Giving & Sponsorship

In response to the University of Oklahoma’s revised brand strategy and in efforts to better realign the former Startup Programs with our anchor institution, our organization underwent a transformational reorganization and rebrand. Re-emerging as Startup OU, our organization solidified its position as the starting point for University of Oklahoma entrepreneurship.

In a short time, Startup OU has rapidly evolved from a small collection of accelerators and social events into a thriving entrepreneurship hub spanning four key divisions: experiential initiatives, holistic launch programs, startup competitions, and early-stage funding.

In an effort to create new pathways to entrepreneurship and engage the University of Oklahoma's emerging startup ecosystem, Startup OU piloted several new mentorship, co-founder matching, internship placement, and networking programs, which the organization plans to further develop over the next year (2023-2024)..

In recent months, the venture incubator program experienced a complete revival. Startup OU fundamentally changed its approach to how the incubator program operated, converting the program from a six-month sprint to a 1-2 year commitment. Post-conversion, the venture incubator has tripled its total growth in membership. The program is also on the path to certification with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, which will enable Startup OU to leverage state-provided tax and other incentives to benefit early-stage startups.

The idea lab and build accelerator programs also underwent massive restructuring, training dozens of founders across 20 startup projects. Finally, over the last few months, Startup OU rolled out its internal venture development management program to provide on-site business strategy support to portfolio startups, further strengthening the organization’s ability to provide comprehensive entrepreneurial counseling services.

Startup OU is committed to supporting university-backed entrepreneurship and collaborating with academic institutions across the state. In the organization’s most recent startup showcase competition saw 20 early-stage startups from the University of Oklahoma, Oral Roberts University, and The University of Tulsa.

Startup OU has expanded access to university funding and established new pre-seed funds to support portfolio startups. In the last year, the organization invested more than $50,000 in nearly a dozen university-affiliated startups. Startup OU also partnered with the student-run Venture Capital Club at The University of Oklahoma to launch a multidisciplinary venture capital-focused analyst training program.

The program's inaugural cohort conducted due diligence on dozens of prospective startups on behalf of Boyd Street Ventures and Startup OU. This successful collaboration catalyzed the Venture Capital Club at The University of Oklahoma's integration into Startup OU as its student-led funding arm.