bigger problems for the fleet." In addition to leak issues, AirBoxOne can diagnose if bearings are heating up or if the temperature on wheel ends are getting to a critical level and prevent wheel end fires. The system can alert the driver and the fleet of those issues to avoid situations that might occur if it gets to a critical level. Mullen's involvement with Drōv Technologies started when a group of investors and business partners bought the company when it was just a mechanical tire inflation product. During evaluations, they made the bold decision to take all of the previous products off the market and re-engineer the wheel-end componentry. "While we did that, we took a look at the market and said, 'There's all this money going into technology and the truck, and there's no technology or very little going into the trailer,'" Mullen said. "In addition to that, we had the notion of inflating and deflating on load, but we had a prototype we hadn't flushed that out. With what was not happening in the market for the trailer side but what was happening on the truck, we thought let's make this more of a technology solution. We've spent the last few years building out a comprehensive technology solution that can lead the trailer industry from now into the future." Mullen is excited about Drōv's position to continue developing the future of trailer technology. Lisa Mullen will be speaking at the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch on Wednesday, November 11, 2020. Be sure to register below for the online ZOOM event to learn more about DROV, ask your questions, and connect with other entrepreneurs in Oklahoma. https://ovf.org/

For over 30 years, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has been the state's agency for technology development, technology transfer, and technology commercialization. With Governor Kevin Stitt's goal to make Oklahoma a Top 10 state, OCAST is doing its part through partnerships and collaborations to stimulate economic development and technology-based economic development. “We help to get science and technology projects, support those through our grant process and elevate Oklahoma's science and technology community so that we're competitive nationally as well as globally,” explained OCAST's Executive Director, Michael Carolina. “We have some leading-edge researchers and research companies that benefit from OCAST's grants, and they're able to attract federal grants as well as private money from the private sector to accelerate research to commercialization or conversion; the conversion of technology to the marketplace.” The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

For over 30 years, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has been the state’s agency for technology development, technology transfer, and technology commercialization. With Governor Kevin Stitt’s goal to make Oklahoma a Top 10 state, OCAST is doing its part through partnerships and collaborations to stimulate economic development and technology-based economic development.“We help to get science and technology projects, support those through our grant process and elevate Oklahoma’s science and technology community so that we’re competitive nationally as well as globally,” explained OCAST’s Executive Director, Michael Carolina. “We have some leading-edge researchers and research companies that benefit from OCAST’s grants, and they’re able to attract federal grants as well as private money from the private sector to accelerate research to commercialization or conversion; the conversion of technology to the marketplace.”With the task to grow and diversify Oklahoma’s economy, Carolina described his job as atypical. Before joining OCAST, he worked in management and executive positions with the Western Electric Company, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. While with AT&T and Lucent Technologies, he was involved in engineering, strategic planning, new product design and introduction, manufacturing, technology transfer, and joint venture operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America.“I think in Oklahoma, we have an asset base here that’s pretty rich. Again, with our higher education system, with our industrial complex that includes energy and includes aerospace and defense, bio-science, biotechnology, information technology, manufacturing, healthcare,” Carolina said. “The healthcare industry is growing, and so I think there are a lot of things that we can point to that are strengths in a global economy.”One example of OCAST’s success stories, which Carolina plans to discuss during his presentation for OVF, is the work of Craig Shimasaki at Moleculera Labs.“[Moleculera Labs] is doing some work now on the impact of COVID or the correlation of COVID and brain health and mental health,” Carolina said. “That’s a real success story. Craig Shimasaki was able to take an OCAST grant and leverage that with federal dollars as well as private investment to move the autism spectrum along. Hopefully, we’ll have some effective treatments for it.”From research to pre-seed dollars to seed capital dollars to manufacturing through intern partnerships, OCAST is developing the local talent base Oklahoma needs to go forward and keep the state from losing engineering STEM talent.“If we have the kind of industrial base that’s attractive to our graduates when they leave our higher education system, they’re more likely to stay in the state because they have jobs in their specific areas of study,” explained Carolina. “We can organically grow our own businesses from scratch. And that's basically our task as OCAST, to help businesses grow organically.”For Oklahoma to be top 10 in more areas, Carolina said it would require some strategic investment. By taking advantage of our geography, educational assets at the university level, industrial base, and the pioneer spirit of Oklahoma’s citizens, he believes we can make a difference and make Oklahoma relevant and competitive on a national and international scale.“It requires working with our politicians, our legislature, the governor, and his team saying, how do we coalesce those assets, so that Oklahoma becomes not a Silicon Valley, but we can become a technology corridor,” Carolina said.Michael Carolina will be speaking at the Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. Be sure to register for the online ZOOM event to learn more about OCAST, ask your questions, and network with entrepreneurs in Oklahoma. As a member, he encourages others to join the community and help with new ideas. He is looking to addressing the OVF and having some dialogue about where people think we should go next. https://ovf.org/

