This template doesn't support hiding the navigation bar.

    • ARE YOU READY TO #PITCHTEXAS?

      The University of Texas at Austin's SXSW Graduate Startup Pitch Competition

      March 8, 2019 @ SXSW Interactive

      $50,000 in Cash Prizes

    • TIMELINE

      See below for all of the important PitchTexas 2019 dates.

       

      ANNOUNCEMENT - Due to a high number of applicants, Semifinalist announcements will be sent out via email the week of February 4th

      Application Deadline

      January 27, 2019 by 11:59 p.m. (CST)

      Semifinalists Announced

      Week of February 4, 2019

      Semi-Final Round

      March 8, 2019, 9 – 11 a.m. (CST)

      Finalist Round

      March 8, 2019, 5 – 6 p.m. (CST)

    • ABOUT

      The University of Texas at Austin's 2019 SXSW PitchTexas Graduate Student Pitch Competition

       

      The University of Texas at Austin is proud to present the 6th Annual 2019 SXSW Graduate Startup PitchTexas Competition—with prize money of $50,000.
       

      In an opportunity of a lifetime, startups led by graduate students from across the country will compete to impress and win over the savvy entrepreneur and venture-capitalist judges for up to $50,000 in cash prizes, bragging rights, and a chance to inspire the SXSW crowd. This is the sixth year for the PitchTexas competition at SXSW, started and run by the Texas McCombs MBA Entrepreneurship Society, a graduate student organization at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. ​

       

      The top 16 PitchTexas applicants will compete at preliminary rounds on March 8, 2019, at Robert B. Rowling Hall on The University of Texas at Austin campus. Later in the day, four finalists will take the stage at SXSW's Entrepreneurship & Startups Track and pitch in front of the audience, field tough questions from the judges, and do their best to win the SXSW 2019 PitchTexas.

       

      Cash Prizes

      $50,000 in cash prizes — 1st prize $35,000, 2nd prize $10,000, 3rd prize $5,000. Winners will be announced and cash prizes awarded at the end of the competition. Finalists will also benefit from exposure at the official event during SXSW's Entrepreneurship & Startups Track.

       

      Apply Now

      Applications closed at 11:59 p.m. CST, January 27, 2019.

       

      Check out the winners from PitchTexas 2018!

      1st Place - Lapovations is redefining laparoscopy by developing innovative medical devices that minimize invasiveness, simplify procedures, and improve surgical outcomes.

       

      2nd Place - Brandefy is an online platform that tells shoppers when the store brand/generic product is the same as the name brand, helping shoppers save time and money.

       

      3rd Place - Leaf is a blockchain money transfer platform for refugees.

    • EVENT DETAILS

      WHEN

      March 8, 2019


      WHERE

      Preliminaries will be held at Robert B. Rowling Hall in the morning. Finalists will present at SXSW's Entrepreneurship & Startups Track starting at 5 p.m. at SXSW Interactive, at the Hilton Austin Downtown. Finalists will receive a SXSW Interactive badge.

       

      SCHEDULE

      8:15 – 9 a.m.

      Breakfast and check-in

       

      9 – 10:30 a.m.
      Preliminary Round: Four teams per room given 15 minutes each. The format is a 5-minute presentation, 5 minute Q&A, and 5-minute judges' feedback. One finalist selected per room.

       

      11 a.m. – Noon

      Lunch with contestants and judges.

       

      5 – 6 p.m.

      Final Round: Judges will select the winner as the team they would most likely want to invest in based on the potential of the idea to be successful, the presentation, and professionalism of the team.

      Notice: This schedule may be subject to change.

       

       

      PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS AND FORMAT

      Team Structure
      For a team to be eligible to compete, at least one current founder who is a current graduate student (two maximum) must be present in Austin for the competition on March 8, 2019, during SXSW. We accept early-stage ideas from all categories. Startups with more than $500,000 in previous funding or over $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue will not be considered for this competition.

