Summer Fellowship
The McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship (MESF), funded by the generous support of alumni donors and the Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, enables innovative students to continue building their startups during the summer.
Students interacting at a booth during an event
Application Information
Who Can Apply?
Who Can Apply?
Eligible applicants are full-time undergraduate students from any college or major who have completed four semesters of coursework and are actively engaged in startup development, spanning from ideation to scaling.
Application Deadlines
Application Deadlines
The 2025 MESF application is now open. The deadline to apply is May 9, 2025.
Program Details

Don’t let your startup’s progress stall over the summer.

Eligibility

Who Should Apply

  • Current, full-time UT undergraduate students who have completed four semesters of undergraduate coursework. Non-business undergrads are eligible to apply.
  • Applicants working on any stage of startup development from ideation to scaling are eligible to apply.
  • Competitive applicants should have a well-thought-out business plan, persuasive pitch, attainable milestones and metrics, and an infectious passion for their vision.

The fellowship is a grant to the founder, not the company, so no equity will be sought or conveyed by the McCombs School of Business or the Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Criteria

Application Requirements

Selection Criteria

  • Stage of development
  • Minimum Viable Product or Prototype
  • Milestones for the summer
  • Allocation of funds
  • Impact of fellowship on venture’s development

Awards

Undergraduates

Range: $1,000 – $5,000 Fellowship Stipend

Disclaimer

Important Information

Financial awards will be paid to an individual student for the Summer 2025 semester, not the startup listed in the application. An increase in resources, including a financial award as a result of performance in the McCombs Summer Entrepreneurship Fellowships, may result in a reduction or cancellation of financial aid funds or a requirement to repay awards already released to students. Financial awards may also be used to pay outstanding payments owed to the university.

If you receive financial aid or owe money to the university, you should reach out to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships or Students Accounts Receivable to determine how winning a cash award through the McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship would impact money owed to UT or your financial aid status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to apply?

Undergraduate students of any major are eligible to apply for a summer fellowship. Students graduating in May 2025 are not eligible to apply for a summer fellowship. If you are walking in the May graduation but graduating in December 2025, you are still welcome to apply.

What is the deadline to submit my application?

Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm on Friday, May 9, 2025.

How can I access the application?

McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship Application

What information is requested on the application?

Students will be required to submit information surrounding their startup’s progress, including, but not limited to, the problem your startup solves, an outline of how your solution addresses the problem, current financial projections, and what key performance indicators students hope to accomplish with the support provided by the fellowship. Additionally, students will need to upload a 5-minute pre-recorded pitch with pitch deck.

What if a question doesn’t apply to my startup?

Answer every question – your application will be evaluated on all aspects. If you don’t have concrete data yet, provide thoughtful projections or hypotheticals based on your research and plans. Be clear about what is current vs. projected. This shows that you’ve considered all aspects of your business, even if some elements are still to be determined/hypothetical.

How are applications reviewed?

Applications will be judged based on the identified problem and solution presented by the founder. Additionaly, judges will review the perceived feasibility of the startup and the investment opportunity presented by the startup concept.

When will decisions be released?

Final fellowship decisions will be released by Monday, May 19, 2025. An email will be sent from the Harkey Institute to all applicants.

What are the requirements associated with receiving an application?

Students who receive a fellowship will be required to submit a thank you letter to the donors who contributed to the support of their fellowship. Additional information on this requirement will be sent to selected students.

How can receiving a fellowship impact my financial status with the university?

Fellowships will be paid to an individual student for the Summer 2025 semester, not the startup listed in the application. An increase in resources, including a financial award as a result of performance in the McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship, may result in a reduction or cancellation of financial aid funds or a requirement to repay awards already released to students. Financial awards may be used to pay outstanding payments owed to the university.

If you receive financial aid or owe money to the university, you should reach out to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships or Students Accounts Receivable to determine how winning a cash award through the McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship would impact money owed to UT or your financial aid status.

Summer Fellow 2023
Dispoze has used our fellowship funds to successfully build and operate our first retail prototypes! We’ve also been able to officially incorporate with the SOS and meet compliance standards thanks to MESF. We’re so appreciative of this program.
Luke Tanner, Founder

Summer Fellowship Alumni

Clips AI

Clips AI uses machine learning to automatically create clips from podcasts. This helps our users save time and ensure that they’re selecting their best content. Our vision for the platform is a verticalized solution for finding, editing, and posting clips all from our site. We’re building to a future where one upload of a podcast creates, deploys, and manages a month’s worth of content for any marketing team. This empowers even the smallest entities to have their voices magnified.

