OSU trio among top finalists

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

OSU trio among top finalists

A business model created by three Oklahoma State University alumni has been selected among the top 25 to qualify for the next round of competition in the fifth annual SpiritBank/Tulsa Community College Entrepreneurial Spirit Award contest, where the top prize is $30,000.

OSU grads Robert Villarreal and Michael Tate from Plano, Texas, and Jacob Crawley of Sapulpa are teammates in a business start-up plan known as “CleanNG,” an innovator of advanced performance products for natural gas vehicles.

Crawley is a graduate student at OSU, where he is currently a candidate for a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration as a marketing major at OSU and minored in international business. Tate has a journalism and broadcasting degree from OSU, majoring in advertising and public relations and minoring in marketing and entrepreneurship. Villarreal received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in entrepreneurship.

The OSU team was selected from among nearly 100 business proposals submitted for the contest. The top 25 teams will face off on July 14 to pitch their business models to a panel of judges. Twelve semi-finalists will then work with business coaches who will offer resources and expertise to help polish their business plans and pitching techniques. Ultimately, seven finalists will compete for the top prize of $30,000 to be awarded on Nov. 15 at a ceremony in Tulsa.