Oklahoma Entrepreneurship
Take a state you normally wouldn't think of in this regard: Oklahoma. It has its own Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology...- Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat. |
The State of Oklahoma has several leading edge programs that are designed specifically to help entrepreneurs launch their business. The University of Oklahoma, PHF, OCAST, and i2e are leading the charge of enabling entrepreneurs to be successful. For more information on each of these groups, please visit the following sites:
OU Office of Technology Development: http://otd.ou.edu
OU Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth: http://ccew.ou.edu
OCAST: http://www.ok.gov/ocast
I2E: http://www.i2e.org/DesktopDefault.aspx
The students enroll in four required business courses. These courses are principles of management, principles of marketing, legal Studies and the First Fidelity IBC practicum - a total of 12 hours. These courses address the theories, concepts and terminology of the three core areas. All students are assigned to a learning team of 20-25 students who form a company. Depending on the size of the class, two to three companies are formed each semester. The companies identify a product (generally a licensed product based upon the ou logo and sold to fans), apply for a $5,000 loan from a Norman Bank - first fidelity, manufacture and distribute the product, sell the product, donate profits to charity and close down the company.
Companies formed through this program have donated more than $700,000 in profits to local charities since the program began in 1985. Students also have donated over 30,000 hours of community service.