Build in Tulsa and Aspen Ideas: Economy hosted the Builders Lounge Founders Market at Build in Tulsa. Attendees met founders in person, saw their products, and heard what their companies are building.
Aspen Ideas: Economy is the Aspen Institute’s forum on the decisions shaping the economic future. It came to Tulsa October 13–15, with mainstage programming at Cain’s Ballroom and hundreds of leaders from business, finance, policy, media, and nonprofits. Under the theme “The Once and Future Wealth of Nations,” sessions covered what it will take for the economy to work for everyone, including small business lending, workforce training, AI, and who owns the gains when companies grow.
Build in Tulsa and Aspen Ideas: Economy hosted the Builders Lounge Founders Market at Build in Tulsa. Attendees met founders in person, saw their products, and heard what their companies are building.
The twelve companies that took part.
Orijin (Kora-Lynah Abelard): A cultural skincare brand rooted in Caribbean botanicals, built with her mother, a certified aromatherapist and formulator.
O’kra (Anna Cobb): The first sparkling okra water, a functional beauty beverage sold in more than 500 stores, including Sprouts, Erewhon, and Thrive Market.
LAMIK Beauty (Kim Roxie): Clean makeup made for women of color, and the first Black-owned clean makeup brand carried by Ulta.com.
King’s Way Wings (Jimere Parker): A restaurant in Tulsa’s Kendall-Whittier District serving traditional and boneless wings with homemade sauces and rubs.
K&K Smiles (Kanicka Joseph): An oral-care brand that makes dental care feel approachable, built on 15 years of experience as a dental professional.
Ballin AI (Nyla Pollard): Works with college athletic departments across the country to put AI to work in sports.
WriteSea (Brandon Mitchell): A student employability platform that helps more than 58 schools and workforce development offices improve career readiness and track outcomes.
Harvey’s Detail Connection (Joy Harvey): A Tulsa mobile auto detailing and fleet-maintenance company that trains and employs young adults through local workforce programs.
Kimmyscents (Kimberly Grimes): Handmade luxury body butters, bath salts, lip gloss, and body oils.
Rough Chop Tulsa (Gregory Anderson): Small-batch sauces and spice blends made with garden-grown and locally sourced produce, now sold in multiple Oklahoma stores.
Boddle Learning (Clarence Tan): A gamified learning platform used by millions of elementary students and teachers across the U.S.
SkinCheck (Julian Abhari): A digital dermatology platform that connects patients with board-certified dermatologists licensed in all 50 states, usually in less than 24 hours.