With origins in the solar-power industry, David Jankowsky saw a problem in the electric vehicle market. With billions going into EV technology, Jankowsky noticed little of that funding was going towards infrastructure. While Tesla Motors may have popularized the electric car and built their superchargers, they're all closed source. “We know there's literally going to be hundreds of car manufacturers in the next five, ten years coming out with electric vehicles, and they would not be able to use the Tesla superchargers, so we solved that problem,” said Jankowsky.“We developed and installed universal chargers, so any car in the world can use them, including Tesla drivers. We solved the range-anxiety issue, meaning no one's going to buy a car if there's no infrastructure to fuel them if they're away from their home.” The Francis EV Charging Network solved range anxiety in Oklahoma by having a charging station every 50 miles. One could travel from Broken Bow to Guymon in their electric car. Jankowsky notes that one may have to drive 10 to 20 miles out of the way to access a charger because they currently don't have enough in Oklahoma. The first phase of the network features 225 fast-charging stations across 109 strategically located sites in Oklahoma, including small towns. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

September 2020 Virtual Power Lunch Guest Speaker David Jankowsky, President of Francis Renewable Energy. With origins in the solar-power industry, David Jankowsky saw a problem in the electric vehicle market. With billions going into EV technology, Jankowsky noticed little of that funding was going towards infrastructure. While Tesla Motors may have popularized the electric car and built their superchargers, they’re all closed source.“We know there’s literally going to be hundreds of car manufacturers in the next five, ten years coming out with electric vehicles, and they would not be able to use the Tesla superchargers, so we solved that problem,” said Jankowsky.“We developed and installed universal chargers, so any car in the world can use them, including Tesla drivers. We solved the range-anxiety issue, meaning no one’s going to buy a car if there’s no infrastructure to fuel them if they’re away from their home.”The Francis EV Charging Network solved range anxiety in Oklahoma by having a charging station every 50 miles. One could travel from Broken Bow to Guymon in their electric car. Jankowsky notes that one may have to drive 10 to 20 miles out of the way to access a charger because they currently don’t have enough in Oklahoma. The first phase of the network features 225 fast-charging stations across 109 strategically located sites in Oklahoma, including small towns.The Oklahoma Venture Forum offers a combination of peer-to-peer conversation, Pitch Presentations of viable business scenarios (not just potential) and Success Stories. OVF promotes the economic development of Oklahoma. OVF.org

KItt Letcher, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma details her appreciation for the efforts of OVF to provide exceptional value for BBB as the Most Promising New Business Award sponsor during changes in the annual VOTY/MPNB event forced by COVID-19 in 2020.The 2020 finalists for Most Promising New Business, presented by the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma, included Galvanic Energy and Canopy Weather, LLC. Galvanic Energy addresses economic and technical barriers to create an abundant domestic supply of raw materials for alternative-energy future. Canopy Weather identifies roof condition and damage within 1 hour of hailstorms by using innovation within the data science and AI required to create the original dataset.The Oklahoma Venture Forum annual awards event was developed to recognize the achievements of successful Oklahoma companies. These awards encourage and identify the importance of entrepreneurship in our state. Each of the recipients is an outstanding Oklahoma success story with a bright future.The Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma’s mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust.• Setting standards for marketplace trust• Encouraging and supporting best practices by engaging with and educating consumers and businesses• Celebrating marketplace role models• Calling out and addressing substandard marketplace behavior• Creating a community of trustworthy businesses and charitiesOklahoma Venture Forum is the oldest organization of its kind. The organization was founded in 1987 and will continue to be the champion for small business ventures and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents in Oklahoma for many years to come. Since its beginning, the Oklahoma Venture Forum has been the preeminent Oklahoma organization promoting the formation of venture capital and development of entrepreneurship.BBB sees trust as a function of two primary factors – integrity and performance. Integrity includes respect, ethics and intent. Performance speaks to a business’s track record of delivering results in accordance with BBB standards and/or addressing customer concerns in a timely, satisfactory manner. We foster new and existing business ventures in Oklahoma through monthly Power Lunches, OVF After Hours and annual recognition awards. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs and service providers from across Oklahoma representing the wide array of business interests in our state. OVF programs create awareness of business opportunities and trends and offer purposeful networking for leaders of commerce. https://ovf.org/

