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This week, when we are between the old and the new year, I can’t help reflecting on the accomplishments of the last twelve months and anticipating all of the possibilities of the new year ahead.

With our 2014 accelerator program at an end, we want to give credit and thanks to everyone who contributed to making our 2014 LaunchOklahoma Open Accelerator Program a success. Here’s a look at our events and the companies who participated, presented, and attended.

With our 2014 program at it’s end, we would like to thank everyone who attended our open accelerator workshops, seminars, and networking events during our 12-week program. In an effort to reach out to the local entrepreneurial community, we opened up our 2014 accelerator program workshops to local entrepreneurs. These workshops featured LaunchOklahoma mentors, sponsors, and leading, local professionals presenting on a range of business topics for startup companies.

I write a lot about access to capital. The obvious reason is that it takes money to start a business. But there’s a second really important aspect to the challenge of raising capital — fundraising really weighs down entrepreneurs.

Fifteen Applied Research applications chosen from a field of 39 were awarded $3,546,670 August 19 by the governing board of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).

The Oklahoma Proof of Concept Center (POCC), an i2E program, is designed to educate scientists, students, and entrepreneurs about the business of science with the goal of creating new and better entrepreneurs and businesses in the state of Oklahoma.

I have a story. It’s the story of a handful of college students with remarkable focus and tenacity, a spinout technology from OSU, and $520,000 in Oklahoma-raised seed stage capital.

I have a story. It’s the story of a handful of college students with remarkable focus and tenacity, a spin-out technology from OSU, and $520,000 in Oklahoma-raised seed stage capital.

Roll-2-Roll Technologies, an Oklahoma State University student-led business founded in 2013, is growing thanks to raising a considerable amount of capital this summer.

The i2E Inc.-managed Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund recently closed a $250,000 investment, leading a $520,000 financing round, in a Stillwater-based company that is developing advanced technology that enhances manufacturing from rolled materials such as diapers.

On July 25, Roll-2-Roll Technologies (R2R), a Stillwater-based company founded in 2013, issued $350,000 of convertible note securities. This transaction closed simultaneously with the issuance of $170,000 in common equity ($100,000 funded from Cowboy Technologies, and $70,000 from R2R management) for a total capital raise of $520,000. R2R is commercializing an advanced lateral guide for the roll-to-roll manufacturing industry that utilizes fiber optics to minimize the need for manual adjustment during product changeover. The company’s product will lead to a reduction in labor costs, downtime costs and product waste for those manufacturers who use it.

Roll-2-Roll Technologies has received $520,000 in funding. The investors included Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund and SeedStep Angels, both of which are managed by i2E. Cowboy Technologies and the co-founders of Roll-2-Roll also participated in the round. Based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Roll-2-Roll is developing a lateral guide for manufacturers that produce consumer products with raw materials that come in the form of rolls.

Aravind Seshadri is talking diapers. Hundreds of millions of them. He’s focused on the way they are manufactured and the speed at which the material that becomes diapers flies through the machinery from one roll to another.

Aravind Seshadri is talking diapers. Hundreds of millions of them. He’s focused on the way they are manufactured and the speed at which the material that becomes diapers flies through the machinery from one roll to another.

Aravind Seshadri is talking diapers. Hundreds of millions of them. He’s focused on the way they are manufactured and the speed at which the material that becomes diapers flies through the machinery from one roll to another.