Welcome to our March Newsletter, which includes the following features:
Fund I Update
Our Newest Portfolio Company
BSV Portfolio Company CEO Q&A
Meet Our BSV Fund Advisory Board
BSV Fund Advisory Board Member Profile
Investing in Norman
Upcoming BSV CEO Summit
Upcoming Special Press Conference
We hope you enjoy this issue!
Fund I Update
As mentioned previously, we'll be closing our Fund I on March 31, 2024. We'll be issuing a press release shortly thereafter, which we'll share with you via email.
To date, we've invested in 16 portfolio companies, and we've made 14 follow-on investments as well. We have a few more investments to make from Fund I, and we'll of course keep you apprised of those as they happen.
We couldn't be more pleased with our Fund I results, and we're already hard at work preparing big plans for our Fund II.
Our 16th Portfolio Company
Earlier this month we announced our 16th and latest portfolio company: Watkins-Conti Products, a healthcare company that pioneers solutions for women's pelvic health.
Oklahoma-based Watkins-Conti’s flagship product, Yōni.Fit, is the first patient-designed, non-surgical device designed to relieve the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), a condition that affects nearly 3 in 4 women worldwide. Allison Watkins, Watkins-Conti’s Founder/CEO (pictured above), engineered and patented Yōni.Fit after being frustrated with the options available to her when she experienced SUI following the births of her children.
Alison and her team expect to receive FDA clearance by year-end.
To visit the Watkins-Conti website, please click here.
BSV Portfolio Company CEO Q&A
Our newsletters periodically feature a Q&A session with one of our amazing portfolio company CEOs. This issue features Robert Sewell, Co-Founder and CEO of VesprSolar, whose state-of-the-art V-Clamp™ - developed by University of Oklahoma Associate Professor and VesprSolar CTO Andrés Cavieres - makes solar panel installations much faster, much less expensive, and much more durable.
BSV: Robert, please tell us about your background.
RS: I founded VesprSolar while I was getting my MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Before Tuck, I spent 5 years in strategy consulting at Deloitte, primarily focused in tech and telecom.
BSV: What prompted you to become an entrepreneur?
RS: It was less about being an entrepreneur, and more about solving a major problem in a rapidly growing market. My co-founder Andrés and I had an idea that we could transform the PV solar industry with simple, low-cost, spring-based fasteners and other structural solutions. We presented our initial concepts to the U.S. Department of Energy, and we received multiple rounds of non-dilutive grants to commercialize these ideas. We had a strong conviction that we were solving the right problem at the right time, and we went all in on our idea.
BSV: Who benefits most from your products, and what are the key benefits?
RS: We design, manufacture, and sell structural components for the photovoltaic (PV) solar industry that are simple to install, low-cost, and resilient. Our focus is on both reducing the cost to deploy PV solar globally and improving the long-term resiliency of solar structures. Solar developers and installers benefit the most from our solutions.
BSV: What are your key goals for 2024?
RS: Our biggest focus is expanding our sales and customer base. We're already working with some of the largest solar developers and installers globally, and we'll be expanding on these partnerships and launching several new solutions.
BSV: What’s been the biggest surprise about life as a founder?
RS: The first big surprise was how much time I had to devote to fundraising and stakeholder management in order to keep the lights on. Of course, I know now that that's the life of a founder, especially in the early years. Another surprise is how quickly my role changed once we were able to build our team. For the first few years, it seemed I was doing everything. Now, with a strong team in place, I still have my hand in everything, but I'm not the person who's primarily responsible for execution. I'm able to focus on strategy and the big picture, and that's a welcome change not just for me, but for our company.
BSV: Do you have and parting advice for budding founders?
RS: I would say to choose your investors wisely. The ideal investor will be able to provide more than just capital; they'll provide guidance and other resources as well. Boyd Street Ventures is the perfect example of that. You've been a great source of counsel in helping us expand our customer base, and you're constantly making us aware of various opportunities to grow our skillsets, our talent base and our other resources.
Meet the BSV Fund Advisory Board
In last month's issue we introduced you to our five BSV Venture Studio Advisory Board Members, who advise our portfolio companies. Our 11 H BSV Fund Advisory Board Members primarily advise BSV management on fund-related matters, but on occasion some members may be tapped to advise our portfolio company members as well.
Here are our BSV Fund Advisory Board members:
BSV Fund Advisory Board Member Profile
BSV Fund Advisory Board Member Profile Lawrence McKinney is the President & CEO of the Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC) and a well-respected thought leader in economic development nationally. In November 2023, he was named one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers for his work in Oklahoma, and over his 37-year career in economic and community development he has consistently been recognized and awarded for best practices, economic innovation, and job creation.
