Application Process Overview

Prior to each semester at The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Venture Labs takes applications for 5 early stage deals and 5 late deals (see criteria below) to join the TVL organization for the semester.  Each deal will receive a team of 4-6 TVL Associates who will work closely with the entrepreneur to help accelerate the company towards their goals, whatever they might be.  TVL looks for deals from on-campus organizations such as the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), the Cockrell School of Engineering, and Austin Technology Incubator.  However, we also accept applications from the public and is open to working with any entrepreneur or start-up that is committed and passionate about their venture.

• Determine your stage of deal using the criteria below.
• If there is a fit with the deals Venture Labs is currently handling, fill out an online application. This application is in-depth and will require a significant amount of effort.
• Complete profiles are reviewed and prioritized by an independent Advisory Council based upon their commercialization potential. Texas Venture Labs will accommodate as many deals as its capacity permits.
• Deals that clear the selection criteria will be contacted by Venture Labs.
• The current process timeline is below.

Determine your deal stage using the criteria below: 

Texas Venture Labs classifies its deals into two categories -early and late stage. The criteria for each category are listed below. We will accept 5 deals from each category per semester.

Early stage: 

• Complete business plan
• At least one full-time management member
• Product/technology in testing and/or development phase 
• Patent process initiated (if applicable)
• Licensing agreement negotiated (if applicable)
• Basic market validation completed; target segment identified
• Developing a business model and plan
• Filed for formation (Inc. or LLC)

Late stage:      

• Early Stage criteria +
• Product/technology developed/in Beta-testing 
• Patent process complete (if applicable)
• Licensing agreement complete (if applicable)
• Initial Beta customers acquired
• Market validated and customer segments identified
• Scalable business model complete

Funding, Launch, Ongoing Management, Growth, Harvest: Texas Venture Labs will facilitate introductions to potential funding sources by identifying complimentary characteristics in the following:

• Specific industry knowledge
• Lifecycle stage
• Deployable capital
• Managerial fit

Resources Available to Texas Venture Labs

Texas Venture Labs has the power and support of the entire University behind it, along with multiple partners in the Austin business community.  To see the resources and connections that TVL can bring to your start-up, please use the links below:

• University Curriculum
• University Organizations
• Business Organizations