The concept of venture hubs is really a leading-edge concept. 36 Degrees North is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which most people don’t think of as an epicenter of entrepreneurship or venture. 36 Degrees North has really focused on driving economic impact through the support of early-stage, high-growth, scalable venture companies. To date, we have around 2,200 members.

We look for job creation, we look for sales growth, and we look for overall economic impact. We’re trying to drive economic mobility and diversification for the region and make this a destination for building and scaling companies that are aligned with our core competencies in our industries.

We do that by hosting all of these companies and different programs in three different locations in the Tulsa metro area, covering around 75,000 sq ft. We offer a suite of programs, resources, connections, and community to help entrepreneurs at every stage of that journey.

If founders have just completed one of our boot camps and they’ve got a very early stage MVP or they’re looking to raise that first round, we’ve got various accelerator programs focused on industry verticals, focused on underrepresented founders. We’ve also got incubation programs that are really catered to help founders as they continue to build and scale their businesses. 

Why it matters

We’re able to provide an environment where startups and founders can see examples of success and see other founders that are building and scaling or have raised capital or exited and have had success. This demonstrates to them that it’s possible, and it fills them with hope. We make sure they know that they’re not isolated, that they’re on the journey with other people and other founders that have gone through this before. 

Our focus is to really be that front door to the ecosystem in our region. Because navigating all of the resources, the different programs, the partnerships, and all those components is a daunting task for any entrepreneur. It’s also daunting for us as the hub.

There’s a lot of pressure when you’re providing that single point of entry that everyone in the community knows, whether it’s founders, investors, or just people looking to get into this space, they know they can come to our hub, they know they can come to us.

That was really part of the emphasis on thinking of ourselves as a ‘venture hub’. We’re not just an accelerator, or an incubator, not just a coworking space, or a training space. We really are doing a lot of these things to meet the entrepreneur where they are in their journey.

I’m really proud of 36 degrees north. I’ve been here about three years and the evolution has just really been amazing. We have an amazing team and the community has been incredibly supportive. This is a growing sector and I think you’re going to see more and more evolution as communities begin to look at all of the resources on offer and this unique way of supporting founders throughout a much wider span of the entrepreneurial journey.