Hopeful Startups Seek Growth and Venture Capital at OU’s Innovation Hub

The University of Oklahoma’s Tom Love Innovation Hub has a strong commitment to entrepreneurial growth and connections to the venture capital community – objectives that were put into action at the second annual Startup Demo Day, held on May 20.

At Demo Day, entrepreneurs were given opportunities to pitch their services or products to potential investors to help take their ideas to the next phase of development. The winner of the event would walk away with a $50,000 check – thanks to two Oklahoma-based venture capital firms, Prima Ventures and Boyd Street Ventures. The stakes were high, and the entrepreneurial spirit was on full display.

This year’s event featured 13 startups comprised of current OU students, faculty, staff and alumni that successfully completed the I-Hub’s Startup Incubator and Accelerator programs.

The winner of Demo Day 2022 was Bison Underground, a startup created by a collection of people, including current and former students from OU, for their revolutionary blueprint for an invention that would reduce carbon in the atmosphere, redistribute carbon-rich nutrients into farmland and enhance agricultural yields.

Demo Day wasn’t Bison Underground’s first brush with success; the team won a $250,000 award for a research proposal in the XPRIZE $5 Million Carbon Removal Student Competition in 2021, an Elon Musk Foundation-funded prize.

“Winning this prize confirms the interest in, and demand for, a product that is capable of tackling climate change by restoring carbon in soils,” said Steven Adams, with Bison Underground. “Hearing everyone’s feedback and excitement on Demo Day has provided us even more motivation to keep pursuing this idea.”

Founded in 2016, I-Hub is building upon an already strong entrepreneurial spirit within the state of Oklahoma by nurturing a thriving startup and innovation ecosystem through inspiration, training, experiential learning, resources and wide range of support programs. I-Hub reports its economic impact to the state to be more than $320 million since 2016.

A key focus of OU’s “Lead On” Strategic Plan is to create economic development in the Norman and Oklahoma City communities by growing the number of OU technology-based start-up companies. By attracting angel investors and venture capital to the region to incubate and accelerate these start-ups, I-Hub is on the front lines of this effort for the university.

The Startup Incubator, launched in 2020, is a one-year program designed to grow small businesses by offering mentorship in management, regulatory guidance, other areas of industry-specific needs and overall growth. This includes access to I-Hub’s facilities on the OU Research Campus, which includes the fabrication lab and the hub studios.

The Startup Accelerator, also launched in 2020, is a 12-week program, offered in the spring and fall, designed to help founders evaluate the potential of a product and its viability as a business.

The Startup Accelerator and Incubator Programs were funded through a grant from the Economic Development Administration and support from the Price College of Business. Each program culminates in the annual Startup Demo Day.

I-Hub programs attract a diverse set of students and alumni participants, even those with no prior inventing or business experience.

“I wanted to get involved but I didn’t even know how to,” said Grace Holland, a 2022 graduate from the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

She was encouraged to investigate I-Hub by Brandt Smith, fabrication lab director at I-Hub.

“Once I got into the space and experienced the willingness of everyone there to help me, I felt welcome to be there. It was very inclusive,” Holland said.

At Startup Demo Day, Holland represented Entango, a company that developed an application for social media exclusive to the user’s college campus. By signing up using their student email, users can engage with their college community and discuss interests or activities specific to their campus.

In addition to digital startups, there were other technologies on hand at Demo Day.

Harrison Best, a Bachelor of Fine Arts student, is the co-founder of Helion Illumination, a company that helped develop a light drone with a variety of uses.

“We’ve all been driving on a road at night and had bright emergency lights blinding us as we cruise by,” Best said during his group’s pitch. “Our drone would provide better overhead lighting – opposed to less effective ground-level lighting – as well as a safer environment for the public.”

Many of the contestants said the diversity of skills and experiences represented at I-Hub were an enriching aspect of the program.

Ashley Brown, 2022 Gaylord College graduate, competed in pitch day, representing Flair Clip – a product that takes the comfort and benefits of a banana hair clip and combines them with the hold and functionality of a claw clip.

“I really loved business, and my adviser encouraged me to look into entrepreneurial business,” Brown said. “Once we got involved at the I-Hub, [OU Startup Programs Interim Director] Drew Hendricks reached out to us and told us about the Incubator program, and here we are today.”