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Tom Walker, Business Columnist

Read more Innovation & Entrepreneurs columns by Tom Walker.

Contact Tom -- E-mail: twalker@i2e.org.

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Start-ups wading into ‘capital gap’ takes guts

BY TOM WALKER Comments 0
Published: November 10, 2009

Being an entrepreneur is a lot like fly fishing, a sport where you plan, wade in and make your cast in hopes that the legendary trophy trout "takes the bait.”

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Real Time Rehab in Claremore has brought digital technology to the physical rehabilitation industry, while McHay.com in Elgin has created technology that turns large round hay bales into easy-to-handle small bales for more efficient livestock feeding.

For both the entrepreneur and fly fisherman, it takes proper planning, patience, endurance and a sense of optimism as they confront obstacles that may seem impossible to overcome.

At no time in the life cycle of a start-up company are entrepreneurs more tested than when the company has little or no revenue and is caught in what is known as the capital gap. Entrepreneurs must find ways to negotiate these rough waters or their companies fail.

I am inspired by Oklahomans across the state who continue to wade in.

Recently, 200 Oklahoma college students and faculty advisors and others attending the "Who Wants to Be an Entrepreneur” workshop, sponsored by Oklahoma EPSCoR, didn’t blink when confronted by the risky reality that awaits a start-up venture.

In fact, near the close of the daylong workshop, more than half raised their hands when asked if they planned to enter the 2010 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Business Plan competition. The competition, now in its sixth year, has launched scores of young Oklahoma entrepreneurs on the career quest to engage in entrepreneurial enterprises.

In recent months, i2E has taken the message of entrepreneurship to campuses at Rogers State in Claremore and Cameron University in Lawton, and at the offices of Rural Enterprises Inc. in Durant, where lively entrepreneurial communities are thriving.

Audiences included a mix of faculty, economic development professionals and entrepreneurs who are working to commercialize products in settings far outside Oklahoma’s metropolitan areas.

Undaunted by the long odds they faced, they shared with us a strong belief in their ability to turn their passion into a commercial success. It was a refreshing attitude in a time when others across the nation have pulled their bait out of the water and gone home.

This is the entrepreneurial spirit that typifies our Oklahoma heritage. We continue to help spread it around.

Tom Walker is president and CEO of i2E, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that mentors many of the state’s technology-based start-up companies. i2E receives state appropriations from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.