Seeding Entrepreneurship

The city of Tulsa has been immersed in efforts to establish itself as a leader in the region for entrepreneurial activity, a goal that is getting a significant boost from a new endeavor in The University of Tulsa’s Collins College of Business.

TU has established the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a goal of raising $10 million to help the campus community commercialize intellectual property, create new ventures and attain venture capital funding. The university aims to provide seed capital for the next 100 companies started by TU students, alumni and faculty.

The center will be led by Chris Wright, a TU graduate and local entrepreneur with a history of creating new, technology-driven enterprises.

Kathy Taylor, Genave King Rogers Dean of Collins College of Business, said that 220 TU alumni have started more than 130 companies and raised more than $1.7 billion in venture capital funding during the past decade.

“It’s an amazing achievement for these alumni founders and companies,” she said. “But going forward, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at TU is going to cultivate and seed-fund the next 100 start-ups.”

This focus stems from the fact that of the scores of companies started by TU alumni, only a few are based in Oklahoma. The center is on a mission to change that.

“For the next 100 companies that are started by TU students, faculty and alumni, we are going to be a part of that journey,” Wright said. “We will cultivate those businesses right here on TU’s campus. We’re going to seed-fund these entrepreneurial ventures and keep those businesses and jobs here in Tulsa and in Oklahoma to drive economic development.”

What’s more, there is an appetite among TU students for the school to take a more active role in encouraging startups. A recent survey of TU students revealed:

• 81% believe TU needs a clear strategy for cultivating innovation.

• 78% believe TU needs to help students and faculty commercialize their innovations.

• 90% believe it’s important for TU to support student entrepreneurship.

• 80% believe it’s important for TU to have a dedicated center to support innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The students were clear. The data are clear. TU and the Collins College of Business are responding by launching the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” Taylor said.

Initiatives that are part of the center’s launch include:

• Enhanced curriculum and opportunities – Students will have more opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship and venture capital and develop the skills they need to be successful.

• Hurricane Venture Fund –Entrepreneurs will have access to funding through a partnership with 46VC, a Tulsa-based venture capital firm. A portion of the fund will also be designated for student-led venture investing.

• Venture studio/accelerator – The center will develop an on-campus startup accelerator that will involve programming, hands-on support and access to mentorship and capital.

• Nova Fellows Program – A oneon-one mentorship program to help founders grow their ideas into sustainable businesses.

• Commercialization support – The new center and Hurricane Ventures will work together to commercialize intellectual property and ideas developed within the TU ecosystem.

First-year student Leah Saucedo is majoring in business management with a specialization in entrepreneurship and finance and is excited about the university’s expansion of programming for aspiring entrepreneurs. “TU has given me many opportunities, such as funding to create a new website and travel to New York to network with banks and financial institutions as well as venture capital options,” she said.

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship already has secured $500,000 in pledges toward the $10 million goal with $250,000 each pledged by Scott Asbjornson (BSBA ’91, MBA ’95) and Regent Bank.

“Regent Bank is so excited to partner with The University of Tulsa on the new TU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” said Sean Kouplen, bank chairman and CEO. “We believe fully in the new venture and tech ecosystem that is exploding here in Tulsa, and we applaud President Brad

Carson, Dean Kathy Taylor and Dr. Chris Wright for their vision and boldness to take this exciting step to bridge the gap between brilliant ideas and commercializing them to start up successful businesses. Regent Bank is honored to partner with TU to make this vision a reality, and we will do our part to help this exciting ecosystem continue to flourish.”

Asbjornson is chairing the center’s advisory board, which comprises a number of representatives from Tulsa’s business and civic communities as well as from the university. The former chief financial offer for Aaon Inc. said he is eager to get started preparing TU students to take the first step in starting their own businesses.

Chris Wright brings 30 years of entrepreneurial experience to TU

For more than three decades, Chris Wright (BA ’94, MA ’96, Ph.D. ’01) has been a force at The University of Tulsa. After earning degrees in psychology – including a doctorate in industrialorganizational psychology – in TU’s Kendall College of Arts & Sciences, Wright found his way into the business world and began making his mark.

Wright has been a co-founder and investor in numerous Tulsabased tech companies including Reliant, Medefy, MeIn3 and Plannly. He was a founding member of TYPros and The Forge – Tulsa’s first business incubator program – and has served on numerous professional and advisory boards throughout the Tulsa community.

Wright has been an enthusiastic adjunct faculty member at TU for more than 10 years, teaching courses in leadership, entrepreneurship, human resources, marketing and research methods.

“I see the Collins College of Business attracting students from all over the TU campus, which is different than it was even a few years ago,” he said. “We have the JOLT Creativity Club that was started by (faculty members) Charlie Wood, Claire Cornell and Nathan Woolard. They provide amazing programs with interdisciplinary activities that bring STEM students and business students together, and that collaboration is what you need to be able to innovate well.”

Now, Wright is on board full time as the director of the new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Hurricane Ventures in TU’s Collins College of Business. “I’ve always believed The University of Tulsa should be a catalyst in Tulsa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and TU is uniquely positioned to do this well. We are going to help cultivate and fund the next generation of TU entrepreneurs and ventures,” he said. “This is where I want to be – and plan to be – for a long time.”