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Drew Hendricks, a Regional Engagement Principal at the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), has embarked on a dynamic career journey that spans military service, academia, entrepreneurship, and technology. His unique blend of experiences has equipped him with a holistic perspective on the complex landscape of defense innovation and entrepreneurship growth.

Hendricks’ path began when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school. Over his 14-year military career, he undertook diverse roles, from combat correspondent to marketing director for the recruiting command. Transitioning from active duty, Hendricks pursued higher education in advertising at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to collaborate with various business ventures, and he later earned an MBA from the University of Southern California.

At NSIN, a program operating with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Hendricks fosters connections between academia, venture companies, and the Department of Defense (DoD). One of NSIN’s flagship programs is the Venture portfolio, which develops and executes programs and services to facilitate access to emerging technology as it engages the talents of fast-moving innovators and non-traditional problem-solvers. The Venture Portfolio works directly with dual-use early-stage ventures emerging from both the academic and venture communities with solutions addressing Department of Defense problems.

“NSIN’s whole goal is to increase the speed of innovation and technological development within current and existing industries for national security,” said Hendricks. “Right now, locked up in someone’s brain somewhere, maybe even in Oklahoma, is a solution we need. But what happens is the DoD doesn’t go around asking, ‘What do you have? Show us what you got.'”

Hendricks emphasized businesses should rely on more than just DoD contracts for sustainability. Hendricks said companies thrive by catering to broader markets, which can ultimately enhance their stability and innovation. NSIN aims to work with small companies early on and encourage them to maintain versatility rather than being exclusively dependent on defense contracts. This approach aligns with the organization’s preference for engaging with companies poised for success in multiple sectors.

“Oklahoma has a unique blend of capabilities that can address complex problems,” Hendricks said. “We want the DoD to know we’re here and ready to contribute. I want to help you, but I want to help you if you do something to solve a problem.”

NSIN Challenges hosts competitive prize competitions on a specific topic or technology vertical. The open challenges allow early to mid-stage companies, even if they do not have SAM numbers, to pitch solutions to potential U.S. Department of Defense mission partners and industry subject matter experts for evaluation. 

“When I tell people it’s not that you need to be a solve everything on that list telling you if you have that capability, you should apply,” said Hendricks. “What ends up happening is you apply to the mass challenge, and then your venture gets accepted based on some of its stuff, you work with that DoD mission partner and other mission partners to figure out whether or not you have a product market fit. And then you pitch to that group.”

Drew Hendricks will speak more about the National Security Innovation Network to Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch members on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. The event will be held at Metro Tech Spring Lake Campus in Oklahoma City from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and will be open to members and guests both in-person and virtually via ZOOM. 

Simple Modern, an Oklahoma-based company, is well-known for its stylish and high-quality drinkware products. Despite being in a highly competitive market, the company has managed to work with major brands such as Marvel, Disney, and Target, which Mike Beckham attributes to a combination of vision, execution, and a bit of luck.

“There’s a long story about how we got our very first license,” said Mike Beckham, CEO of Simple Modern. “If you look at all the licenses we have, the very first one was I had to get what’s called a local license with the University of Oklahoma. And I thought that would be a piece of cake, because I’d had some success in the business world, and I was an alumni of OU. And I was wrong. It was not a piece of cake. I had to really fight for it and work for it to convince OU that I was somebody that they wanted to license.”

Mike Beckham shared that his journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t a typical one. With a background in finance and nonprofit work, he lacked initially confidence in pursuing business ventures until his younger brother brought up the idea of starting a company together in 2009. This experience transformed his perspective, helping him realize his skills were well-suited for building businesses. Although Simple Modern has grown significantly, Beckham still considers it a startup, showcasing his ongoing passion for entrepreneurship.

“I think it was the way that I first got vision and the confidence that entrepreneurship was something that I could do, and that my skills could actually really work in building a business, and so I caught the bug, I think,” said Beckham.

Beckham’s experience working for a cause-oriented organization allowed him to develop a strong sense of purpose and commitment to giving back, which became the foundation for Simple Modern’s mission-driven culture. By integrating philanthropic values into the company’s core strategy, Beckham has been able to create a business that not only focuses on generating profits but also actively contributes to the betterment of society.

“Our goal at Simple Modern is to create a business that is about more than just generating profits, but also about giving back and making the world a better place,” said Beckham.

Mike Beckham emphasizes the importance of defining success as learning and cultivating a growth mindset. He believes that skilled experimentation accelerates learning and leads to innovative solutions. Despite increasing automation, Beckham remains optimistic about the future of entrepreneurship as a career choice.

“One of the best pieces of advice that I can offer to somebody that’s a young entrepreneur is that if you develop a growth mindset and you become very good at experimentation, it almost inevitably will lead to value creation, because you start to learn really rapidly about customers and what they want, and their needs, and how to fix it, and what works and what doesn’t, and how to pivot, and as you pivot, how to learn more,” said Beckham.

In the upcoming Oklahoma Venture Forum Awards Show, Beckham will be the keynote speaker. He plans to share more about Simple Modern’s story and focus on the importance of mission-driven leadership in entrepreneurship. Additionally, Beckham aims to share some of the lessons he’s learned throughout his 14-year journey in the world of startups.

“I love being a part of supporting this community, and I love what OVF is all about,” said Beckham.

Cattlemen’s Congress, a unique event focused exclusively on cattle shows, has been awarded the prestigious Venture Forum Economic Impact Award. The Oklahoma-based organization was established in the winter of 2020 to provide a venue for cattlemen and cattlewomen across the United States to showcase and market their elite purebred genetics. 

