Ten Start-ups to Pitch New Business Ideas at University of Texas Venture Expo
AUSTIN, Texas — Executive teams from 10 Texas Venture Labs (TVL) portfolio companies will pitch their ideas to investors at the upcoming Venture Expo Oct. 27. TVL taps the academic resources of The University of Texas at Austin to help entrepreneurs through company formation, venture backing and successful acquisition. Portfolio companies are chosen through an application screening process and are assisted through partnerships with Austin Technology Incubator, the UT Office of Technology Commercialization and the Central Texas Angel Network. A group of TVL students from multiple graduate programs across the university, including the McCombs School of Business, Cockrell School of Engineering, School of Law and College of Natural Sciences, work side by side to assist the founding executives with various challenges and tasks common for startups. “We were very lucky to be selected to participate in the Texas Venture Labs program,” said Jeff Lujan, CEO of Digital Harmony Games. “The knowledge and expertise of the team and the amazing resources they afforded us have been invaluable as we seek investment funding.” The companies are equally divided into two categories: those in the early development stage — with a business plan, executive team and need for capital, and those in the funded stage — having a product, early round of funding and possibly customers that generate revenue. Companies will pitch at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center from 1 to 5 p.m. Gary Kelly, chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, will speak from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with a networking reception to follow. The sessions are open to investors, entrepreneurs and academics, as space permits. Early development stage companies include: Funded stage companies include: More about Texas Venture Labs and Venture Expo.
