NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – Jackson Marburger isn’t your typical college junior. At 20 years old, he owns and operates a Christmas lighting business in Dallas, TX, and now, thanks to the resources and expertise available at the University of Oklahoma, has developed a proprietary lighting set that could revolutionize how we decorate our houses during the holidays.
“I’ve been in the holiday lighting business for nearly six years when I was a sophomore in high school. About two years ago, though, I found an issue in the industry where we were losing money and time installing holiday ground lights that weren’t well made and frequently broke,” Marburger said. “I knew there had to be a better way, so I began tinkering with 3D modeling to see what I could come up with.”
Marburger joined OU’s Price College of Business in 2022, pursuing a major in entrepreneurship and venture management and a minor in finance. He also quickly connected with the Tom Love Innovation Hub.
“He didn’t just have an idea—everyone has ideas. Jackson had the drive to learn the tools and make it happen,” said Brandt Smith, director of the Fabrication Lab at the Innovation Hub. “With the help of my team, he was able to actually model out his product idea. Watching him turn his concept into something tangible was inspiring.”
All OU students, faculty and staff have access to the Fab Lab, where they can take an idea and turn it into a working prototype. From woodworking and laser cutters to electronic fabrication and 3D printing, the Fab Lab helps aspiring entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life.
If ideas that are brought to life in the Fab Lab are economically viable, entrepreneurs can turn to the expertise offered by Startup OU to help launch their product into the marketplace. This program, also housed in the Innovation Hub, helps connect startup founders with needed resources and helps them launch into state and regional economies.
“I joined Startup OU in the fall of my sophomore year, and the number of network connections that I’ve met over the last year and a half are more than I could have ever imagined,” Marburger said. “I’ve received a lot of business skills and support from Startup OU as well. They look over my business plans and help me with client pitches. It’s just been such a great experience.”
Marburger has also received $7,000 in grant funding from Startup OU; $2,000 from winning the Best Pre-Seed Award at the OU Pitch Competition and $5,000 from the Crimson Prairie Ventures’ Sooner Innovation Fund scholarship.
“Crimson Prairie Ventures is a student organization within Startup OU that advises our full-time staff about where to direct these scholarship dollars,” said Startup OU’s Venture Development Director Micah Headley. “This is strictly grant funding; it’s not a funding-for-equity situation. This funding model is meant to empower entrepreneurial growth and allow startup founders like Jackson to take their ideas to the next level.”
Marburger is also taking advantage of free legal services offered through the Entrepreneurial Law Center, a partnership between the Price College of Business and OU Law. Three third-year law students under Executive Director David Kinsinger are helping him navigate contracts with wholesalers, vendors and retail stores. As a boot-strapping entrepreneur, he fully understands the value of this free legal advice and the services offered through Startup OU and the Fab Lab.
“I didn’t know about these resources when I first came to OU. But when I walked through the doors at the Innovation Hub, I felt welcomed by people who wanted to help me take my ideas to the next level. I don’t think there’s any way my business or my product, the LightSpike, would be where it is today without the support of the Innovation Hub. It’s been truly life-changing,” Marburger said.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Mike Banad, a researcher with the University of Oklahoma, has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to pursue the development of advanced materials that could shape the future of energy-efficient electronics and photonics.
A new partnership between the University of Oklahoma School of Music and the Norman-based nonprofit SunHive Collective is giving OU students hands-on experience working with young adults with special needs, an opportunity that music education faculty member Melissa Baughman, Ph.D., calls “pure joy.”
The University of Oklahoma has once again been awarded the Davis Cup in recognition of its enrollment of Davis United World College Scholar freshmen. This marks the 11th time in 13 years OU has received the award. A total of 75 Davis UWC Scholars began their studies at OU this fall.
