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 capital10 businesses launched10 new tech disclosures7 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

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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” CONCEPTto guide brainstorming and help student teams ideate the

best possible business and product ideas.

3. USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHESto 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 STATUSContinuing development of hardware component for

roll-out of Beta at OU

What did it look like? What are the benefits?

Industrial Engineering (TL)Public RelationsEnergy Management, FinancePublic Affairs & AdministrationMathematics, LettersVisual Communication

Team gains a broader perspective on the project

Students more easily take ownership of project components

Output is physical product AND commercialization plan

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Team Structure by Major

5 colleges represented10 different majorsAverage GPA = 3.78

1. 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 Major3 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 STATUSFinalizing Beta version of software to roll out in 2

trucking companies (650 trucks) in OK

2. UTILIZE “DIRECTED CLEAN-SHEET” CONCEPT

Example - SIRENWhat 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 - CrowdStoryProblem 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 STATUSSeeking 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 achievingProduct-Market Fit

Teams understand features necessary for MVP

Teams make valuable connections to further the business

7 user-experience tests6 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” CONCEPTto guide brainstorming and help student teams ideate the

best possible business and product ideas.

3. USE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHESto iterate on business ideas and better position teams for

real-world success.

Lightning in a Bottle:Increasing Success Outcomes for Student-

Generated Startups