For Immediate Release August 25, 2007 Contact:
Ramona DeNies Communications Director Development Capital Networks Phone: (503) 234-0558 rdenies@dcnteam.com	Becky Mikulecky Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth University of Oklahoma Phone: (405) 325-2603 beckymikulecky@ou.edu

A Roadmap to Market Success:

OU Offers Workshop on Commercializing Oklahoma’s Technologies

August 25, 2007 | Norman, Oklahoma – Only one percent of formal product concepts make it to the marketplace. Just one percent of these products will make money for their owners. Why, ask many promising inventors, is it so hard to turn good ideas into profit?

Countering these frustrations, the University of Oklahoma’s Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth (CCEW) will today host an invitation-only workshop on proven strategies for commercializing new technologies.

The Entrepreneurial Roadmap: from Technology to Market Success is a practical guide to preparing initial business plans for new technology ventures. The intensive one-day workshop will provide participants with the know-how, team skills and networking opportunities to begin the process of raising capital.

“This workshop represents a special opportunity to drive wealth creation in Oklahoma via the combined talents of university faculty inventors, private sector mentors, and remarkable students interested in the entrepreneurial process,” said Daniel W. Pullin, CCEW’s Associate Vice President and Executive Director.

The workshop is designed and professionally facilitated by Development Capital Networks (DCN). DCN facilitators have used the workshop's methods to deliver results to hundreds of companies ranging from SBIR winners to Fortune 500 corporations.

“We at DCN believe that entrepreneurship drives economic health,” said Jim Troxel, a workshop facilitator and DCN Managing Director. “As a highly-networked training and management firm, we draw on the combined resources of our client associations and professional mentors to provide entrepreneurs with proven strategies for success.”

The workshop will be conducted in teams comprised of an inventor, a mentor, 3-4 students and one example product concept. According to Mr. Troxel, each team will walk away with a viable commercialization plan as well as a wealth of industry contacts.

"The Entrepreneurial Roadmap workshop is emblematic of the University's commitment to accelerating growth and diversification of Oklahoma's economy,” said Mr. Pullin. “We're excited to partner with DCN and its national network of technology commercialization expertise.”

For more information on OU's Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, please visit ccew.ou.edu. For details on Development Capital Networks, please visit www.dcnteam.com.

DCN Clients

Development Capital Networks (DCN) is devoted to building problem-solving organizations, specializing in the management of projects and programs that integrate virtual communities of financiers, developers, and innovators. www.dcnteam.com

NSF SBIR/STTR Commercialization Planning - DCN is engaged to provide technical assistance in commercialization planning for Phase I Awardees for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. www.nsf.org

Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) – DCN provides comprehensive programming and managing for CDFA, the leading national organization dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. www.cdfa.net

Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) - DCN provides comprehensive programming and managing for LAVCA, the leading international organization for private equity and venture capital fund managers, institutional investors and corporate investors active in Latin America and the Caribbean. www.lavca.org

National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) - DCN provides comprehensive programming and managing for NASVF, the leading national association of private, public, and non-profit organizations committed to building their local economies by investing and facilitating investment in local entrepreneurs. www.nasvf.org

WBTshowcase - DCN produces the World's Best Technologies Showcase (WBT) - the nation's premiere event for seed and pre-seed investors seeking to commercialize technologies developed at top universities, federal labs, and federally supported research and development institutions. www.wbtshowcase.com