Diversifying Oklahoma's economic opportunities via brewing, tourism and taking chances. What started with “poor decisions and lots of circumstances,” COOP Ale Works has grown into a company with a $20 million expansion plan at the former 45th Infantry Armory. Despite feeling like an outsider in the brewing community from not being a brewer himself, Daniel Mercer, CEO of Coop Ale Works, sees positives in his business-focused skill set. https://coopaleworks.com/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

What started with “poor decisions and lots of circumstances,” COOP Ale Works has grown into a company with a $20 million expansion plan at the former 45th Infantry Armory. Despite feeling like an outsider in the brewing community from not being a brewer himself, Daniel Mercer, CEO of Coop Ale Works, sees positives in his business-focused skill set.“Once you get into the core of it, we ’re taking this brewery model, and we ’re expanding it and adding other new businesses to our model that put us right back in the same boat that we were in 10, 12 years ago,” Mercer explained. “We ’re getting into the hotel business or we ’re getting into this culinary business that involves a taproom in a restaurant and a speakeasy and all these event support spaces that have culinary features and a pool club, bar. Banks have been interested but not receptive to the total deal structure and scale. It ’s a large deal, and when you take a package to a bank that says you ’re going to spend $36 million over 20 months, including the money we ’ve already spent over the past couple of years in development, it becomes a scenario where virtually every bank is casting doubt, and then your solution, there, is to try to find alternative methods to finance your deal.”“We spend a lot of time talking about diversifying industry in Oklahoma, and a lot of that talk is around, either, high-impact or high-level concept industries,” Mercer said. “Whether it ’s biomedical research or autoimmune disease treatment or mechanical devices... things centered around the oil and gas industry that may be new technologies and hardware technologies. But there are also plenty of other industries that just aren't ’t near as sexy, frankly. And I think, in Oklahoma in particular, we ’ve done a great job of focusing on the resources that we have. Particularly around the OU Health Science Center, around the oil and gas base that exists here and all the new technologies that have sprung out of that industry over the past, say, 20 years.”https://coopaleworks.com/

The Oklahoma Women's Coalition's mission is “to champion the collective power of Oklahomans to advance gender equity and justice.” Underscoring this mission are two key initiatives: Pay transparency legislation and a pipeline to politics. “There's a lot of mania around the topic of pay transparency,” says Liz Charles, who is eager to clarify the language of two bills being considered by Oklahoma House Committees. One of the bills seeks to raise fines charged for violations against the Equal Pay Act. “These fines haven't been raised since the Act became law in 1963,” says Charles. “Though we aren't asking for numbers in line with inflation, we are asking for a bit of an increase for employers who discriminate against women.” https://www.okwc.org/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Purse Power is now working to become the primary source to find and buy from women-owned and women-led companies in the United States. We dream of playing a part in creating a day when our daughters, granddaughters, sons and grandsons can achieve their dreams irrespective of gender. https://www.pursepower.com/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

