At Intro to the UT/Austin Startup Ecosystem, students, faculty, staff, and the general public are invited every fall to explore the diverse and expert network of resources at UT and in Austin dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and innovators. Hosted by the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center, this presentation and trade show is the perfect opportunity for all levels of engagement in the local startup scene.

The Inventors Program (IP) engages undergraduates in applied experiences where they generate solutions to interesting questions. IP is inclusive to students who may not typically identify as entrepreneurs or innovators. Student teams are scaffolded through tiered experiences where they explore problem-scoping and ideation and develop industry and scientific skills with prototyping and project pitches. An IP industry network prepares students for internships and future careers in STEM industries.

The James D. Pippin Veteran Entrepreneurship Award is a $1,000 prize awarded to one of the top teams in the Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition with one or more U.S. military veteran cofounders. The award is named after James D. Pippin, a Retired Command Sergeant Major in the U.S. Army who served with RideScout co-founder and CEO Joseph Kopser. Sergeant Major Pippin is the only active duty serviceman to have conducted three airborne combat jumps.

Texas Venture Labs works campus-wide across disciplines to transform graduate students into entrepreneurs and business leaders, take their innovations to market, and accelerate startups in our ecosystem. We do this through our Practicum course and Fellows program that provide experiential learning for grad students, our Investment Competition, and our Accelerator. Let us help you build your skills while launching your dreams.

The Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) supports creatives, founders, leaders, and allies by redefining leadership and entrepreneurship. KS WELI equips and empowers students of all backgrounds through engaging programming and events, spotlighting women-led businesses through the FoundHER Program, and sponsoring interdisciplinary courses within the McCombs Entrepreneurship Minor. Since its founding, KS WELI has become a force on UT’s campus to grow and support the number of women-owned and women-led businesses.

The LaunchPad at UT Austin is a resource hub that helps all undergraduate and graduate students explore entrepreneurship at UT. We help students identify where they are in their entrepreneurial journey – Explore, Ideate, Create, or Scale – then educate and connect them to resources across campus and in Austin. LaunchPad resources include events, coworking space, funding, bootcamps, accelerators, and other programs. We are a proud member of the global Blackstone LaunchPad Network of 46+ campuses.

These fellowships support provide seed funding and completion grants to College of Liberal Arts faculty and faculty teams in economics, government, history, international relations, and global studies (Littlefield) and other departments (Ransom) with a public engagement commitment. They are open to eligible faculty with commercialization or entrepreneurial goals.

The Longhorn Impact Fellowship at Texas provides UT-Austin students with impact-focused consulting experience. Selected Fellows are placed with sustainable corporations, start-ups, and nonprofits to solve sustainability challenges. Projects are completed in 10-12 weeks and must be related to sustainability, corporate philanthropy, impact/ESG investing, or social and environmental innovation. Scholarships are available for students with financial need.

Held during Research Week every April, the Longhorn Research Poster Session is an interdisciplinary event where students share research and creative activity in all academic disciplines.

Longhorn Startup Lab is a joint program with Capital Factory that allows student entrepreneurs to work on their startup under the guidance of successful mentors and provides students with a vast network they can use to accelerate growth. The Longhorn Startup Seminar is a semester-long class that brings guest speakers in to introduce students to the world of entrepreneurship. It is designed as a beginner course and students do not need a startup idea to be involved.