Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition Schedule of Spring 2020 Competitors

Semifinals – May 8, 2020

Division I

9:00 AM – Empire Learning
Real estate professionals are required to complete continuing education (CE) in order to renew their license. At Empire Learning, we make CE easy. We are the highest rated online provider in the nation, providing a seamless user experience in 11 states.  John Wheeler, MBA ‘21

9:35 AM -ConsultEd
ConsultEd helps today’s students seamlessly navigate multiple educational systems, into the jobs of tomorrow. ConsultEd’s foundation is built through the use of blockchain to secure student records, machine learning to better inform institutions and policymakers which student pathways are broken, and real-time geographic economic data provided by economist labor reports and investment banking analysts, to shape students major selection. Matthew Parson, MBA ’20

10:10 AM – Find My Fit
A B2B fashion technology plug-in licensed to online retailers that replaces the size guide button by plugging into individual product pages to enable customers to accurately predict their size across any brand using 2 – 3 photos taken on their smartphone. The proprietary technology will analyze the image as data points and marry this information with the fabric composition of the item, the individual’s dimensions/proportions and fit preference to predict size with 90%+ accuracy. Heidi Mackay, MBA ’21; Lindsay Marsh, MBA ‘21

10:45 AM – Actionly
Actionly is a multi-sided platform providing users with small daily actions and connecting them to affiliate products that match the challenges of their daily lifestyle and improve their health and well-being. Clayton Key, MBA ’20

11:20 AM – BarTab
BarTab is a mobile payments platform that vastly improves the bar experience for customers, bars and bartenders by streamlining the drink ordering and tab management process. Users are provided with demographic data and friends’ locations via the platform in order to facilitate social experiences. BarTab also provides real-time analytic data to bars in order to improve decision-making related to pricing and forecasting. Jessica Stenglein, Law ’20; Abby Chua, MS Computer Science ’20; Colin Morris, MBA ’21; Tommy Fang, MBA ‘21

11:55 AM – Nudge Analytics
For K-12 school districts who are facing budget issues caused by low student attendance, Nudge Analytics provides a plug and play solution to reduce truancy. Our platform will use machine learning to identify at-risk students and research-driven messaging to get them back in the classroom. Sam Hogan, MBA ’21; Chuk Orakwue, MBA ‘21

Division II

9:00 AM – iTree
iTree is a shading solution, re-imagining solar power in a beautiful form. It replicates the ecological value of a tree, estimating it will qualify for 1,450 metric tons of C02 credits, addresses instances where urban development limits space for a tree, offers water conservation with a vertical growing bio-skin. The bio-solution is a low maintenance alternative for landscaping, making it an attractive alternative to a tree. Rudy Dunbar, MSTC ‘20; Kailey Euceda, MSTC ‘20; Ashley Duffins, MSTC ‘20; Atif Syed, MSTC ‘20; Christian Quinones, MSTC ‘20

9:35 AM – CooMo Travel
CooMo Travel is an online platform that allows the individual to plan and book their entire trip, from start to finish, while allowing other real users to provide recommendations and suggestions based on their own personal experience. In addition, those that plan their trip through the platform will have the ability to see other travelers that will be traveling to the same cities at the same time, allowing people to potentially meet in real life! Tyler Moyer, MSTC ‘20

10:10 AM – KNX
Everyone has looked at business networking from one way only. As a result, existing social business networking gives a false sense of big network and results in superficial, transactional and inauthentic connections. The KNX APP fosters unprecedented and revolutionary ways of business networking. The job search starts with identifying the best smart matches by location, interest and hobbies to meet on a golf course, yoga class, tennis, at the park while walking the dogs etc. Larisa Olteanu, MBA ‘21

10:45 AM – Talent.ai
For enterprises struggling to monitor and give feedback to their remote employees, Talent.ai offers a HR transformation tool that integrates with their primary modes of communication. It then analyzes the mix of written and video communication to provide development plans for the employees and valuable HR information for the managers. It uses AI deep learning techniques, NLP and Vocal/Facial Analysis. Sean Stallings, MBA ‘21

11:20 AM – StyleTravels
StyleTravels is an AI based technology platform that services customers who need help in planning their style choices during their travels such as outfits to wear, accessories to match including shoes so that customers can enjoy their vacation with less hassle and focus more on doing things they love. Sneha Vyas, MBA ’20

11:55 AM – Tripology
Tripology is a field trip marketplace that exists to empower educational institutions. We are an online platform for field trip providers and field trip planners to market, find, and book and manage educational field trips. Nicole Pennington, MSTC ’20; Robin Reynolds, MSTC ’20; Scott Wentworth, MSTC ’20; Nathan Pena, MSTC ‘20

Division III

9:00 AM – StrongPeople
StrongPeople is a health company. We enhance our customers’ health by consistently delivering a quality gym experience.  John Schenck, MSTC ‘20

