The Fall 2017 Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition will be held in the ATT Conference Center at 1900 University Avenue. The event is free and open to the public. No need to RSVP. Check out the schedule below and feel free to sit in on the ventures that pique your interest. The top five teams will compete in the Finals beginning at 5 PM in the ATT Amphitheater.
Division I – Classroom 103
1:00 PM Scholarplace develops and administers Scholarplace: AI, a web-based social network and gig-marketplace which connects Academics in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics to short-term consulting opportunities for medium-sized business technologists. Scholarplace takes a percentage of honorariums exchanged for consulting services and charges academics a subscription fee. Tim Fedorov, MBA 2018; John Marsh, JD 2018
1:35 PM BabyButton is a multi-device enterprise view for daycare centers enabling remote monitoring of vital signs for all the newborns they care for. We charge daycares $100 a month to be a BabyButton certified facility plus a $20 fee for every baby they put on a monitor. Adrian Cruz Ramos, MSTC 2018; Gordon LeFeuvre, MSTC 2018; Sami Suteria, MSTC 2018; Boya Dai, MSTC 2018; Chi Ma, MSTC 2018
2:10 PM The vision of Real-time Data Bank (ReTDB) is to transform outdated parking spaces into autonomous car-friendly spaces, which saves time to find spaces and bridges existing parking to the future parking. ReTDB offers real-time database and IoT devices to generate real-time information so that parking owners can promote their vacant spaces. Drivers and autonomous cars will have access to real-time availability over the database to make optimal decisions. ReTDB charges monthly subscription fees to parking owners. Hiroto Hyakkoku, MBA 2018
2:45 PM VUsense is a navigation technology company that delivers real-time, low-cost, centimeter-accurate vehicle positioning solutions. The company has partnered with the UT Austin’s Radio Navigation Lab to create precision navigation technology for vehicles and roadways. VUsense offers RTK networking and telematics solutions that speed adoption of autonomous vehicles. Mike Jasinski, MSTC 2018; Bruce Sanderson, MSTC 2018; Nasos Economou, MSTC 2018
Division II – Classroom 104
1:00 PM Volt480 helps manufacturers recover from downtime twice as fast and at half the cost by leveraging underutilized, local resources and utilizing machine learning to solve problems more efficiently. We are a marketplace that bills out resources on an hourly basis and we take a percentage of every transaction. Bhavnesh Patel, MBA 2018
1:35 PM Boreas Technologies is committed to enhancing the durability and survivability of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aviation platforms currently utilized by the intelligence community. Liberty is a patent-pending advanced cooling solution constructed from novel techniques and provides twice the cooling capacity of the conventional solution at a fraction of its cost. Brian Fuentes, MSTC 2018; Tyler McWilliam, MSTC 2018; Jermaine Cohen, MSTC 2018
2:10 PM Varuna’s mission is to deliver a highly intelligent, self-managing grow environment to a set of American consumers that are currently at a loss for options. Varuna will remove the barriers to entry for hydroponic gardening with a system designed to reduce time and education constraints; thus, allowing individuals to practice home cultivation quickly and easily. Greg Schultz, MSTC 2018; Jason Carrier, MSTC 2018
2:45 PM Wilder Systems helps aircraft manufacturers cut costs and improve quality by integrating mobile, collaborative robots which do not require significant factory reconfiguration to implement. Will Wilder, MBA 2018; Rich Huckle, MBA 2018
Division III – Classroom 107
1:00 PM lettershine is a social networking app and online platform for teenage girls (ages 13-17). Its mission is to source substantive content and to enable constructive dialogue. It provides a safe forum for teens to discuss sports, arts and academics, rather than superficial topics found on mainstream social media today. We make money primarily through online/in-app advertising and in-app premium paid for content. Jacqueline Sigler, MBA 2019
1:35 PM StockUp is an online marketplace for bars and restaurants to purchase alcohol from authorized distributors. StockUp makes money through subscription fees paid by bars and restaurants and transaction fees paid on purchases through the platform. Blake Schwartz, MBA 2019