As young Liz Charles traveled the world, she noticed a pattern: “People would tease my mom and they wouldn’t let her speak. So I saw her own personal fight with trying to have her space and equal opportunity. Both my parents were pastors and missionaries, but my mom got shot down because she was a woman.” Now Liz is in Oklahoma, and she is continuing the fight for women’s rights in her position as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, The coalition’s mission is “to champion the collective power of Oklahomans to advance gender equity and justice.” Underscoring this mission are two key initiatives: Pay transparency legislation and a pipeline to politics. “There’s a lot of mania around the topic of pay transparency,” says Liz Charles, who is eager to clarify the language of two bills being considered by Oklahoma House Committees. One of the bills seeks to raise fines charged for violations against the Equal Pay Act. “These fines haven’t been raised since the Act became law in 1963,” says Charles. “Though we aren’t asking for numbers in line with inflation, we are asking for a bit of an increase for employers who discriminate against women.” The Coalition is championing another piece of legislation that falls along the same lines. “We want folks to be allowed to inquire, through proper, established channels, about the salary ranges at their workplace. Right now, asking someone with your same experience and education about their salary can get you fired. So we are working on a bill that would allow for more transparent conversations.” And it takes many conversations to get to that level of transparency. “We’ve introduced these bills during the last four legislative sessions,” says Liz Charles, “and there have been amendments along the way.” In contrast to a legislative process that may take years and conclude with an unexpected outcome, the annual Pipeline to Politics Conference delivers every time. “It’s a win-win,” declares Charles, “because every woman who attends leaves with an understanding of local-level politics. The conference is for any woman of any age who is interested in public service. The speakers are from all levels of government, from school board members to legislators.” Not surprisingly, the conversations at this one-day conference are very transparent. Topics include how to campaign for yourself, what to do when you win, what to do you when you lose, and how to campaign for another candidate. The full circle conversations are the best. Says the Executive Director, “It’s awesome when former attendees decide to run for office, get elected, and then come back as conference speakers. I think this belief in equality has always been ingrained in me,” she says. “Women deserve a face and we deserve to have influence and positions of leadership because of our experiences matter and our voice matters. There are people who need to hear from us. People need to put women in those positions so those little girls can see women doing things we think only men can do. Because you can’t be what you can’t see.” Interviewed by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group.

Our March 2020 Pitch Presentation comes from Donna Miller with Purse Power.It's never too late to live your dream. Our dream is to make a difference for women. A few years ago the three Babcock sisters (Donna Miller, Dr. Karen Nern and Dr. Phyllis (Freddi) Pennington) were on vacation in Miami. We were discussing our frustration with the lack of women in senior leadership positions and the 1 out of 4 women impacted by domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Our mother was a brilliant, beautiful nursing professor, author and activist who was also a survivor. All three of us have MBAs and two are medical doctors. Our mother raised us to be strong, independent women. Her battle cry was “To whom much is given, much is expected.” We have all taken this to heart and want to make a difference in this world.Even though women make between 73-85% of all purchasing decisions, have trillions of dollars in spending power, control 51% of the private wealth and make or influence 67% of investment decisions, we hold less than 5% of the CEO jobs and around 21% of the board seats. The gap between our spending power and our representation in senior leadership is indefensible particularly since research has proven that companies perform better when there are more women in leadership roles.When we began to discuss what could be done to drive positive change, we realized that the power was already in women’s hands. If we could get women to use their enormous economic power to buy from companies that actively create opportunities for women, we could shatter glass ceilings in a matter of quarters rather than decades. If we could also use a portion of the proceeds to create a funding stream that supported battered women’s shelters and programs that keep women safer, we could make this world a better place for all of us. Purse Power was born.Purse Power is now working to become the primary source to find and buy from women-owned and women-led companies in the United States. We dream of playing a part in creating a day when our daughters, granddaughters, sons and grandsons can achieve their dreams irrespective of gender. https://www.pursepower.com/Interviewed by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group.