Active Prophylaxis

Our mission is to develop an active pressure redistribution device for the prevention of pressure ulcers. The goal is to reduce healthcare provider burdens of turning patients through the use of the mechanical intervention. With the aging US population and growing nursing home population, we have identified an urgent need to automate the process of redistributing pressure. This would free up a significant amount of time for nursing home staff to address other serious health concerns for their clients.

SPOT

SPOT is a smart vending solution designed to help institutions provide free menstrual products in all restrooms. In essence, SPOT provides a platform to promote menstrual equity by helping women and non- binary individuals find free period supplies in public restrooms.

Paradigm Robotics

Paradigm Robotics is revolutionizing firefighting with FireBot, the first high-temperature-resistant robot designed for search-and-rescue missions in burning buildings. FireBot’s rugged design and obstacle-climbing abilities allow remote victim searches, minimizing risks for firefighters. With 25+ fire department partners and extensive testing, FireBot marks a major advancement in life-saving firefighting technology.

CURA

Cura supports family caregivers by providing tools to manage their responsibilities and prioritize well-being. With 1 in 5 Americans offering unpaid care, Cura addresses caregiver stress through features like a lifestyle tracker, AI-driven health plans, and curated resources. By easing caregivers’ burdens, their method improves patient outcomes and helps alleviate the strain on the healthcare system.

FactFlow

FactFlow simplifies the research process for students by providing accurate, concise summaries of scholarly articles. It combines reliable sources with AI to streamline the research pipeline, saving time and ensuring accuracy for higher education students tackling complex topics.

Sups

Sups democratizes college admissions using AI to support underrepresented, international, and low-income students. It provides an interactive advisor and feedback system for students and an enterprise interface for counselors, transforming the admissions process to make it more accessible and equitable.

Coco de Chom

Coco de Chom brings vacation-inspired joy into everyday life with unique leisure wear. Targeting women aged 27-60, primarily in the U.S., the brand offers vacation, gift, and casual wear that supports small businesses and reflects a love for relaxed, tropical, boho styles.

Dispoze

We aim to provide the availability to prevent battery cells from ending up in landfill, instead reintroducing these materials back into the supply chain through refurbishment and recycling. We will address this problem by planting recovery bins at smoke shops / Gas stations / Other retailers, as well as securing contracts for operations at events and festivals like ACL. We will collect and transport these devices to our central facility, where they can be disassembled, and the batteries can be processed for recycling or refurbishment. We will then sell the to U.S. industry leaders who will benefit from sourcing domestic batteries, battery materials, and prices.

Cornerstone

You can think of Cornerstone like Grammarly, but for processing spreadsheet-based estimations. With the power of AI and workflow automation, Cornerstone eliminates virtually every problem detailed in the estimation process, returning time, revenue, and sanity to builders at any scale.

Users will upload their estimate of materials for their job scope (i.e. remodel, shed build, custom home, etc.), and Cornerstone’s AI will automatically fill in locally relevant and accurate prices for each material. If their prices are incorrect, Cornerstone will fill in the correct price for them. Using real-time pricing data, Cornerstone will continue to automatically update the material prices as the markets shift, serving as a consistent and accurate budget reference for the builder and their buyer.

Energy Umbrella

The Energy Umbrella is a portable solar solution that offers urban families a reliable, cost-effective alternative to traditional power sources. Its foldable design is ideal for apartments, delivering 400W of energy to power essential appliances during outages while eliminating installation fees. Affordable and user-friendly, it makes renewable energy accessible to millions of Indian families.

Gazelle

Gazelle is transforming geospatial analytics with its no-code platform that simplifies complex spatial and environmental data. Serving industries such as carbon, agriculture, and energy, Gazelle allows users to process various data types and deploy custom remote sensing algorithms for actionable insights. From wind farm planning to carbon project management, Gazelle democratizes advanced earth observation tools, streamlining decision-making and reporting.

Foveo

Foveo helps families reduce food waste, save money, and improve nutrition with a food management app that tracks expiry dates, provides nutritional recommendations, and offers discounts. It promotes sustainability and healthier habits while benefiting businesses with customer loyalty and insights into consumer behavior.

Bloom Technologies

Bloom Technologies offers a comprehensive platform for businesses to track, analyze, and optimize their ESG performance. It simplifies compliance, reduces supply chain inefficiencies, and consolidates sustainability efforts into one solution, empowering businesses to streamline operations and reduce costs.

Thrive Education

Thrive Education improves diabetic patients’ health and reduces healthcare costs by providing reliable, affordable diabetes education. The platform offers progress tracking, credible content, and personalized material to help patients manage their condition and reduce hospitalizations.

Resia

Resia simplifies home renovations by offering tools for visualization, cost estimation, and contractor coordination. It empowers homeowners, real estate professionals, and contractors by fostering transparency, efficiency, and profitability in the $549 billion U.S. home improvement market.