The Innovation Foundation at Oklahoma State University is taking a significant step by launching the Cowboy Innovation Accelerator.

The Innovation Foundation at Oklahoma State University is preparing for a significant step by launching the Cowboy Innovation Accelerator.

This program’s launch enhances The Innovation Foundation’s suite of startup commercialization and extends them to northeast Oklahoma. It furthers the foundation’s mission of fostering Innovation-based commercialization in the state of Oklahoma.

Historically, The Innovation Foundation at OSU’s startup assistance along with its funding resources have been available to OSU and their associated teams. These are not just being bolstered with the launch of the Cowboy Innovation Accelerator, but are extended to innovators aligned with OSU’s excellence in energy, aerospace, and mobility, and One Health to innovators and startups located in northeast Oklahoma.

This aligns with The Innovation Foundation at OSU’s expansion into northeast Oklahoma that has made possible through the recent award.

Economic Development Agency’s University Center’s grant

The economic development agency’s university grant provides the commercial grant assistance component of Cowboy Innovations Accelerator to companies in the energy, aerospace, and One Health sectors.

According to Elizabeth Pollard – CEO of the Innovation Foundation at OSU. “Technology-based ventures start with innovative ideas, and driving those ideas to commercialization requires an ecosystem with substantial expertise and scalability. The Innovation Foundation at OSU unites that ecosystem across the university system and with partners across the state of Oklahoma to support OSU’s land-grant mission to make a positive impact in Oklahoma through successful startup companies,”

The Cowboy Innovation Accelerator is designed to proof-of-concept technologies toward venture-backable startup companies and licensable technologies starting from the technology proof-of-concept, through prototyping and product launch. The services encompass a wide range of assistance and funding resources.

Business Model Development through Discovery: Facilitating teams in identify their unique value propositions and customer segments with the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) program.

Education Workshops and Networking Events: Creating dynamic opportunities for networking, enabling innovators, to connect with peers and subject matter experts.

Cowboy Leaders Network Mentoring and Advising: Offering approval to a select network of experienced business management professionals in technology-based fields provides deep insights, guidance and connections for successful business model, go-to-market strategy, launch, and growth.

Startup Formation, Registration, and Business Operations Assistance: Providing essential business for startups, right from navigating the complexities of formation and registration to initial operations setup.

Commercial Grant Funding Assistance: Delivering commercial grant for innovators and companies in the energy, aerospace, and One Health sectors, including federal agency Small Business, Tech giants, Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology grants, and other commercial funding opportunities supported by the Economic Development Agency’s University Center’s grant.

Connecting Innovators and Startups with OSU Applied Research Expertise: Bridging the product design, development and prototyping gap by creating awareness and alignment between startups’ needs and OSU applied research capabilities, including those within The Innovation Foundation at OSU’s institutes —Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (including its LaunchPad Research Center), Hamm Institute for American Energy at OSU, and Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute.

“Over the past 10 years, The Innovation Foundation at OSU and its Cowboy Technologies group has formed over 20 companies and assisted them in securing more than $15 million in commercial grants and investments,” said Daniel Will, executive director of Cowboy Enterprises “We aim to advance early stage innovations for successful commercialization through startups that are: investment accelerator-ready, venture-backable or licensable to the industry for commercialization success.”

Technology innovators and small businesses in the energy, aerospace and advanced mobility, and One Health sectors interested in the Cowboy Innovation Accelerator can learn more and apply to be a part of the initial rolling cohort beginning in early 2024.