From Junior Programmer to Tech Entrepreneur: Simon Hamilton’s Perfect Partition

While Simon didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur, his passion for problem solving has situated him, and his partner Shannon, within this space. Entrepreneurship and innovation go hand in hand because both are essentially about discovering a problem and then finding a solution. Programs like DECA encourage this type of thinking, but also the types of partnerships that can draw from the unique strengths of different individuals. In the case of Simon and Shannon, Simon’s technological knowledge joined with Shannon’s design expertise to provide a clear, easy to use, and trustworthy application that can be beneficial to individuals, businesses, and organizations. 

Southern Oklahoma Startup Leadership Quarterly Roundtable Event

Ada Jobs Foundation staff facilitated a regional Startup Leadership event at Murray State College in Tishomingo on May 24^th. The event was conducted through the “Conduit Initiative” which is funded by a Build to Scale Venture Challenge Award form the Economic Development Administration in order to create more scalable technology startups in our region of Southern Oklahoma. The event was focused on convening economic developers and organizations representing different communities in our region in order to coordinate efforts which will support startups and innovation. In addition to our staff, Carol Ervin, Director of the Atoka City Industrial Development Authority, and Jordyn Frazier, Executive Director of the Murray State College Foundation, were present at the meeting and provided input and perspective on the regional approach to this work.

As part of the Conduit Chats podcast series, Jake Cantrell interviewed Brian Cothran, Dean of the School of Agriculture, Business, and Occupational Technology at Murray State College. The interview covered multiple topics, including a discussion on creating science and innovation through tribal partnerships. The podcast is currently being edited and will be released on all major platforms soon.

KTEN also ran a news story about the event.

The Conduit Initiative and the Oka’ Institute are joining forces to chat about sustainability, technology, and innovation. Join us for this live podcast event with an open Q&A forum from the audience and networking afterwards. The event starts at 4 p.m. on June 7 at the Oka’ offices, located on the East Central University campus, Fentem Hall 114.

Ada Jobs Foundation

580-235-0070

www.growada.com

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