Lightning in a Bottle: Increasing Success Outcomes for Student-Generated Startups

The CCEW Mission We believe in the excellence of Oklahoma and our ability to transform the world by inspiring people to realize their ideas and ambitions. We create wealth by building an environment that advances ideas, people, and businesses. We act as a nexus of entrepreneurial activity by providing immersive learning experiences, collaborative spaces, and high-impact programming.

CCEW has developed significant expertise in managing student entrepreneurial projects. THE CCEW IMPACT $7M in startup capital 10 businesses launched 10 new tech disclosures 7 licensing agreements 350+ alumni 100+ projects High-achieving students and established leaders on campus Students with raised aspirations and passion for entrepreneurship Management consulting training + Lean startup principles + Personal & professional development Semester-long Entrepreneurship/Innovation projects

Years of iteration have led to 3 key methods that contribute to successful student projects. 1. BUILD HIGHLY SELECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS so startups are equipped to simultaneously build products and analyze the broader market opportunity. 2. UTILIZE “DIRECTED CLEAN-SHEET” CONCEPT to guide brainstorming and help student teams ideate the best possible business and product ideas. 3. USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHES to iterate on business ideas and better position teams for real-world success.

1.BUILD HIGHLY SELECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS Example – XiP Technologies FUNDING OBTAINED $10,000 through venture accelerator CURRENT STATUS Continuing development of hardware component for roll-out of Beta at OU

What did it look like?What are the benefits? Industrial Engineering (TL) Public Relations Energy Management, Finance Public Affairs & Administration Mathematics, Letters Visual Communication Team gains a broader perspective on the project Students more easily take ownership of project components Output is physical product AND commercialization plan “Business” team Dev team 4 Computer Science 2 Computer Engineering 1 Math, CS Team Structure by Major 5 colleges represented 10 different majors Average GPA = BUILD HIGHLY SELECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS Example – XiP Technologies

Problem ResultProject No designated product designers or engineers Ineffective prototype, lack of team buy-in and motivation to move forward Low-cost cooling device made of Vetiver root Team Structure by Major 3 Telecomm. Engineering 1 Multidisciplinary Studies 1.BUILD HIGHLY SELECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS Example – Veticool

2. UTILIZE “DIRECTED CLEAN-SHEET” CONCEPT Example - SIREN FUNDING OBTAINED $35,000 through business plan competitions and grants CURRENT STATUS Finalizing Beta version of software to roll out in 2 trucking companies (650 trucks) in OK

2. UTILIZE “DIRECTED CLEAN-SHEET” CONCEPT Example - SIREN What did it look like?What are the benefits? Team can be directed toward more successful ideas Team brainstorming and research becomes more structured Ideation and early validation moves much more quickly “SoBA data-mining” project Ideate and build a software-as-a- service web application that mines publicly available data and repackages it in a way that solves an industry need.

2. UTILIZE “DIRECTED CLEAN-SHEET” CONCEPT Example - CrowdStory Problem ResultProject Mobile application for location-based storytelling Not enough guidance and direction through ideation No validated customer need, difficult to gain traction Project fizzled out after semester, no student motivation to move forward

3. USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHES Example – Levaté FUNDING OBTAINED $10,000 through business accelerator CURRENT STATUS Seeking final $40K of $200K seed round to produce first manufactured prototype

3.USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHES Example – Levaté What did it look like?What are the benefits? High chance of achieving Product-Market Fit Teams understand features necessary for MVP Teams make valuable connections to further the business 7 user-experience tests 6 prototypes 100+ interviews

3.USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHES Example – Studyo Mobile application for socially interactive studying Didn’t build product in a way that accommodated iteration based on user feedback End product didn’t meet user needs No product-market fit = lack of motivation to move forward Problem ResultProject

1. BUILD HIGHLY SELECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS so startups are equipped to simultaneously build products and analyze the broader market opportunity. 2. UTILIZE “DIRECTED CLEAN-SHEET” CONCEPT to guide brainstorming and help student teams ideate the best possible business and product ideas. 3. USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHES to iterate on business ideas and better position teams for real-world success. Lightning in a Bottle: Increasing Success Outcomes for Student-Generated Startups