Oklahoma entrepreneurs pitch ideas for capital

as state ‘Venture of the Year’

Monday’s "Venture of the Year” award was a dead heat.

Acorn Growth Cos. and PL Studios were honored by the Oklahoma Venture Fund at the conclusion of the group’s Bricktown Capital Conference in Oklahoma City.

Acorn Growth Cos. is a private equity firm focused exclusively on aerospace and defense. The Oklahoma City firm has more than $100 million under management and operating companies across the United States with operations worldwide.

PL Studios, based in downtown Oklahoma City, creates training for programs associated with creating video games, commercials, special effects and some of Hollywood’s biggest movies.

The "Most Promising New Business” award was presented to Oklahoma ProCure Management, which recently established a 55,000-square-foot cancer treatment center in northwest Oklahoma City. The $120 million facility, which opened July 8, can treat about 1,500 patients a year.

The Venture of the Year award is for companies established 10 years or less; the Most Promising New Business is for firms launched within the past three years.