Jeff Price has an extensive background in game design, electronic media, interactive communications, and graphic design. Teaching at Oklahoma City University, Jeff draws from 20+ years of experience as an Associate Professor of Gaming and Animation at Sam Houston State University and Oklahoma State University, Assistant Professor of Interactive Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, and his experience as the owner of Price Media Group. Jeff's experience in the design and development of websites and web-based communications, as well as interactive multimedia and CD-ROM projects, led him to launch Price Media Group in 2000. As principal of PMG, Price has won several industry awards in video, animation, interactive, and print design. At VCU, Jeff was the director of the Advanced Visualization Lab, focusing on the delivery of traditional and 3d computer animation and virtual reality applications. He has worked for multi-service design and advertising agencies and has developed print design, signage, logos, and a/v presentations. Jeff's students have gone on to work at industry giants such as Dreamworks, Sony Imageworks, Digital Domain, ID Software, Imaginary Forces, Magnet Interactive, Organic, Blur, Midway Games, and Big Idea. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Oklahoma startup Viribus VR Labs is a company dedicated to helping people with disabilities and their therapists. By creating a unique platform of fully immersive virtual reality games wirelessly connected to a sensor suit, Viribus makes performing home therapy programs fun! When it's fun, more gets done...and that makes movements stronger and more controlled. Through a process called “neuroplasticity,” new brain connections are formed, improving functional pathways and facilitating better therapy results. https://www.viribusvr.com/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Jeff Price has an extensive background in game design, electronic media, interactive communications, and graphic design. Teaching at Oklahoma City University, Jeff draws from 20+ years of experience as an Associate Professor of Gaming and Animation at Sam Houston State University and Oklahoma State University, Assistant Professor of Interactive Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, and his experience as the owner of Price Media Group. Jeff 's experience in the design and development of websites and web-based communications, as well as interactive multimedia and CD-ROM projects, led him to launch Price Media Group in 2000. As principal of PMG, Price has won several industry awards in video, animation, interactive, and print design.At VCU, Jeff was the director of the Advanced Visualization Lab, focusing on the delivery of traditional and 3d computer animation and virtual reality applications. He has worked for multi-service design and advertising agencies and has developed print design, signage, logos, and a/v presentations.Jeff's students have gone on to work at industry giants such as Dreamworks, Sony Imageworks, Digital Domain, ID Software, Imaginary Forces, Magnet Interactive, Organic, Blur, Midway Games, and Big Idea.

Oklahoma startup Viribus VR Labs is a company dedicated to helping people with disabilities and their therapists. By creating a unique platform of fully immersive virtual reality games wirelessly connected to a sensor suit, Viribus makes performing home therapy programs fun! When it’s fun, more gets done...and that makes movements stronger and more controlled. Through a process called “neuroplasticity,” new brain connections are formed, improving functional pathways and facilitating better therapy results. https://www.viribusvr.com/

As Matt Williamson swings over the Oklahoma City skyline and grabs hold of the International Space Station, he's already thinking about his next move. “I'm definitely like the blue-sky guy,” says the founder and CEO of Clevyr. “My company is aggressive in moving deeper into new technology. We've always been that firm in Oklahoma City that says, ‘Cool! We can do that! We'll figure it out.'” The team at Clevyr visualizes and then creates software to streamline processes and improve lives. They excel at workflow automation, web design, facial recognition, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The latter put Williamson at the OKC skyline and beyond, but Clevyr-style VR can also land you courtside at a Thunder game or behind the controls of a powerful machine. For example, Clevyr has created a couple of VR training environments for warehouse and manufacturing facilities. Multiple trainees can learn how to operate vehicles or presses in a realistic environment. If accidents happen, everyone learns but no one gets hurt. While the training continues, the actual machines are available for day-to-day operations. Daily learning tasks at school are also enhanced by Clevyr software solutions. “My favorite AR application is actually one we're doing right now in the education space,” says Matt Williamson, “so I can't talk much about it. But I can tell you that this kind of learning allows children to see things in real-time while engaging a different part of their brain.” https://ovf.org/BLOG/8437547 The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org Interview by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group

Dr. Vasan is a Board-Certified Otolaryngologist - Head and Neck Surgeon at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Vasan was born and raised in New Zealand and is a member of The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He has authored numerous papers and book chapters in the field of Head and Neck Surgery and performs Head and Neck Robotic Surgery. Dr. Vasan has developed medical devices for robotic surgery with the University. He founded Adroit Surgical LLC, a private company in 2010 to develop and commercialize patented emergency airway management devices. Dr. Vasan is an Associate Professor who specializes in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and serves as Program Director for the Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Residency Program. There is a problem with our medical residency programs in the United States. Governing bodies determine duty hours standards and resident physicians are tasked to follow them. But are they? The majority of Program Directors interviewed state that there are errors in the reporting process. Delayed time entries and honor-based systems do not provide accurate information to the institution or the governing bodies, and inaccurate data is the byproduct. WorkOur has developed a product that eliminates this broken system and allows medical residents and physicians to seamlessly record and track duty hours details in real-time through location-based technology and their phones. The data generated provides valuable information to the programs and institutions, helping them make critical decisions about staffing and quality of care. WorkOur's ultimate goal is to use this data to effect change by promoting flexibility in the current duty-hour standards in the US and around the globe. https://ovf.org/BLOG/8437554 The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org Interview by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group

