University of Texas at Austin
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Several focused students
Several focused students
Several focused students

TVL Students

McCombs School of Business McCombs School of Business

Launch a Startup

Focus on TVL panelist

Current UT Austin graduate students can apply for our Investment Competition. You’re eligible to win cash for your startup idea plus receive invaluable feedback from a panel of experts and investors! See more information below in the Investment Competition section. 

Not ready to compete? Try out New Venture Creation, a class where you work on your business plan and investor pitch.

Join a Startup

Three people present in front of a class

If you want to gain real-world experience working for startups, apply for the TVL Practicum class. In that environment, you get course credit for working for Austin-area startups.

Missed the deadline to apply this semester? Contact us to receive advance notice for next semester or attend Venture Expo to meet the startups from this semester.

Investment Competition

This semester, Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs held our biannual Investment Competition (TVLIC) online on Friday, May 8, 2020. This virtual competition offers a unique opportunity for graduate students from any UT System school to pitch their startup ideas to a panel of investors and entrepreneurs.

Past participants, such as the founders of uShip, BeatBox Beverages and Ordoro to name a few, have gone on to do great things after launching their startups at TVLIC. Many other participants have leveraged their TVLIC experience and feedback from the judges to accelerate their careers outside of entrepreneurship.

Along with the new format, we debuted an exciting new suite of prizes including:

  • First Place - $15,000
    • A seat in the Company-in-Residence Program
    • Free three months at Capital Factory 
    • Access to the LeanStack.com tools and a personalized coaching session with the creator of the Lean Canvas, Ash Maurya
    • $10,000 Amazon Web Services Credits

  • Additional Awards
    • Second Place - $5,000 plus $3,500 Amazon Web Services Credits 
    • Third Place - $2,500 plus $1,500 Amazon Web Services Credits
    • Three Nemec Elevator Challenge Awards - $1,000 each
    • James D. Pippin Student Veteran Award - $1,000

  • Finalists
    • One finalist selected for six months free mentoring through Austin Technology Incubator
    • One finalist selected for a "Golden Ticket" entry to SEAL summer program

Check out the complete list of winners.  

The Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition (TVLIC) is designed to mimic the real-world process of raising venture capital. Graduate students from the University of Texas System present their ideas for new businesses and receive invaluable feedback from entrepreneurs and investors. 

TVLIC gives away more than $58,000 a year in prizes during its fall and spring competitions. The competition is open to any UT System graduate student. The public is welcome to watch these aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ventures.

TVL Practicum Course

The Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs connects local startup companies with talented and entrepreneurial graduate students at the University of Texas. 

The JBTVL Practicum offers students the chance to participate in semester-long consulting projects solving important problems alongside the company’s founders. If admitted to the program, students will work closely with two startup companies on: market validation, competitive analysis, financial analysis, and business model assessment. Practicum students also receive extensive funding guidance from professors and entrepreneurs.

Applications for the Texas Venture Labs Practicum Fall 2020 are open.  UT Austin graduate students with a taste for entrepreneurship should apply. The deadline is February 21, 2020. Questions?  Contact us at infoTVL@mccombs.utexas.edu.

​Apply