The Next Wave and the next wave

ART J. SCHROEDER, JR., CEO, Energy Valley, Inc.

Yes, I am referring to the Offshore Technology Conference’s (OTC’s) very successful young professionals leadership program. We initiated this program in 2006, to help retain and attract oil and gas professionals with under 10 years’ experience. The young professionals’ Leadership Team selects program content, speakers and formats that address their needs.

I am pleased to report that each year since, The Next Wave component has led the way with one of the largest delegate counts and highest-caliber speaker segments of the entire OTC conference. The 2014 planning is well underway via the able leadership of Russell Scott, Amber Sturrock and Diana Phu.

I am also talking about a next wave that isn’t so much segregated by age or a generation gap, as it is by a mindset, an underlying philosophy, an outlook—almost a way of life. In the late 1990s, I sat on an extended leadership team meeting of an international oil company, where the vice chairman talked about the dire straits of our industry. Oil prices were collapsing, and the need to drastically slash costs—including head-count—while still growing production, set a rather grim stage.

However, our leader offered hope and a path forward. This executive talked about the need for new technologies, and a new culture of innovation and risk perspective to drive us forward. He summed up his call for action by declaring that the management team must embrace, encourage and promote “entrepreneurship.” I was intrigued. I wanted to buy-in.  However, as I thought about it, inside our company I had seen examples of  “outside-the box” innovative thinking, and risk-taking, before. As I recalled, individuals exhibiting those traits were usually labeled “loose cannons,” and their careers did not seem to flourish.

During the Q&A session, my question was, “What’s the difference?” The answer, after 15 min. of torturous “explanation” by the vice chairman, was “entrepreneurs deliver and loose cannons fail.” While there are still probably a lot of corporate chieftains with that view, the good news is that, particularly here in Houston, there is plenty of help available to improve an entrepreneur’s chance of success.

According to The Financial Times, Rice University ranks No. 1 in the world for entrepreneurship and its Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice Alliance), headed up by Brad Burke, has helped launch over 1,000 new companies, creating over 15,000 jobs and raising a cumulative $2.1 billion in funding over the last 10 years. Astoundingly, over 69% are currently in business or had successful exits.

Oxane is one of a multitude of success stories. Rice professor Andrew Barron presented some interesting lab results at a Rice Alliance meeting in 2002, when Chris Coker was in the audience. It didn’t take long for them to get together and develop a business model to commercialize the work. Oxane Materials manufactures and markets patented proppants, which economically augment oil and gas production while reducing the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing. Oxane has gone forward, raising over $160 million, with Coker leading the team of more than 100 employees and recently being named one of Houston Business Journal’s “40 under 40.”

Another interesting example emerging from the Rice Alliance is OsComp Systems Inc. Its breakthrough compressor technology enables wet gas compression and decreases the energy required to compress natural gas. Founded out of MIT, the company presented as part of the Rice Alliance 2010 business plan competition and was subsequently funded by Energy Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures. The company is now in Houston and recently secured a research contract with the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). Pedro Santos, founder and CEO, was named by Forbes as one of its “30 under 30” in energy, in December 2011.

We also benefit from the University of Houston’s Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. The Princeton Review’s 2013 list of leading undergraduate entrepreneurship programs ranks UH’s Bauer College in second place. Ultimately, as my former vice chairman was trying to explain, the most valuable employees are those who create the most value for their employers. The program founder and chairman emeritus, William “Bill” Sherrill, was named the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year (Educator) in 1994 in recognition of this model.

SURGE Accelerator, also based in Houston, is a world-leading seed fund and mentor-driven accelerator helping entrepreneurs focus on the world's energy and water problems. SURGE companies have raised $20 million in funding and landed over 75 enterprise customers. SURGE runs an intensive 90-day boot camp to identify leaders, validate business models, raise capital, and connect companies to customers and the global energy ecosystem. SURGE has recruited over 150 of the world’s top professionals in the energy and power industries to serve as mentors. 

The Houston Technology Center (HTC) is the largest technology business incubator and accelerator in Texas. The HTC staff and partners work closely with entrepreneurs and start-up companies, addressing their unique needs and goals by providing them with in-depth strategic and tactical business guidance, fundraising advice, and connecting them to opportunities and capital. Since its inception in 1999, HTC has assisted its clients and graduates in raising $1 billion and creating thousands of jobs

The fact that you are reading World Oil suggests that you have already bought into my mantra of lifelong learning. As we approach 2014, I encourage each of you to learn from the entrepreneurs’ support system and apply it to your career, whether it be within an existing corporate framework or as part of a start-up enterprise. Go for it, and best regards for success!