Cowboy Technology Angels (Cowboy Angels), an early-stage investment group with ties to Oklahoma State University (OSU), is leading a $2.7 million Series B investment in California-based oilfields sensor technology company GroundMetrics Inc.
Also participating in the series are follow-on investors including Tech Coast Angels and Harvard Business School's Alumni Angels. GroundMetrics is the second investment for the Cowboy Angels, a network of OSU alumni and friends that launched in 2013 to help drive the university's research, talent, and entrepreneurial spirit into the growth of new companies.
"GroundMetrics has a potentially revolutionary technology for the oil and gas industry," said John McDougal, OSU '76, a Cowboy Angels member with nearly four decades of experience in the energy sector. McDougal will represent the Series B investors on GroundMetrics' board of directors.
"We look forward to opening doors in the industry so GroundMetrics can show what they can do," McDougal added.
According to GroundMetrics CEO George Eiskamp, the company will use the Series B funding to ramp up sales of the company's disruptive land-based sensor technology, expand hires, and establish offices in Tulsa and Houston.
"We're thrilled to have the Cowboy Angels leading our Series B because of their depth of experience in the oil industry," Eiskamp said. "They understand our business on a gut level, and bring a founder's mentality to the table. From the first meeting, they passed with flying colors.”
With a current membership of 15 accredited investors – most OSU alums and all but two residents of Oklahoma – the Cowboy Angels operate independently of OSU but maintain close communication with Cowboy Technologies, the university's business incubator.
In October 2012, Cowboy Technologies director Steve Wood attended global showcase WBT Innovation Marketplace and heard GroundMetrics pitch its sensor technology, which dramatically increases the imaging range for fluid distribution from a well. Wood promptly referred the start-up to the OSU angel group.
"It was not OSU technology but we thought there were tie-ins with our work," Wood said. "People here are perhaps more sophisticated about energy than investors in non-oil-producing states."
With the Cowboy Angels' affinity for OSU and experience in different industry sectors – from energy to engineering and financial services – Wood said he expects the angel group will bring broad economic benefits to the community.
According to McDougal, the young angel group is actively growing its membership base as it "gears up" for new investments.
"The diversity of experience on our team means we can take on opportunities in many industries," McDougal said. "The more we build the Cowboy Angels, the more equipped we are to help the university."