9:35 AM – Functional Furniture
Functional Furniture is the home gym designed for your living room. Existing solutions on the market are either unwieldy or impractical for an apartment or are poorly made, unsightly and not versatile. During the era of COVID-19, a new use case emerged – the need for a simple and effective bodyweight-focused home gym to supplement existing exercise activities and enable home training for sport-specific needs. Alexander Darvishian, MBA ‘21

10:10 AM – Helios
Helios makes and sells modern Greek sandals. We redesign timeless Greek styles with modern synthetic materials, creating the first sandal on the market to bridge classic design with modern comfort and functionality. Stuart Smith, MBA ‘21

10:45 AM – Zeus Wild
Our company is developing a solar powered camping tent made from fabric that charges and stores energy during the day to provide self-powered lighting at night. Carlos Colon-Vonarx, MBA ’20; Gokhan Koyuncu, MBA ’20

11:20 AM – Oxymoron Ink
Oxymoron Ink manufactures the world’s first semi-permanent tattoo ink. Millions of people around the world are interested in tattoos, but avoid them because they know they might regret their decision later in life. We solve this problem by offering inks that disappear after 6 months, 9 months or 1 year. These inks are made possible using intellectual property developed at UT Austin. Matthew Miller, Chemical Engineering PhD ‘20

11:55 AM – bruxAway
bruxAway is developing a smart wearable night guard to disrupt the over $10B market of bruxism (unconscious teeth grinding) disorder. One in 5 people suffer from bruxism disorder, but over 80% of people are undiagnosed. We’re solving this through our smart wearable night guard, a custom solution medical-grade night guard designed to protect your teeth and significantly reduce bruxism. It connects to your smartphone and provides analysis of your nightly bruxism behavior and sleeping patterns through an intuitively built app. Sarnab Bhattacharya, Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD ‘22

Division IV

9:00 AM – Allmost Home
Allmost Home is an amenity grocery brand on a mission to empower healthier urban living by making food options more accessible within apartment communities. We build small-footprint, in-building mini-markets which provide personalized grocery selections to building residents at competitive margins, while bringing in additional revenue through partnerships with rental operators. James Wright, MBA ‘21

9:35 AM – Good Apple
Good Apple is an Austin-based produce delivery service on a mission to end food insecurity. We partner with local farmers to rescue produce that would otherwise go unsold. We then operate a 100% locally sourced, organic produce delivery service for paying customers. For every produce box sold, we deliver another box directly to a family in need. Zack Timmons, MD ’21; Alex Wright, MBA /MD ‘21

10:10 AM – Bundle of Joy
At Bundle of Joy, we assist parents by providing more convenient and safe options for taking care of their children while on the go. We do this through a combination of subscription services to the home and daycare as well as conveniently placed vending machines. For those parents who are challenged with the expenses of raising a child, we will donate one diaper for every Bundle of Joy kit sold back to the community. Hiroki Mochizuki, MBA ’21; Tyrone Smith, MBA ’21

10:45 AM – Geo Homes
Geo Homes offers a flexible solution to evolving residential needs. Capitalizing on the runaway popularity of detached Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, otherwise known as granny flats or mother-in-law units), Geo Homes differentiates by offering semi-permanent, ADUs-on-demand. Geo Homes ADUs can be quickly installed, easily removed, continually reused and eliminate permanent alteration to your property. Paul Peterson, MBA ’21; Jonathan Ruud, MBA ’21; Joshua Goodman, MBA ’21; Rahul Sekhar, MBA ‘21

11:20AM – Lost Aisle
Lost Aisle delivers the service and product selection of an upscale corner store in a mobile form factor brought directly to your home. Lost Aisle will offer produce from local farms and pre-made meals from local restaurants. We don’t just deliver your order, we deliver the entire store! Customers can order the Lost Aisle truck to their home as if it were an Uber or schedule a weekly stop to restock the pantry. Destin Douglas, MBA / MS Computer Science ‘21

11:55 AM – Release
University students must often sign 12-month lease contracts, even though the academic year is much shorter. As a result, students are often left on the hook to either find a new tenant for themselves or unnecessarily waste money on a vacant apartment when the academic year ends. Release, a web and iOS based platform, offers tenants a straightforward and painless alternative to finding sublessees in Austin by taking over the subleasing process from end-to-end. Justin Malone, MBA ’21; Christian Hundt, MBA ’20; Elmer Melendez, MS Computer Science ’20

2 thoughts on “Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition Schedule of Spring 2020 Competitors

  1. Good luck tomorrow a.m. in the Semifinals! I know when I read the pitches above, I wanted to be an investor in many, or for certain a customer. Later today UT’s Interim President-Designate is going to introduce me to your own Jon Brumley – I can’t wait!

    Although I can’t attend tomorrow, I will absolute view the funded winning pitches when all is done. #UTtogether. I am so proud McCombs fosters this innovation with our students and colleagues all over campus. Stay safe, and I hope to meet many of you in the future. With my warmest Hook’em, Lillian Mills, McCombs Interim Dean-Designate.

    1. That’s wonderful! We’re excited to meet you when it becomes possible.

      Best,
      Ian Bidot
      Venture Partner

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