The award-winning event was born out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the National Western, a major livestock show in Denver, was canceled. The first-ever Cattlemen’s Congress filled the void left by the canceled show, initially planning to operate for just one year.  

“There was a lot of concern by the agriculture industry nationwide and cattlemen across the US that they had to keep that cattle industry moving from many different perspectives, from marketing, from their livelihoods, and also even a little bit to the food chain,” said Tyler Norvell, Secretary of the Board for Cattlemen’s Congress. “So Oklahoma stepped up, and we hosted the first-ever Cattlemen’s Congress to fill in for the National Western”  

However, due to its tremendous success and the positive economic impact on Oklahoma City, the event continued. Tyler Norvell and Bray Haven, Executive Vice President, explained that their event is unique in that it focuses solely on cattle shows, without any additional components such as rodeos or carnivals. The strategic location of Oklahoma City at the crossroads of major highways I-40 and I-35 allows for easy access and places the event in the heart of cattle country. 

“We’re right here in the heart of cattle country,” said Haven. “Oklahoma’s got a lot of cattlemen, a lot of people in the purebred cattle industry, but just simply right here in the middle of the US helps us a lot too. Makes us unique.” 

The Cattlemen’s Congress has drawn participants from 44 states and 5 countries, with exhibitors representing 60% of the US herd. The Venture Forum Economic Impact Award recognizes the exceptional contribution the event has made to Oklahoma City and the state as a whole. 

As they look to the future, the organization aims to continue growing and expanding, particularly by involving more international visitors. They also plan to focus on educational conferences that teach cattlemen about industry trends, technology, and meeting consumer demands. 

“One thing we’re really starting to focus on now is international visitors,” said Haven. “We’re really expanding in South America and the interest there. The way we see it is that’s really our opportunity to grow because these first three years, we’ve really captured as much of the market as we probably can in the US.” 

Both Norvell and Haven expressed their gratitude for the recognition from their peers and emphasized the hard work and dedication of the entire Cattlemen’s Congress team. The event’s success is a testament to the spirit of Oklahoma and the support it has received from various stakeholders, including the governor, state legislature, Oklahoma City Chamber, and Visitors Bureau. 

“Winning this award is just a true testament of Oklahoman hospitality and the good people of Oklahoma and the good policy that we have here, the good leadership that we have here in our state,” said Haven.  

The 2023 OVF Awards will take place at the Oklahoma History Center on May 18th, 2023, from 11 am to 1:30 pm. Details and tickets are available at www.ovf.org  

Bobby Rockers is the Chief Technology Officer of Bison Technologies, a software-enabled service company that digitizes oilfield logistics. Starting in 2019 to solve the problem of using paper ticket books to keep track of work orders, Bison Technologies has since added dispatching, price booking, and integration to ERPs, growing the company to over 200 employees, including 50 engineers. Rockers is passionate about building the technology ecosystem in Oklahoma and believes the lack of experienced tech startups that can scale is a problem.

“One of the problems that we continually run into is the lack of experienced tech startups that have been able to scale and to get to that point where they get approached for external funding and actually just take off,” said Bobby Rockers. “And the reason for that is usually not the reason that people think.”

Rockers explained the state needs experienced fast-growing startups that can act as force multipliers for the next generation of startups. Many other communities with thriving tech ecosystems began with a company that was able to grow and scale fast. The experience gained from those companies created a culture of mentorship and development for future tech startups. Although Oklahoma has had some successful tech startups, the lack of mentorship and development opportunities means a gap in the state’s tech ecosystem. Rockers believes Bison Technologies has gained significant experience and can help mentor and develop future tech companies in Oklahoma.

“It’s incumbent upon us, people like the Bison Technologies of the world, to get involved and to just help people not run into the same roadblocks, to push them to move quickly, to understand the trade-offs of the things they’re doing so that they’ve got the opportunity to know that what they’re doing will actually work and that they can be successful at it.”

To build a flourishing tech ecosystem, Rockers said it’s essential for startups to expand and connect with people in other markets. However, the startup culture in Oklahoma can be isolating.

“Collectively, we have those resources,” said Rockers. “It’s just a matter of opening ourselves up as a whole to those resources so that the developers have the chance to be successful.”

Rockers said OVF could be a catalyst for the change we need to see in Oklahoma, but we’re going to be hamstrung by our ability to grow if we can’t grow a vibrant, specifically tech-focused startup culture.

“The group that’s there has the collective resources to be the mentors and the gatekeepers and the resources to make that community vibrant and successful. And that’s what I hope to get out of it is that the people who come out of there come away with the passion and the desire and the intensity to say, ‘Hey, we can do this, and this is something that can change the skyline of Oklahoma for the next hundred years.’”

Bobby Rockers will speak to Oklahoma Venture Forum Power Lunch members on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The event will be held at The Venue at Crew Work Space in Downtown Oklahoma City from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and will be open to members and guests both in-person and virtually via ZOOM. Rockers said communities such as OVF are essential, and we should leverage each other.

“It’s the serendipity of people from different backgrounds and stuff running into each other and coming up with new ideas and making those connections and saying, ‘Hey, I know a guy that does social media stuff. You probably should talk to them.’ Or, ‘Hey, I know somebody who’s been able to get auto-scaling for ten million+ customers at a reasonable price.” Or, ‘Oh, I know somebody who’s had problems with product market fit in this particular thing. Let me hook you up with somebody that’s got product experience.’ And so I think that that’s important. And initiatives like OVF and the Tech Plus Plus events and some of the work that Techlahoma is doing is super important, and we need to expand that, and in some cases professionalize that.”