About SoBA
The Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth's Software Business Accelerator (SoBA) is an interdisciplinary program that provides an environment for the rapid creation and launch of software-based products and businesses developed by students, professors, and outside companies.
The SoBA Approach
SoBA applies the innovative and proven value creation engine of CCEW: interdisciplinary students, technology experts, and external mentors/seasoned entrepreneurs to develop and launch a software-based business within a semester.
SoBA integrates advice, resources, and a network to help entrepreneurs go from idea to launch applying strategy and business plan development, programming, and graphic design to new software concepts.
Featured SoBA Projects
K20 ClassWalk App: Spring 2012
The K20 ClassWalk iPad application is designed to help school administrators efficiently collect, analyze and share data from school walkthroughs, the process by which principals evaluate teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom. The application will revolutionize current walkthrough systems, many of which still rely on unstandardized paper forms, by allowing for customizable questions and synthesizing data in clear graphs and charts that show progress over time. The K20 Center on OU’s Research Campus deployed test versions to their network of K-12 schools at the beginning of Fall 2012.
Learn more about K20 Center: k20center.ou.edu
Apply for SoBA
If SoBA sounds like a program that matches your skills, applications are available on-line for the summer, fall, and spring semesters.
Ideas?
If you have an idea for a software-based product or venture - submit it to SoBA! In addition to creating a unique environment for idea generation, SoBA hopes to ensure program longevity by establishing a pipeline of new ideas. If you have an idea but lack software developers or business-focused analysis, SoBA is your answer.
SoBA Events
SoBA was initially inspired by Start-up Weekend, a 54 hour-long event that provides networking, resources, and incentives for individuals and teams to go from idea to launch in a single weekend. Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization based out of Seattle whose mission is to build communities and start companies.
Startup Weekend has hosted events in over 53 cities around the world in just 2 years. CCEW's SoBA partnered with Startup Weekend in the spring of 2011 to host the first "OU Startup-Weekend "40 individuals from the OU and Norman communities participated in this weekend-long event, launching 3 new business ideas in just two-and-a-half days.
