Building Skills While Launching Careers
Big ideas belong at Texas. We open our doors to newcomers and fresh ideas and make the improbable possible. Find your place here – there is always room for one more innovator at UT.
Accelerator
The TVL Accelerator provides an opportunity for startups to take their ventures to the next level with the unique benefit of leveraging UT Austin resources and talent. TVL also provides a venue for investors to engage with UT research and startups. The TVL Accelerator matches early-stage Texas-based startups with cross-functional student teams from across UT’s graduate schools to help solve business problems.
The TVL Accelerator is a zero-cost, zero-equity program that collaborates with Texas startups who want to work with graduate student consultants for up to 200 hours of high-impact business consulting over a 14-week semester. We accept applications from pre-revenue and post-revenue companies who have a working prototype or product, can clearly define two to three projects for students, and are ready to engage with the student team.
We welcome startups from all industries! In addition to our MBA, MSTC, and McCombs MS students, many of our graduate students come from other disciplines such as computer science, life science, law, and engineering. Since we are embedded in an academic institution and surrounded by brilliant scientific and technical talent, startups who can leverage technical Ph.D. and Masters students in their project work are encouraged to apply.
Don’t see what you’re looking for or want more information? Check out our FAQs.
Practicum Courses
Texas Venture Labs Practicum
The Texas Venture Labs Practicum is a hands-on course for master and doctoral students, focusing on developing consulting skills and entrepreneurial expertise. In collaboration with startups from the TVL Accelerator, teams of graduate students engage in customer interviews, business research, and project-based learning. Graduate students in this course gain insights into market validation, competitive intelligence, analytics, pricing models, and go-to-market strategies.
Apply to the TVL Practicum for Fall 2025
Texas Venture Labs Energy Ventures Practicum
The TVL Energy Ventures Practicum is a cross-disciplinary graduate course taught in collaboration with UT’s Energy Institute, the Cockrell School of Engineering, the Jackson School of Geosciences and the LBJ School of Public Policy. The Energy Ventures Practicum is an opportunity for teams of business students, policy students, and technologists to build up skills, capabilities and contacts to create a new venture in energy and sectors that can improve sustainability.
Objectives of the class are to provide a framework for commercializing innovations in these sectors, and the tools that entrepreneurs need to frame and build businesses for this purpose.
Investment Competition
The Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition (TVLIC) mimics 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. Many TVLIC competitors launch successful businesses, including uShip, Ordoro, BeatBox Beverages, Phurnace Software and Qcue.
The Spring 2025 TVL Investment Competition is happening on Friday, May 2.
The application deadline is Sunday, April 13.
Startup Fellows
Brumley Startup Fellows embark on an entrepreneurial journey, focused on building and developing their own startups or working with a startup, while receiving invaluable support from industry experts and dedicated staff. Over the course of the summer, Fellows immerse themselves in the real-world challenges of launching a business, applying classroom knowledge to practical situations.
Brumley Startup Fellow applicants choose between two tracks based on their interests and the type of career path they would like to explore.
- TVL Commercialization Fellow: an opportunity to work with a STEM-based company that is taking an intellectual property to market.
- TVL Founder in Residence Fellow (FIR): TVL will connect you with mentors and resources to help bring your own startup to market.
Brumley Startup Fellows are selected based on an application and interview process. The Brumley Startup Fellows program offers a summer cohort that runs from June to August.
Call for Austin-area Startups
The Texas Venture Labs Accelerator matches Austin-area startups with cross-functional teams of UT Austin graduate students for 10-week startup consulting projects. Our rigorous market validation process and our students’ research accelerate startups towards funding.
The TVL Accelerator is a zero-cost, zero-equity program that collaborates with Texas-based startups who want to work with graduate student consultants for up to 300 hours of high-impact business consulting. We accept startup company applications from pre- and post-revenue companies who have a working prototype or product, can clearly define two to three student projects, and are ready to engage with the student team.
We welcome startups from all industries. In addition to our McCombs MBA, MSTC, and MS students, many of our graduate students come from science, engineering, and computer science disciplines. Since we are surrounded by brilliant scientific and technical talent, startups who can leverage the skills of technical Ph.D. and Masters students are encouraged to apply.