"Procrastination is opportunity's assassin." Victor Kiam

I have never been one to set New Year’s resolutions, but from my experience many people resolve that this the year they will go on their own and start a business. Being involved with entrepreneurs, I certainly want people to start businesses. But I worry that those who start the year with a resolution with have that resolution end up stacked in the corner of the room with the treadmill and running shoes.

Part of the difficulty is that when setting a resolution we are quickly struck by the difficulty – and time-consumption – of the resolution. Resolving to lose 15 pounds by jogging, we quickly realize this is going to take a while! And while it is relatively easy to go out and buy the shoes (and kind of fun), it does not make it any easier.

Likewise with starting a business. Sure, you do the structural work of hiring a lawyer to set up your LLC, put together a business plan, do market research, but none of those things make it any easier to find a stranger willing to part with money for your product or service.

This year – turn your resolution on its head: start by selling something, and see if it can scale. If not, end it without doing all the structural work. To use my jogging analogy, get out there every morning and walk around the block. If after four weeks you are still walking, increase the pace.

As we get further into 2019, please continue to seek prospective members for the OVF. Our membership is what makes OVF special. In February, for our luncheon, our Main Speaker is Brian Byrnes, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, The OKC Thunder. The OKC Thunder help fund the Thunder Launchpad - an entrepreneurial accelerator which is in the process of gathering its third cohort of startups. I don’t think we will see any of the basketball players at lunch, but we will learn why the OKC Thunder are involved in entrepreneurship.

Our Short Presenter is Leo Clarke​, Paelode Systems​. Paelode System provides IT solutions for Oil & Gas Industry, including lodeX — their flagship, end-to-end, electronic ticketing and data workflow solution. lodeX resolves the problem of managing wastewater disposal generated during the production of oil and natural gas.

I hope you attended and enjoyed our After Hours event on January 23^rd at Vault 405, a Coworking space in downtown Edmond.

I look forward to seeing you – and a guest! – at an upcoming event for OVF.

Steven Brooks is the CEO and President of The Brooks Group, LLC, a business advisory firm that provides business valuation, succession planning, business transaction/mergers & acquisitions (“M&A”) consulting, and an array of other advisory services geared to meet the strategic needs of its clients.  In his role as CEO/President, Steven Brooks brings over 20 years of experience gained working in both the corporate and non-profit worlds, utilizing a wide variety of practical industry experience in the work that he performs at The Brooks Group.  Before founding The Brooks Group, Mr. Brooks was the Associate Director & Legal Counsel for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), where he worked with the organization’s national and regional officers on a variety of matters and issues, including contract negotiations and operational issues of the organization.  Before his time at ACDA, Mr. Brooks worked both as a Business Analyst and Corporate Attorney for Kaneb Services, Inc., where he was involved in a wide variety of projects, primarily in the areas of corporate development, mergers, and acquisitions.  During his tenure at Kaneb, Mr. Brooks was deeply involved in corporate acquisitions, research, industry analysis, and internal growth initiatives, including the acquisitions of companies such as Ellsworth Associates, Double Eagle Communications and Cabling, and Nybor.  Mr. Brooks worked directly with members of the Kaneb Board of Directors and with the presidents and officers of the company’s operating divisions on a variety of internal development initiatives including strategic business plan development, strategic alliance initiatives, and numerous other internal and external development projects.
Mr. Brooks’ extensive industry experience is coupled with a broad education grounded in the areas of business and law.  Mr. Brooks received both a Bachelor of Business Administration and Juris Doctor from The University of Oklahoma, and an International Master of Business Administration from The University of South Carolina.   Mr. Brooks is also a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) and is accredited through the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA).
Mr. Brooks is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, The Oklahoma County Bar Association, The Rotary Club of Oklahoma City (Club 29), the Board of Advisors of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, and Leadership Oklahoma City.  Mr. Brooks also serves on the Finance Committee of the Homeless Alliance and is Vice-President/Secretary of the Men’s Dinner Club of Oklahoma City. 

Written by Lori Williams

Is anything bigger than basketball in Oklahoma City? Ask Brian Byrnes, the senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for the Thunder, and the answer might surprise you. “The Thunder has made a community investment play that is beyond basketball,” says Byrnes. “It’s called the Thunder Launchpad.”

Introduced in January of 2018 as part of the Thunder’s 10^th season, The Launchpad is an accelerator program located in OKC’s Midtown district. “We are inspired by the other entities that are driving the future of our state’s economy,” says Byrnes, “and we wanted to use the marketing and media power of the Thunder to elevate Oklahoma City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

To make the Launchpad a reality, the Thunder has teamed up with StitchCrew. This is a company that helps technology minded entrepreneurs launch their ideas and obtain venture capital. So far, 18 have passed through the program; another group is being vetted to begin in the spring of 2019. The participants receive a space in which to work as well as other needed resources. They also are matched with mentors.

“The Thunder certainly has terrific relationships with the business community vis-à-vis all of our corporate partnerships and our business to business relations,” says Byrnes. “In many cases we have the opportunity to invite and encourage and validate the applicants who are mentors. Then StitchCrew matches the applicants, who are called founders, with the mentors and develops a customized business program for each one.”