Applications from students, entrepreneurs and business owners to participate in the University of Oklahoma’s third annual Entrepreneur Expo are now being accepted. The expo will be held entirely online Nov. 16-18, with the virtual awards ceremony set for Thursday, Nov. 19.
The OU Entrepreneurship Expo is a public exhibition for OU students, local business owners and entrepreneurs of all ages, including K-12 students, to showcase new products and services, receive feedback, and compete for top prizes. A product of the Michael F. Price College of Business’s Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, the free, public event is scheduled to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 16-20.
Applications are free, open to the public and available online at http://price.ou.edu/ouexpo. The application deadline is Nov. 8. Participating exhibitors will be announced Nov. 13.
“Building on the success and popularity of the first two Entrepreneurship Expos, this year’s online format greatly expands the opportunity for business owners and entrepreneurs to participate,” said Denise Parris, assistant professor of entrepreneurship.
Each applicant will share a short video describing their business. Selected videos will be publicly shared on the OU Expo YouTube channel for each division. A panel of judges will select the best businesses from each division, which will be highlighted during the final awards ceremony. Prizes will be awarded to first-place winners in each age group and category.
Exhibitors will be divided into Pre-Seed and Seed divisions. The Pre-Seed division features early-stage startup companies that have not received external funding (either equity or loans). The Pre-Seed divisions range from companies that are at the idea stage to those with a product or service they are starting to sell to customers. Five age groups include elementary, junior, high school, college students and adults.
The Seed division includes companies that have incorporated and are seeking to grow, with under $100,000 cumulative revenues.
“Each year, the Expo sparks innovation, relationships, sales and investment conversations,” Parris said. “It’s a campus-wide and community-wide initiative to build an ecosystem that enables and encourages the launching of successful ventures. The OU Entrepreneurship Expo is the place to get inspired and ignite your entrepreneurial spirit.”
This year’s event Seed Sponsors are Armstrong Bank, the Oklahoma City Innovation District and the Norman Economic Development Coalition, plus Startup Sponsor BancFirst.
Additional information is available through Jane Stancliffe by email at jstancliffe@ou.edu or phone at (405) 325-1638.
The Michael F. Price College of Business has experienced significant growth over the past five years in the number of faculty, staff and students and has become OU’s second-largest college, with more than 4,900 students. The college offers undergraduate, master’s, executive and doctoral programs across six academic divisions in Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Finance, Management and International Business, Management Information Systems, and Marketing and Supply Chain Management.
The Price College of Business’s website is price.ou.edu.