As Matt Williamson swings over the Oklahoma City skyline and grabs hold of the International Space Station, he’s already thinking about his next move. “I’m definitely like the blue-sky guy,” says the founder and CEO of Clevyr. “My company is aggressive in moving deeper into new technology. We’ve always been that firm in Oklahoma City that says, ‘Cool! We can do that! We’ll figure it out.’”The team at Clevyr visualizes and then creates software to streamline processes and improve lives. They excel at workflow automation, web design, facial recognition, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The latter put Williamson at the OKC skyline and beyond, but Clevyr-style VR can also land you courtside at a Thunder game or behind the controls of a powerful machine.For example, Clevyr has created a couple of VR training environments for warehouse and manufacturing facilities. Multiple trainees can learn how to operate vehicles or presses in a realistic environment. If accidents happen, everyone learns but no one gets hurt. While the training continues, the actual machines are available for day-to-day operations.Daily learning tasks at school are also enhanced by Clevyr software solutions. “My favorite AR application is actually one we’re doing right now in the education space,” says Matt Williamson, “so I can’t talk much about it. But I can tell you that this kind of learning allows children to see things in real-time while engaging a different part of their brain.”Ready to experience Clevyr-style AR for yourself? Turn your phone into an augmented reality marker scanner by downloading the Clevyr app. Then print out and scan the pop-up city marker on Clevyr’s website.“I get giddy when I think about this technology,” says the CEO who still delights in computers after nearly 25 years in the industry. Others share his glee upon seeing the city scene come to life on their phones. “Every time I show it to someone,” Matt says, “they ask, ‘Where am I in this scene?’ Because your brain is saying, ‘this is where I am.’”The markers, known as Clevyr Stories, are an engaging way to introduce AR technology to the marketplace. “Just imagine what it would be like,” says Williamson, “to use this interactive tool to show people what your company has to offer. I can tell you that we get a tremendous response when we send out cards with these markers on them.”“You get to interact and play, zoom in and out. It provides an impact that lasts a lot longer than mailing out a marketing slick or handing out a business card.”The Clevyr Stories pop up marker also has hot air balloons, and there’s plenty of blue sky for all of them.Interviewed by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group.

Dr. Vasan is a Board-Certified Otolaryngologist - Head and Neck Surgeon at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Vasan was born and raised in New Zealand and is a member of The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He has authored numerous papers and book chapters in the field of Head and Neck Surgery and performs Head and Neck Robotic Surgery.Dr. Vasan has developed medical devices for robotic surgery with the University.He founded Adroit Surgical LLC, a private company in 2010 to develop and commercialize patented emergency airway management devices.Dr. Vasan is an Associate Professor who specializes in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and serves as Program Director for the Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Residency Program. There is a problem with our medical residency programs in the United States. Governing bodies determine duty hours standards and resident physicians are tasked to follow them. But are they? The majority of Program Directors interviewed state that there are errors in the reporting process. Delayed time entries and honor-based systems do not provide accurate information to the institution or the governing bodies, and inaccurate data is the byproduct.WorkOur has developed a product that eliminates this broken system and allows medical residents and physicians to seamlessly record and track duty hours details in real-time through location-based technology and their phones. The data generated provides valuable information to the programs and institutions, helping them make critical decisions about staffing and quality of care. WorkOur’s ultimate goal is to use this data to effect change by promoting flexibility in the current duty-hour standards in the US and around the globe.Interviewed by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group.

