Oklahoma State University's Student Startup Central was recognized as an Incubator
of the Year at the 2014 Small Business Awards, presented annually by The Journal Record.
Presenting the award to Student Startup Central coordinator Rachel Mui (middle) and
Craig Watters, director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship (second from right)
were, from left, Mary Melon, publisher of The Journal Record; Lewis Jones, Senior
Vice President and head of Commercial Lending for Bank2, and Yolanda Olivarez, regional
director for the Small Business Administration.
Student Startup Central, a student business incubator operated by the Riata Center
of Entrepreneurship and the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University,
was recently recognized as an Incubator of the Year at the 2014 Small Business Awards
in Oklahoma City.
The 2014 Small Business Awards are presented annually by The Journal Record newspaper.
Student Startup Central accommodates students at the different stages of starting
a business. Offering assistance for students with early business concepts to student
companies with products that are ready to launch, the program is designed to support
students in each step of the journey toward becoming a business owner.
Also, the program holds annual contests that allow students to compete for sponsored
cash prizes. Last year, Student Startup Central held its inaugural Pitch and Poster
Competition, in which more than 50 students shared their business ideas for a spot
in the Riata New Venture Incubator or the Riata Idea Hatchery.
The Riata New Venture Incubator is for students who have already launched their businesses,
and the hatchery program is for students who are still in the creation phase. The
program also includes plans for the Riata Launchpad Accelerator, an intense 12-week
summer program aimed toward high-growth student companies that need to get to market
and capitalize on rapid growth potential.
"Since we launched our redesigned program (in early 2014), we have almost 20 teams
in our student startup program, two of which have since successfully raised their
first round of capital from private investors," said Rachel Mui, project coordinator.
"In addition, a few companies have launched productions, and some have even generated
their first sales."
A pair of startup businesses operated by OSU students are already enjoying success,
including last year's Governor's Cup Tri-State winner R2R Technologies and the 2013
Tulsa Community College StartUp Cup winner CleanNG LLC.
