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Venture of the Year Awards
The 2007 Grace & Franklin Bernsen Oklahoma Venture of the Year and Most Promising New Business Awards Banquet marks the 18th anniversary of this prestigious event. The Bernsen Foundation was created in 1968 to provide charitable support in and around the Tulsa area. Mr. Bernsen was a highly successful entrepreneur with business interests in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He was one of Oklahoma’s early Angel Investors, participating in numerous start-up and early-stage businesses. These facts, combined with the love he and his wife shared for their community make the Foundation’s support of these two important awards so meaningful.
Our special thanks to the Trustees of the Foundation for continuing to support these awards in Grace & Franklin Bernsen’s honor, as well as their continued support of entrepreneurial development through the Oklahoma Venture Forum.
Venture of the Year Award nominees must be Oklahoma-based and in business less than ten years, with at least $1 million in annual revenues during the last fiscal year. Selection criteria also include product or service innovation, management quality, market penetration and growth, economic impact, and industry and community reputation.
Most Promising New Business Award nominees are emerging companies with at least six months of revenues, but less than three years old. Selection criteria are the same, but more emphasis is placed on their potential for success.
The 2007 Venture of the Year and Most Promising New Business Awards banquet will he held on Wednesday, September 5, 2007, at the Cox Business Services Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City in conjunction with the 2007 Bricktown Capital Conference. This year's keynote speaker will be Mary Schapiro, Chairman and CEO of the NASD, the world's largest private sector securities regulator.
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