This month's titular quote comes from the childhood classic Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery and it truly sums up what November has been about here at OK Catalyst.
Last week we, along with the rest of the Oklahoma ecosystem, celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week [GEW]. GEW is the embodiment of great things wound up on little things. We celebrate global entrepreneurship because individuals from every corner of the world are deciding to improve their lives and the lives of those around them through building solutions, streamlining processes, and sharing their talents.
Oklahoma is no exception. At OK Catalyst, we have a front-row seat to all of the amazing work happening across the United States and the world because Oklahomans have put their talents to work to make our data, our roads, our skies, our food, and our lives as a whole better. These innovations, as a whole, improve existing processes and products by small percentages but, taken together, they improve our lives immeasurably.
Two of our OCAST partners have recently celebrated big wins. The Verge has moved into their breathtaking new space to better serve our growing ecosystem. This huge accomplishment was only possible given the dedicated work of many over a long period of time--great things tied up in the daily work of meetings, packing, moving, continuing to provide services to our community, and so much more.
Similarly, i2E recently reached their $100 million total investment milestone--a journey that has taken dozens of rounds of their E3 pre-accelerator, hundreds of mentor conversations, thousands of connections, and, of course, $100 million investments.
gener8tor Oklahoma held lightning rounds this week allowing Oklahoma small businesses to connect with local resource providers. OK Catalyst was thrilled to participate and connect qualifying businesses with SBIR support. These short, 15-minute meetings, will lead to big, big things because great things are wound up in little things.
An exciting event on the horizon is the Launch Rural OK regional conferences taking place in early 2025. These conferences will celebrate Oklahoma's varied rural businesses while connecting them with resource providers from across the state. These conferences are happening because of the dedicated work of a small group of dedicated individuals.
As we head into the holiday, we are thankful for all that has happened this month and this year. We are thankful for all of the little and big wins we've experienced this year--from seeing businesses get their first SBIR win to being a 2025 FAST awardee.
Most of all, we are thankful, every day, to do the little work of connecting Oklahoma businesses to SBIR funds so that they can do great things.
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