Douglas Sorocco is the owner of Dunlap Codding in Oklahoma City, an intellectual property attorney, PHOSITA blogger, chemist, visionary, social entrepreneur and creator of DC on Film Row. He's also one of the volunteer co-directors of the new Oklahoma Entrepreneurship Mentoring Program (OKEMP). Modeled after MIT's Venture Mentoring Service (MIT VMS), OKEMP matches an entrepreneur with a team of unbiased, experienced mentors. “This type of commitment is what's been missing in Oklahoma,” he says. “OKEMP provides mentoring teams who follow entrepreneurs throughout their whole career. Because true entrepreneurs don't stop with just one idea. One of the beauties of the program is that no matter where the entrepreneurs are in their life cycle, they're getting matched up with mentors who can offer unbiased, unconflicted advice.” What mentors also offer is access to their experiences as successful entrepreneurs, delivered during regularly scheduled 90-minute meetings. “There is a curriculum,” explains Sorocco, “but it is driven by the entrepreneurs who are coming with questions and concerns. For example, the first entrepreneur may already have a prototype without ever looking at markets. So it's backward! So the mentor helps identify who's going to buy the product. Whereas the second entrepreneur may be a programmer who's never sold anything. So the mentoring team teaches how to develop relationships that don't seem too transactional.” “Most entrepreneurs are going to fail with their first or second company. What we need for them to do is learn along the way so that when they get to number three or four, they're more likely to succeed.” https://creativeoklahoma.org/okemp/ Interview by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group

Dr. Nguyen launched Mimosa Health in May 2017 with a mission to provide expert advice on the use of medications by older adults. Mimosa Health utilizes specialized knowledge in geriatrics and the unique medication-related needs of the senior population. Dr. Nguyen helps seniors reduce medication-related problems, reduce healthcare costs, and improve their quality of life through our community medication education seminars and personalized senior health services. https://mimosahealth.com/ The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org Interview by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group

Douglas Sorocco is owner of Dunlap Codding in Oklahoma City, an intellectual property attorney, PHOSITA blogger, chemist, visionary, social entrepreneur and creator of DC on Film Row. He’s also one of the volunteer co-directors of the new Oklahoma Entrepreneurship Mentoring Program (OKEMP). Modeled after MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service (MIT VMS), OKEMP matches an entrepreneur with a team of unbiased, experienced mentors.“This type of commitment is what’s been missing in Oklahoma,” he says. “OKEMP provides mentoring teams who follow entrepreneurs throughout their whole career. Because true entrepreneurs don’t stop with just one idea.”“One of the beauties of the program is that no matter where the entrepreneurs are in their life cycle, they’re getting matched up with mentors who can offer unbiased, unconflicted advice.”What mentors also offer is access to their experiences as successful entrepreneurs, delivered during regularly scheduled 90-minute meetings. “There is a curriculum,” explains Sorocco, “but it is driven by the entrepreneurs who are coming with questions and concerns.”“For example, the first entrepreneur may already have a prototype without ever looking at markets. So it’s backward! So the mentor helps identify who’s going to buy the product. Whereas the second entrepreneur may be a programmer who’s never sold anything. So the mentoring team teaches how to develop relationships that don’t seem too transactional.”“Most entrepreneurs are going to fail with their first or second company. What we need for them to do is learn along the way so that when they get to number three or four, they’re more likely to succeed.”https://creativeoklahoma.org/okemp/Interviewed by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group.

Dr. Nguyen launched Mimosa Health in May 2017 with a mission to provide expert advice on the use of medications by older adults. Mimosa Health utilizes specialized knowledge in geriatrics and the unique medication-related needs of the senior population. Dr. Nguyen helps seniors reduce medication-related problems, reduce healthcare costs, and improve their quality of life through our community medication education seminars and personalized senior health services. https://mimosahealth.com/ Interviewed by Dennis Spielman for The Golding Group.

After earning his Ph.D. in Spanish at the University of Texas at Austin, Rob Reynolds began his career as a university faculty member teaching languages and literature. He has also served in university administration, as a textbook publishing executive, and as a co-founder and/or leader of multiple educational technology startups. Reynolds currently serves as Executive Director of TEL Library, a non-profit, public library dedicated to providing affordable learning to anyone, anywhere. TEL Library continues to innovate content management and publishing with a goal of making high-quality education affordable and easily accessible for everyone, everywhere. They are currently building a library of high-quality, low-cost learning content that can be repurposed and distributed quickly and efficiently across multiple product types and markets. In the next phase, TEL Library's long-term goal is to leverage its structured data framework and make its structured content available to third-party AI systems to make high-quality, affordable education accessible worldwide. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org Interview by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group

