STILLWATER ADVANTAGE
Why Stillwater ?
Meet three local CEOs & why they chose to call Stillwater home for their business .
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COMMERCE | 2021 P r o fi l e Magazine of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce
Steve Irby
KICKER
What made you want to open your business in Stillwater ?
After undergraduate college , I moved back to Stillwater — my hometown — for graduate school . When I decided to start a business it made sense to do it in Stillwater because that was where I was living .
Why do you stay in Stillwater ?
I ’ ve always enjoyed living in Stillwater . It has a small town atmosphere , yet is a very cosmopolitan community . I like the progressive opportunities that OSU offers , and have always been interested in learning . Larger cities such as Tulsa and Oklahoma City are just an hour away , so we can enjoy small town living , yet have easy access to the amenities a larger city .
What surprises you about Stillwater ?
Having been raised in Stillwater , I thought that maybe my affinity for the town was just because it ’ s mostly all I ’ ve known . However over the years our company has hired many people from other areas of the country — many from large metropolitan areas . I ’ ve been surprised to find that most of them have grown to love Stillwater . That makes me very proud of our community !
How do you see growth coming to Stillwater ?
I believe that for the long term , the best growth is home grown . Someone that feels connected to the community will want to keep their business in Stillwater and want to see the community flourish . We have a wonderful opportunity to influence our college students here for four years . As they come to appreciate Stillwater , it ’ s great to see them want to stay , and possibly start a business or profession here .
For attracting larger businesses to come to Stillwater , I believe we have many lifestyle benefits to offer that I ’ ve already talked about . Our job is to then show them the financial viability , the available
workforce , the university resources , and our true desire to have them join our community and grow with us .
What is your favorite memory or part of Stillwater ?
Although I have many great memories of life in Stillwater , one that stands out is lunch after church on Sundays at the Student Union cafeteria . In the ‘ 50s and ‘ 60s — it ’ s hard to believe today — there weren ’ t many places to eat out ! For Sunday lunch , the popular thing to do was to go to the Student Union . They had a typical cafeteria at that time , and for me it was a real treat . Being the largest building in Stillwater , it was also great fun to explore as a kid . We especially liked to ride the escalator .
Behfar Jahanshahi
INTERWORKS
What made you want to open your business in Stillwater ?
I ’ m a Stillwater native , so the connection to the Stillwater community has always been there . I founded InterWorks while I was still in school at Oklahoma State University . For me , it wasn ’ t about wanting to open a business for the sake of opening a business . I was already solving technology problems for my friends and their parents . I thought it was challenging and fun . The more experienced I gained , the more I realized that I was encountering the same set of problems over and over again . I wanted a bigger challenge , so I thought , “ why not help businesses solve their technology problems ?”
I was good at it , nobody else was doing it at the time , and there was a huge need for this type of consulting in Stillwater . In college , I always thought I would go work for IBM or another tech giant , but the closer I got to graduating , the more apparent opportunities closer to home became . This made me ask myself , “ why am I leaving ?” The opportunity to work on my own terms and build something of my own was what I really wanted — so I pursued it and started InterWorks .