OU Startup Demo Day to Close Global Entrepreneurship Week
New Startups to Enter the Oklahoma Economy
NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma Startup Programs, an emerging leader among Oklahoma entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, will close Global Entrepreneurship Week with OU Startup Demo Day
The event will start at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Tom Love Innovation Hub, 201 David L Boren Blvd.
Demo Day is a biannual pitch and expo event showcasing emerging startups and other entrepreneurial projects from across academic and non-academic programs at the University of Oklahoma. The event spotlights the trailblazing founders working with OU Startup Programs while showcasing the Michael F. Price College of Business and the university’s diverse academic initiatives training new talent.
At Demo Day, OU Startup Programs will award $15,000 across at least three startups or projects participating in the event and admit them into its yearlong incubator program.
“Targeted funding like this can be the difference between whether an early-stage company folds before it has had a real chance or the company has enough runway to gain a foothold in the market,” Israel said.
Demo Day follows a week-long sprint of events, workshops and other activities celebrating the entrepreneurs who serve their communities and strengthen Oklahoma’s economy. Spanning 200 countries, Global Entrepreneurship Week recognizes the spirit of entrepreneurship, and the role entrepreneurs play in propelling economic growth. Across Oklahoma, numerous ecosystem builders, including chambers of commerce, universities, community nonprofits and private industry partners, are championing the entrepreneurs in their communities.
“I am continuously impressed by these founders’ hard work and determination,” said Dayten Israel, director of OU Startup Programs. “Demo Day is our opportunity to celebrate their commitment to creating something real alongside the numerous organizations and other initiatives at OU that train and support the next generation of founders.”
Demo Day will feature eight companies from OU Startup Programs’ accelerator and incubator programs, as well as student-led projects from the Price College of Business’ New Venture Development courses and the First Fidelity Integrated Business Core program.
NVD is a core component of the Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development’s academic curriculum and trains entrepreneurship students in opportunity identification, market testing and capitalization. The IBC program provides students hands-on, experiential training through simulated business opportunities by starting and managing real companies that sell consumer goods. These student-launched companies have donated more than $1.5 million in profits to local charities since the program’s inception.
“The entrepreneurial drive of Price College students never ceases to amaze me. Our entrepreneurship programs harness this drive and provide our students with the knowledge they need to contribute to startup success,” said Corey Phelps, dean of the Price College of Business. “Demo Day is a great opportunity for our students to connect with the local startup community and further develop the skills that will help propel them into creating successful companies that will impact the Oklahoma economy.”
About OU Startup Programs
OU Startup Programs at the Tom Love Innovation Hub is an organization that fosters and grows entrepreneurial development at the University of Oklahoma. Purposed with creating good companies and exceptional founders, OU Startup Programs supports entrepreneurs at critical stages of development. Our programs provide guidance and resources to carry entrepreneurs from ideation to launch to scale.
