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 | February 3, 2007 |
Tech firms to push plans at venture event
By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
www.tulsaworld.com
Oklahoma companies seeking a technological leg up -- from getting an idea off the drawing board to bringing it to store shelves -- will receive advice and assistance Feb. 20-21 during the Technology Ventures Summit at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown.
In addition to providing information to Oklahoma companies, the inaugural summit will showcase 12 businesses working in various technological endeavors.
Devon Sauzek, president of the Oklahoma Capital Investment Board, which is co-host of the event along with Oklahoma Equity Partners LLC, said the summit is aimed at inspiring companies to create innovative technologies on their own, rather than play catch-up.
"We want to assess their technology and think about how to market it and get it financed," he said.
The 12 businesses chosen will present their ideas and financing proposals Feb. 21 in the hope that venture capitalists and other investors will provide funding.
Sauzek said the hosts received 28 entries for the summit. Then, he said, a group of college professors, technology professionals and venture capitalists narrowed the list to the dozen with the most detailed and feasible proposals.
Additionally, Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine and author of "Life 2.0: How People Across America are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness," will be the keynote speaker at noon Feb. 21.
The summit's first day will include an in-depth workshop developed by the National Science Foundation that will provide advice for every step in the development and commercialization of new technologies.
"We'll also show some success stories with companies that had an idea for a new development and made it happen," Sauzek said.
The 12 presenters are:
- JK Autoimmunity Inc. of Oklahoma City, a DNA pooling service that provides a ranking of genomic effects through genomes;
- Altheus of Oklahoma City, a seed company focused on combination therapies for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease;
- Onconos LLC of Oklahoma City, which is developing therapeutic treatments for brain and liver cancer;
- Cavitech LLC of Oklahoma City, a company specializing in spine and orthopedic surgical implants and techniques;
- Predent of Norman, a developer of technology to prevent periodontal disease in pets;
- Sol Inc. of Norman, a provider of systems that manage solar energy and day lighting in buildings;
- Secure Piers LLC of Oklahoma City, a producer of alternatives for concrete highway sign foundations;
- Luxsine of Sapulpa, a maker of new solar technology that converts solar flux into heat cost-effectively;
- ActionCam of Tulsa, a company making remote-controlled suspended camera systems for use in sports and entertainment events;
- Blackwell Plastic Solutions of Blackwell, a developer of a window protection system designed for hurricanes;
- Sabix of Tulsa, an application service provider that uses encription technology for secure e-mail; and
- Amethyst of Ardmore, a company working to greatly improve the performance infrared night-vision devices.
Registration for the conference is $325 per person for one day or $500 for both days. Information is available at www.ocib.org/tvs.
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