On this episode, we speak with Brent Smith, Chief Communications Officer for Firefly Energy Services, a privately owned Oklahoma LLC startup engaged in creating gas and liquids storage solutions. Our core business provides solutions to utility power generators, petroleum and chemical complex processing facilities, industrial park complexes, high-growth utility markets and LNG facilities. Firefly has developed new patented GasLoop™ storage technology that reduces emissions and carbon footprint, stabilizes baseload, enables resource mix optionality and eliminates contamination, loss, pollution and safety issues that exist prevalently with existing storage options. fireflyenergyservices.com

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org

BlueJay Partners have invented a website and phone application with unprecedented features and functionality regarding push notifications from law enforcement agents to engage citizens during traffic stops, utilizing mobile device platforms. BlueJay is a two-sided platform that changes the way police interact with you. Patent pending, it gives both parties the ability to humanize each other and give useful information before an interaction. https://www.bluejayllc.net/

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Kris Murray is the OVF Power Lunch Presenter on October 12th, 2022 to discuss Building and Consolidating Brands plus his recent exit from the Flight agency. Kris has built multiple million-dollar businesses with a unique focus on growth through acquisition and consolidation. Day to day, Kris dreams big for both companies and their clients by helping to develop business-building ideas that they can put into motion.

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Everything you need to know about Venture Capital (Pt3) with Justin Wilson, Managing Partner and President of Plains Venture Partners, a growth-oriented venture fund focused on investing in entrepreneurs and technologies with a strong potential for disruption. Plains Venture Partners was spun out of i2E in 2019 and represents the next natural progression in i2E’s evolution as a proven venture investor. https://plainsventurepartners.com/

With more than $90 million in assets under management and dozens of portfolio companies, i2E has a track record of sourcing, vetting, and investing in early-stage companies across many sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software/IT, energy, and advanced materials. https://i2e.org/

Wilson is responsible for leading the private, for-profit Fund portfolio that supports innovative entrepreneurs who are making an incredible impact here in Oklahoma. With a background in private equity, the medical field, federal government, and non-profit leadership, Wilson brings a variety of perspectives to the firm. He is a proud Tribal Member of the Choctaw Nation, where he served as Director of Strategic Investments at Choctaw Global. Prior to his time with his Tribe, he served as Advisor to the Special Trustee for American Indians in the Federal Government. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science in Physiology from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. 

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

A brief preview of the upcoming 2022 OVF Awards event on May 18, 2022 with Jennifer Hankins, Head of Partnerships at Tulsa Innovation Labs. Hankins will be joined by Cody Dupler of Summit Utilities in Lawton and Josh Merrill of Echo Investment Capital for a discussion on the importance of collaboration for innovation in Oklahoma.

The OVF Awards incorporate some of the most prestigious recognitions a company can receive because they represent the triumph of the entrepreneurial dream and spirit. Evaluation criteria for the Economic Impact Award, the Venture of the Year Award, and the Most Promising New Venture award are based on: product or service innovation, market potential, potential economic impact, and more. OVF is partnering with Oklahoma Innovate Technology Alliance (OITA) to present the Entrepreneurial Champion Award. This award will recognize an Oklahoma Legislator distinguishing themselves as entrepreneurial champions supporting and growing opportunities, ecosystems, and growth potential for IT & Technology small businesses and economic entrepreneurship within Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Everything you need to know about Venture Capital with Kevin Moore, Partner at Spur Capital Partners. Moore is one of three VCs on a panel discussion at the April 2022 OVF Power Lunch. This is the second VC panel discussion for the 2021-22 session. We discuss the "big picture" of venture funding plus changes being created by COVID-19, the rise of cryptocurrency, blockchain, cloud computing, etc...

Kevin has over 14 years of experience in finance having worked at i2E as the Director of Angel Investments, the Federal Reserve Bank as a Supervisory Analyst, and an Investment Advisor with Morgan Stanley and Northwestern Mutual in Chicago.

Spur Capital Partners was founded in 2001 and has a successful history of building durable relationships with top-tier venture capital firms in early-stage technology and life science as well as uncovering up-and-coming firms. Limited partners are leading endowments, family offices, foundations, and institutional investors in the United States and abroad. https://www.spurcapital.com/

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. https://ovf.org/

Everything you need to know about Venture Capital with Aaron Webster, Managing Director at Cameron Ventures. Webster is one of three VCs on a panel discussion at the April 2022 OVF Power Lunch. This is the second VC panel discussion for the 2021-22 session. We discuss what leading Oklahoma venture funders look for in pitches, what makes them want to learn more and what gets an automatic "no" response. 

Cameron Ventures is an early-stage venture fund with affiliate operating companies that serve customers across the United States, primarily in insurance, banking and asset management. The Cameron team is able to empower its portfolio companies with access to financial and strategic capital, seasoned real-world management teams and a substantial customer base. https://www.cameronvc.com/

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

In 2017, the Brookings Institution and Project for Public Spaces completed an 18-month study of Oklahoma City and its Innovation District potential. Katy Boren seized the opportunity to guide the creation of a collaborative ecosystem in Oklahoma City around knowledge-based and STEM economies. Every innovation district is a unique undertaking. Boren shares with us the vision, actions and motivation behind the OKC Innovation District.

The Oklahoma City Innovation District, a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2019, is a thriving, 1.3 square mile ecosystem of collaboration, innovation and economic growth located in historic Northeast Oklahoma City, surrounded by internationally acclaimed organizations spanning Oklahoma’s diverse sectors – healthcare, bioscience, aerospace & unmanned systems, specialized manufacturing, academia, technology and energy.

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

Factory Obscura is an Oklahoma City-based art collective creating immersive experiences that awaken wonder, build community, and make the world better. Factory Obscura, Inc was founded as a B-Corporation, existing to create fully immersive art environments and events that awaken joy and wonder, while supporting artists and arts education. Factory Obscura co-founders Laura Phillips and Laurent Massenat discuss bigger plans for a new facility, expanded programming and a major economic impact in Norman, OK.

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org

On this podcast episode, we revisit the teen entrepreneurs responsible for Wristworld AR game and their adult mentors at Loveworks Leadership. Wristworld is an augmented reality puzzle RPG using wristbands. Created by students who are participating in the Loveworks Leadership, a program designed to empower the creativity, resourcefulness, and potential within each student in an effort to develop their character, academic, and leadership abilities to ensure future success. What better way to design a toy line than to let kids be the creators? That's the idea behind Wristworld. www.wrist.world

Loveworks Leadership is a youth leadership organization committed to helping middle school students discover their potential and live into their dreams. Our vision is to empower youth to become leaders by giving every student an opportunity to lead. www.loveworksleadership.org

The Oklahoma Venture Forum (OVF) is the state’s preeminent organization fostering innovation and economic growth. We introduce investors, mentors and support organizations to entrepreneurs, providing collaborative venues for sharing ideas. OVF champions small businesses and economic development by connecting and recognizing venture talents. Since our beginning, we have acted as the preeminent ecosystem for business innovation and entrepreneurship development. Our diverse membership includes investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers from a wide array of statewide industries. www.OVF.org