Since his February 2021 arrival in Oklahoma, Lawrence has:
Reorganized NEDC internally and externally, announcing last month that NEDC would serve the entire county and transition to the Cleveland County Coalition over the next 12 months.
Begun raising $16 million for a five-year countywide business plan.
Led the Cleveland County Industrial Authority.
Helped make possible the addition of over 2,000 new jobs to the Norman Business Park, which is owned by NEDC.
Procured $2 million in ARPA funds from the City of Norman and Cleveland County to purchase a new 18,000-square-foot space for NEDC's state-approved Start-Up 405 incubator.
Procured a $20 million investment from the State of Oklahoma to build the Oklahoma Aviation Academy in Norman.
Helped prepare for OU’s entry into the SEC and announced the proposed $1.1 Billion investment for a new mixed-use entertainment district at I-35/Rock Creek.
Launched ONE Norman, a city-wide community visioning process.
Built a $3 million modern headquarters that now houses the Norman Chamber of Commerce, the VisitNorman Visitor’s Center, and Start-Up 405, which is Cleveland County’s only state-certified business incubator.
Begun leading the effort to build the $120 million National Weather Experience, cementing Oklahoma’s claim as the “Weather Capital of the World.”
Announced Aerospace and Marine International's corporate headquarters relocation from California to Norman, as well as multiple business expansions.
Announced the relocation of a movie production firm from California to Norman last month, and accelerated Norman’s “Film Friendly” designation.
Prior to joining NEDC, Lawrence was a partner and an owner of the largest economic development strategic planning and fundraising firms in the country. He is one of 12 professionals nationwide who hold simultaneous CCE and CEcD credentials and has led multiple regional economic development organizations nationwide. He has an MBA in International Business from Georgia State University in Atlanta, and a B.B.A. in Economics and Finance from Augusta (GA) University.
Lawrence’s wife, Elizabeth Hennen-McKinney, is a Principal at Economic Strategy Professionals, LLC and recently joined Lawrence as a member of the Boyd Street Ventures Fund Advisory Board.
Investing in Norman
Like the exceptional companies in our portfolio, our headquarters city of Norman is "under the radar" and open for business! A national survey of investors just ranked Norman the most investible city in Oklahoma. . . and the 56th most investible city in America!
Norman is becoming accustomed to receiving national recognition:
Livability recently named Norman one of the "10 Great Places to Live in the Southwest"
RocketHome.com named Norman the 14th most affordable city in the U.S. in 2023
U.S. News ranked Norman the 27th best place to live in the U.S. in 2021
Money ranked Norman the 45th best place to live in the U.S. in 2022
Among other things, Norman is home to:
The University of Oklahoma, one of America's great state universities
The National Weather Center
The Storm Prediction Center
The Oklahoma Aviation Academy
The Norman Economic Development Coalition, which has brought significant economic growth to the city and Cleveland County
The Young Family Athletic Center, a new 122,000-square-foot facility built on a 12-acre site and funded by Norman native, former OU All American and current Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and his family
The hometown of the late actor James Garner and musicians Vince Gill and the Flaming Lips, Norman boasts a rich creative heritage and such artistic events as The Norman Music Festival and The Norman Art Walk.
In short, Norman offers a vibrant business environment, a high quality of life, affordable housing, a strong sense of community, a lively arts scene, outdoor recreational opportunities, and excellent schools. It's a great place to live for people of all ages . . . and a one of the most investible cities in America.
Upcoming BSV CEO Summit
From April 18th through the 20th, we'll be hosting our second annual BSV CEO Summit at our Norman headquarters.
This event allows the CEOs of our portfolio companies to discuss their key challenges and opportunities with BSV’s Management, Venture Partners and Advisory Board Members while also participating in an “Ernst & Young (EY) 7 Drivers of Growth” workshop. BSV Founder James Spann was able to schedule this workshop due to his having been one of only 36 executives nationally selected to be a member of the 2024 EY Entrepreneurs Access Network cohort.
The CEO Summit is just one of numerous services we offer throughout the year to optimize the value of our portfolio companies and hence our funds.
Upcoming Special Press Conference
On the morning of April 18 (just before our CEO Summit begins), we and the Norman Economic Development Coalition will be holding a joint press conference announcing a major initiative in support of entrepreneurialism in Norman and Cleveland County. This initiative is so significant that guest speakers will include Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt, Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila, and all three Cleveland County Commissioners.
That's all we can disclose at this time. However, we'll have much more information for you in an April 18 press release, as well as via email and our April Newsletter.
