ORU’s Launch Competition Recognizes Team Winners
For Immediate Release: March 11, 2022
For More Information: Dr. Charles Scott, Vice President of External Affairs, Oral Roberts University, Office: 918.495.6228, Cell: 417.291.6335, cscott@oru.edu.
Tulsa Okla.— Oral Roberts University (ORU) hosted the final round of The Launch, a campus competition that provides student entrepreneurs the opportunity to receive mentoring, develop strategies, and pitch ideas to real investors. The annual event is sponsored by Jim Stovall, an ORU graduate and Alumni of the Year 2000.
“I believe The Launch competition is among the most important functions of the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship,” said Jim Stovall, ORU graduate and president of Narrative Television Network. “It allows students to form real businesses in the real world and then have their ventures judged by bankers, venture capitalists, and successful business owners.”
The ORU Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship, named after Jim Stovall, equips entrepreneurial leaders to positively impact local partnerships and transform communities all over the world. Through The Launch competition, student teams have the opportunity to gain business and leadership experience. This year’s first-place winning team was PetLoose, which ORU student Cyrus Johnson led.
“From the time I heard about The Launch competition,” said ORU Senior Cyrus Johnson, “my dream was to place first with one of my start-up ideas. For my final year at ORU, I pursued my idea of PetLoose, a GPS solar-powered smart collar. I spent countless hours and nights working on this idea. When Dr. Schneider announced the winner, my whole team jumped to our feet with excitement. All the late nights and hard hours were worth it.”
Coming in second place was Perfect Form, an artificial intelligence fitness app, serving as a personal trainer in your pocket. This team was led by student Isaac Rowaive, who stated, “As soon as I came up with the idea for Perfect Form, I knew I wanted to pursue it, so I took a big step by competing in The Launch competition. My first time competing was in 2020, and it was an amazing experience. I made a lot of connections. This competition was so helpful for the growth and acceleration of Perfect Form. I’m so thankful for the competition and everything I’ve gained from it.”
The team placing third was Swyft Switch, offering rental property owners a solution to the high cost of property upkeep. The team leader Sarah Young stated, “The Launch really captures the essence of what it means to be an entrepreneur. There was a lot of pivoting, working through challenges, and pushing myself to be adept in all areas of business. I was stretched in management, marketing, financials, as a friend, business partner, and more. It was a 6-month process of in-depth, challenging, real-life experience.”
ABOUT ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY
ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with over a decade of consecutive enrollment growth. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, ORU offers over 150 majors, minors, concentrations, and pre-professional programs at the bachelor’s level, ranging from business and engineering to nursing, ministry, and more. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 126 nations to be whole leaders for the whole world.
The Wall Street Journal ranked ORU as the #4 university in the nation for student engagement. This ranking is based upon faculty interactions, collaborative learning, critical thinking, real-world applications of student learning, the extent to which classes challenge students, and whether students would recommend a university to others.
ORU is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as
• #1 in Undergraduate Teaching
• #2 in Most International Students
• #3 in Best Value
• #6 in Best College for Veterans
• #7 in Best Regional Colleges in the West
For more information, visit www.oru.edu.