Forbes is not a big fan of starting a business in Oklahoma.
In a list that is designed to create excitement in some parts of the country, more money in others, and a lot of misunderstanding – Oklahoma is 42 in the “Best States to start a Business in 2023″ .”
But how accurate is such a list? What is missing? Is Oklahoma – birthplace of companies like Continental Resources, Love’s Travel Stops, Sonic, Paycom and more – a bad place to start a business?
That’s not true, according to local business owners and business owners familiar with the process of launching new businesses in Oklahoma.
Forbes based its ranking on “18 key metrics in five categories” to determine which states are the best, or the worst. The five broad areas include business value, business value, financial opportunity, economy and human resources.
In three of the five categories, Oklahoma actually scored the highest among all states (business, business and economic). But the poor performance in the use of financial resources and the small-below-median score in the classification of workers dragged the state down.
There is definitely work to be done, says Erika Lucas, but she sees little in lists like the one made by Forbes.
“I don’t think entrepreneurs or business owners look at these lists and say, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want to be in Oklahoma,'” Lucas said.
Lucas is a co-founder of StitchCrew – a company dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with resources and connections to grow their businesses. Among StitchCrew’s first projects is the Thunder Launchpad, a business “accelerator” co-working space that started in partnership with the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team in 2018.
He is currently working on a local project to help promote Latino businesses to seven-figure incomes.
Funding continues to be a problem for Oklahoma businesses and entrepreneurs
Oklahoma had the lowest income, according to Forbes. It’s been a problem for years, according to people like Lucas, but work is being done to improve the situation.
Nathaniel Harding, of Cortado Ventures, has worked with his company to raise capital and invest in several businesses in Oklahoma. He has seen a lot of progress in recent years, but still has a long way to go.
“Compared to a few years ago, there are about 10 times the amount of private equity funds in Oklahoma that are investing in startups,” Harding said. “However, compared to other developed countries, there is still 10 times more to go.”
Other companies, such as Gener8tor, Boyd Street Ventures, i2E, OLSF and Techstars are helping to expand investment in the state, Harding said.
He doesn’t think Oklahoma’s current low ranking in the category should prevent an entrepreneur from opening in the state. With so much growth every year, he feels it’s as good a time as ever to start a business in Oklahoma.
“Building your startup here means you have a lot of tail and are part of America’s next big growth story in tech startups,” Harding said.
The workforce still faces the same challenges as the business community
Oklahoma’s workforce is another group that lags behind the rest of the country, according to Forbes.
The publication measured efficiency based on the percentage of college graduates in the state workforce. Depending on the type of work required for a new business, it can be a challenge for entrepreneurs.
It was for Sean Akadiri.
Akadiri founded AgBoost, a technology company that allows livestock producers to track livestock data, including health and genetics, using DNA, in 2013. But finding skilled workers it was deceptive.
“For me, it was difficult because I had to find special programs outside the state,” said Akadiri.
Oklahoma, which often boasts low unemployment, has historically struggled in some industries that require advanced degrees, including in aerospace.
However, for many new entrepreneurs, staffing is a problem down the line. Lucas told The Oklahoman, and Akadiri agreed, that entrepreneurs are often lucky enough to hire even a few people at the end of the first year or two.
Oklahoma offers something that doesn’t appear in the record book
Akadiri launched his business even though he was not from the area (he grew up in Nigeria), and even though he knew very little about the business. right
“I’m not a bully… I just had an idea and I was looking for different ways to make it happen,” Akadiri said.
The environment was difficult for many reasons, but he mentioned one of the reasons that made Oklahoma a good place to start a business that Harding and Lucas also talked about.
Oklahoma offers a co-working space, full of individuals who are willing to help others out there.
“It was easy for me to connect with the right people,” Akadiri said. “Oklahoma was very interesting for me in terms of reaching out to ranchers and working in that space.”
“One of the things that makes Oklahoma unique for entrepreneurs is the people who help them on the journey,” Lucas said. “It’s one degree of separation (away), and you always have someone to meet you. That’s one of our main differences, especially compared to the big markets.”
Now that he has been running his business for several years, and continues to see growth, Akadiri feels that he is now in a position to become one of the help others.
“There is still work to be done. This state is still slow compared to other states,” said Akadiri. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t do it any other way, but it also gave me a good perspective on how to help others be successful.”