       

      Preliminaries

      Presentation: 5 minutes, Q&A: 5 minutes, Feedback: 5 minutes
       

      Finals

      5-minute presentation (hard cut-off) with 5 minutes Q&A

       

      During check-in for preliminaries, we will randomly assign each team a room and time for their presentation. One team from each room will advance to the final round.

       

    • Congratulations to the 2019 Semifinalists!

      These 16 teams will be pitching on March 8, 2019 at Robert B. Rowling Hall on The University of Texas at Austin campus for a chance to pitch at SXSW Interactive in the finals

      AeroLive, Inc.

      University of Texas at Austin

      Code Blue Jewelry

      University of Texas at Dallas

      Epistemix Inc.

      University of Pittsburgh

      Flo Recruit

      University of Texas at Austin

      HiCANYU

      University of Texas at Austin

      Hubly

      Northwestern University

      LifeWeb

      Northwestern University

      Locoal

      University of Texas at Austin

      RiskBoard

      Harvard University

      Shalebox

      University of Texas at Austin

      Sincere Sitter

      Seton Hall University

      Slate

      Northwestern University

      Soundcollide

      Georgia State University

      Sparkd

      University of Texas at Austin

      Texas MicroSintering

      University of Texas at Austin

      yourself.online

      London Business School

    • Finals Judges

      Gregory L. Fenves

      29th President of The University of Texas at Austin

      Since 2015, Gregory Fenves and his administration have worked to expand access to the university for talented students across the state of Texas. He has prioritized diversity and inclusion, invested heavily in faculty and their research, expanded experiential learning opportunities for students, and has overseen strategic efforts that have led to the highest four-year graduation rates in the university’s history. As provost and president, he launched the Dell Medical School at UT Austin, which is dedicated to transforming health and health care locally and globally.

      Heather Brunner

      CEO & Chairwoman at WP Engine

      Heather Brunner is chairwoman and CEO of WP Engine. In that role she has steered the company to hyper-growth and global expansion, with offices in Austin, San Antonio, San Francisco, London, Limerick and Brisbane, serving 90,000 customers in more than 135 countries. A 27-year technology veteran, Heather helped create billions in value-driven customer success, and led business strategy for both privately funded new ventures and Fortune 500 companies.

       

      She received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Central Texas award for technology. This year, Fortune has given WP Engine three awards for Best Place to Work for Millennials, as a top mid-sized business and as a top workplace in technology. Heather serves on the boards of directors of Camden Property Trust and The Entrepreneurs Foundation.

      Rod Favaron

      Former Chairman & CEO at Spredfast, Entrepreneur, Investor, Board Member, Speaker

      Rod Favaron moved to Austin 20 years ago to build successful technology companies. He is a serial “startup” guy with three very successful B2B software startups over the past 20 years. Rod has served as chairman and CEO of Spredfast for the past seven years. His company’s enterprise social software connects the world’s largest brands to their customers. Spredfast grew from a startup to nearly $100 million in revenue in eight years. Spredfast was acquired by Vista Private Equity in October 2018. Prior to Spredfast, Rod was chairman and CEO of Lombardi Software from an early startup into a global leader in business process management software. Lombardi was acquired by IBM in 2010. Rod also served as CEO of Mediaprise, Inc., a brand asset management software company; SVP Sales & Marketing for pcOrder, a pioneer in e-commerce software and internet content services; and as general manager at Mentor Graphics Corporation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of Dallas Graduate School of Management. Rod currently serves on the boards of directors for Upland Software, and Bypass Mobile, and is a mentor to many technology entrepreneurs.

    • PARTNERS

      Thank you to our event partners:

      McCombs School of Business

      Cockrell School of Engineering

      Graduate School

       

      Special thanks to:
      Texas McCombs MBA      Entrepreneur Society

      Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, Growth, and Renewal

    • GET IN TOUCH

      SUBMIT