Transparency, trust, and transformation at the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma. How does an Oklahoma organization anticipate its 90th birthday? In the case of the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma, it stays true to the core values established in 1930 while continually adapting its services to the business community. “Transparency is one of the core values of our business,” says Kitt Letcher, the CEO and President of the Bureau. “And our standards of trust must be met before a business can earn BBB accreditation. But we're also really trying to transform our image to business owners.” “We're really trying to transform our image to business owners. We want them to see us as a resource for helping and/or stabilizing their businesses.” The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org Interview by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group

After earning his Ph.D. in Spanish at the University of Texas at Austin, Rob Reynolds began his career as a university faculty member teaching languages and literature. He has also served in university administration, as a textbook publishing executive, and as a co-founder and/or leader of multiple educational technology startups. Reynolds currently serves as Executive Director of TEL Library, a non-profit, public library dedicated to providing affordable learning to anyone, anywhere. TEL Library continues to innovate content management and publishing with a goal of making high-quality education affordable and easily accessible for everyone, everywhere. They are currently building a library of high-quality, low-cost learning content that can be repurposed and distributed quickly and efficiently across multiple product types and markets. In the next phase, TEL Library’s long-term goal is to leverage its structured data framework and make its structured content available to third-party AI systems to make high-quality, affordable education accessible worldwide.Interviewed November 13th by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group.

Transparency, trust, and transformation at the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma. How does an Oklahoma organization anticipate its 90th birthday? In the case of the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma, it stays true to the core values established in 1930 while continually adapting its services to the business community. “Transparency is one of the core values of our business,” says Kitt Letcher, the CEO and President of the Bureau. “And our standards of trust must be met before a business can earn BBB accreditation. But we’re also really trying to transform our image to business owners.”“We’re really trying to transform our image to business owners. We want them to see us as a resource for helping and/or stabilizing their businesses.” Recorded November 13th, 2019. Interview by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group.

Our Pitch Presenters for October 2019 were L.B. Dahle, CEO & Ryan Stanfield, President/COO of ePathScreen, a medical devices development company that holds patented technology for intelligent, cell recognition software used in cancer screening and diagnosis. Relying on proprietary algorithms, the software offers a true paradigm shift replacing human subjectivity with AI technological objectivity, self-learning, including improved accuracy and speed of delivery. The ePathScreen software won the prestigious University Startup World Cup as the best in category as well as overall world winner, held in Denmark. The company is currently preparing for clinical trials with third-party validation preparatory to FDA approval, after which the software will be taken to market. http://www.epathscreen.com/Recorded October 9th, 2019. Interview by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group.

Serial Entrepreneur Philip Kurtz On Navigating a Graceful Exit.After a 30 year journey, Philip Kurtz found his exit. “When I got to CareATC,” says Kurtz of the company he recently exited, “it was like everything I’d done in my life had prepared me for this particular job. I believed if I could blend a lot of the tools I’d learned over the last 30 years, I could have a major impact.”Those skill sets enabled Kurtz to grow a successful population health management company. At the October OVF Power Lunch, he outlined key steps that need to be added to your itinerary long before you reach your exit. The easy to remember checklist includes momentum, market, and management.CareATC tailors health care to the specific needs of employees. When CareATC partners with a company, it reduces the overall costs of healthcare while providing on-site clinics that offer opportunities for disease prevention and/or intervention. The population health management company cares for more than 250,000 patients through its partnership with 150 clients in 35 states.Recorded October 9th, 2019. Interview by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group.

Serial Entrepreneur Philip Kurtz on navigating a graceful exit. After a 30 year journey, Philip Kurtz found his exit. “When I got to CareATC,” says Kurtz of the company he recently exited, “it was like everything I'd done in my life had prepared me for this particular job. I believed if I could blend a lot of the tools I'd learned over the last 30 years, I could have a major impact.” Those skill sets enabled Kurtz to grow a successful population health management company. At the October OVF Power Lunch, he outlined key steps that need to be added to your itinerary long before you reach your exit. The easy to remember checklist includes momentum, market, and management. CareATC tailors health care to the specific needs of employees. When CareATC partners with a company, it reduces the overall costs of healthcare while providing on-site clinics that offer opportunities for disease prevention and/or intervention. The population health management company cares for more than 250,000 patients through its partnership with 150 clients in 35 states. The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state's preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org Interview by Pritch Pritchard for The Golding Group