by: LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
His seven-minute presentation was clipped off before he could finish, but Raman Singh is already planning his next presentation.
Like the other creators of the 25 entrepreneurial firms that remain in competition for the SpiritBank/Tulsa Community College Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, Singh hopes to make the cut and advance further in the contest, which has a $30,000 grand prize.
“I think it went very well. I talked a lot and they asked a lot of questions,” Singh said Wednesday after his presentation to judges.
During his appearance in the 10th-floor board room of SpiritBank, at 18th Street and Baltimore Avenue, a panel of judges asked Singh about his background, his plans for marketing his business and how he is protecting his proprietary information, among other questions.
“Why do you need us?” one of the judges asked Singh after his presentation.
Singh explained that he wants increased visibility and exposure to the Tulsa business community.
He added later, “It’s always good to pitch your idea in front of business people, so that focuses you to think.”
The professor of mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University would like to move his business, RK Composites Inc., from Stillwater to Tulsa.
Although Singh teaches at OSU-Tulsa, he works on RKCI with two other people in Stillwater.
The business, formed in 2008, is developing a wireless sensing technology that can help detect potential weaknesses, such as cracks, before they become potential problems in large engineering installations such as gas pipelines, bridges, wind turbines and aircraft.
“One of my co-workers just stumbled upon this,” Singh said. “In a way, I think the best ideas are also the most simple ideas.”
His idea was chosen from more than 100 applicants to advance in the competition.
During the first round of presentations, entrepreneurs pitch their business plans in seven minutes and respond to eight minutes of questions from the judges.
The presentations will continue through Thursday.
The judges will choose 12 entrepreneurs to advance to the next round of presentations Sept. 16.
“It was difficult to come up with the top 25 this time because there were 34 that really stood out,” said Sean Griffin, a mentor, coach and founding judge of the 4-year-old competition.
“So getting to the top 25 was not an easy task, and I do believe we’re going to be challenged this year to identify the top startup companies,” Griffin said.
Those selected to advance will work with local business professionals to refine and improve their business plans and pitching techniques.
For Jeff Lowenthal, winning the grand prize would help commercialize his product line, which he is self-funding now.
His business, Convergence Learning Systems, develops mobile-based learning programs for the educational and business markets.
The training or educational programs, which Lowenthal refers to as “courseware,” could be used by universities, for example, to help students understand specific subjects such as college algebra or composition writing.
His product is a highly interactive system that converges both face-to-face interaction with mobile-based devices such as iPhones, iPads and Android-based phones, he explained.
This is Lowenthal’s third time to be in the Spirit Award competition.
He is an assistant professor at Northeastern State University, where he teaches entrepreneurship.
“I’m practicing what I preach to my students,” he said. “I use a lot of these modules in my own classroom.”
SpiritBank/TCC Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
Important Dates:
July 15: Twelve semi-finalists notified
Sept. 16: Semi-final presentation round
Sept. 20: Seven finalists notified
Nov. 4: Final presentation round
Nov. 16: Winners announced at TCC Center for Creativity during Global entrepreneurship Week.
Prizes:
First place, $30,000
Second place, $5,000
Third place, $2,500
More details are available at http://www.spiritbank.com/leavepage.html?url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/spiritaward
Source: Tulsa World