2:10 PM Secure Logic brings digital awareness to the physical world. By collecting and recording digital signatures of the smart things all around us, our Sentinel products feed data to our GlobalDetect platform, creating a connected global digital neighborhood watch that can be leveraged by security service monitoring providers to create new revenue streams. Mike Volling, MSTC 2018; Molly Mae Potter, MSTC 2018; Geoff Korrub, MSTC 2018; Paul Jespersen, MSTC 2018
2:45 PM The Right Call gives officials and those hiring them access to a predictive analytics software that reveals patterns, trends, tendencies and even biases in officiating that can be used for training, development and evaluation purposes. The Right Call makes money by charging annual and monthly subscriptions to conferences, universities and officials. Fran Harris, MSTC 2018
Division IV – Classroom 108
1:00 PM Drones of Prey is creating an autonomous defense system designed to protect all property types from aerial incursions by unknown drones by utilizing image and sound recognition, launch platforms and defense drones. Drones of Prey is building a subscription service that will provide increased security and privacy. The system will detect, hunt and capture any invading UAV and coordinate with law enforcement/security post-capture. Kevin Lenau, MBA 2018; Michael Cohen, MBA 2018
1:35 PM GradSolva is a short-term, focused, results-oriented and competitively priced consulting performed by senior PhD graduate students. GradSolva removes the need for long, expensive and disruptive consulting projects. Companies can view consultant profiles and select the consultant with expertise most relevant to their problem, thus eliminating inefficiencies in the consulting process, increasing speed and reducing costs. Shehab Alzobaidi, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. 2019; Alon Kirschner, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. 2019
2:10 PM SeatPotato provides an in-seat delivery solution for concessionaires. Concessionaires and spectators at an entertainment event use the SeatPotato technology infrastructure to allow menu and merchandise orders to be delivered directly to a spectator’s seat. SeatPotato will charge concessionaires a flat fee for usage per event. Brandon Schreiner, MBA 2018
2:45 PM Business Innovations for Good (B.I.G. Ideas) is an incubator for female entrepreneurs in East Africa. B.I.G. Ideas teaches female entrepreneurs the essentials of business modeling, budgeting, project management, marketing, accounting, design thinking and sustainable development to help them spearhead environmentally friendly businesses within economies where their employment options are limited. Laura Richards, MBA and Masters in Global Policy 2018
Division V – Classroom 201
1:00 PM Tinted’s digital tool helps homeowner instantly select the perfect paint colors for their next DIY project. With a cost of $50 per product, customers start on a phone/website that collects project information, results are processed through a color engine and a customized color package is delivered to their door for final selection. Anthony Farnsworth, MSTC 2018; Mat Kattoor, MSTC 2018
1:35 PM Ranch Hand: Healthy food has become big business; traditional food conglomerates and institutional investors are scrambling to keep pace. Ranch Hand, a made-to-order salad company, was founded by UT MBA students passionate about health who intend to expand Ranch Hand into a nationally recognizable brand. Quentin Cantu, MBA 2019; Brian Murphy, MBA 2019
2:10 PM EmbraceBox is a do-it-yourself hair product subscription box service for young girls (ages 4-14) with curly hair. Each month, subscribers receive the raw, natural ingredients and instructions to create their own natural hair product. Through the process of creation, young girls gain ownership and the confidence to rock their natural curls! Subscribers are automatically billed on a monthly recurring basis. Angelise Hadley, MBA 2019
2:45 PM ON-IT: For most, doing something every day at the same time is a tedious and seemingly impossible task. ON-IT is a wearable bracelet that holds a month’s supply of oral contraceptives and dispenses one pill at the same time every day with a gentle vibrating alarm. The result is that women have a more efficient, consistent and effective method for remaining compliant with their medication while reducing serious side effects such as unplanned pregnancy or hormonal inconsistencies.
Renee Weissend, MBA 2018: Sara Lamason, MBA 2018; Laurel Fitzgerald, MBA 2018: Zach Streichler, MPA 2018