Texas Shark Tank

April 20, 2019

About Texas Shark Tank

TST is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for entrepreneurs (undergraduate and graduate) in Texas to pitch their startups to a panel of angel investors, venture capitalists, and serial entrepreneurs in Austin. Students are able to get the full force of Austin’s entrepreneurship community all in one place.


We welcome startups of all stages, whether you're just building out your first business plan, testing a prototype, or are already making sales. Competitors will get the chance to refine their businesses by executing implementation strategies, receiving technical support, and designing product mock-ups & prototypes before having the chance to pitch investors for funding.


Past participants have walked away with offers valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding, so don’t wait, get your startup signed up today!

Research

Determine if your idea is viable by analyzing the market, the needs of the target audience, costs and benefits, and competition.

Mock

Leverage Texas Convergent's interdisciplinary talent and group structure to build technical mockups for your team's business model.

Pitch

During the event, get advice from industry experts, talent networking opportunities, and potential seed funding from investors.




Join our Slack to receive the latest event updates!






Competition Details

Register your team here before April 1st, 2019 at 11:59PM for a chance to compete in Texas Shark Tank. After applications close, a selected panel of judges and mentors will review the applications and invite the top 24 teams to pitch the day of the event.



In order to be presented at Texas Shark Tank, your startup/idea must meet the following requirements:
  • The team is composed of students (undergraduate or graduate) of any major currently enrolled full-time at a United States university.
  • Mentors and/or advisors on the startup team can help with preparation of the pitch but may not participate in the pitch itself.
  • The startup must be pre-funding (this means you have not raised dilutive capital from outside investors).




Timeline of Events







  • Applications Open


    Texas Shark Tank is officially open.

  • TST Kickoff Info Session

    6-7pm @ CBA 3.128

    Join us as we kick off Texas Shark Tank! Non-UT teams interested in Texas Shark Tank will be e-mailed the info session presentation.

  • Prepare Proposal

    Prepare your application and proposal.

  • Applications Due

    11:59PM @ Website

    All applications and proposals are due.

  • Finalist Teams Selected

    All finalists will be notified via email with more details on next steps.

  • TST Financials Workshop

    6-7pm @ CBA 3.128

    Learn the ins and outs of preparing financials for your startup pitch!

  • TST Design Workshop

    6-7pm @ Blackstone Launchpad

    Receive mentorship on UI/UX, slide design, and more from UT's very own Tandem Studio.

  • TST Technology Workshop

    6-7pm @ GDC 4.302

    Get help on how to think about how technology will integrate with your startup.

  • Competition Day

    10:30am @ Student Activity Center

    Showcase your startup to a panel of industry experts and potential investors!

  • Judges' Welcome, Check-In, & Breakfast

    SAC Ballroom

    Come enjoy breakfast and refreshments before we start the day!

  • Opening Remarks

    SAC Ballroom

  • Preliminary Rounds

    12 minute pitch & 5 minutes of questions

  • Lunch & Keynote

    SAC Ballroom

  • Judges' Feedback

    Prelims Room

  • Final Round

    SAC Ballroom

  • Winners Announced

    SAC Ballroom






Event Location

The event will be held at the University of Texas at Austin's Student Activity Center. For parking information please email us at operations@usiteam.org.


Our Sponsors

Corporate donations enable us to host events like Texas Shark Tank each year. We accept donations of any size that will go directly towards event operations and financing.

Calling All Austin Startups

Are you interested in getting the word out about your startup? For Texas Shark Tank, we are showcasing some of Austin’s best startups by offering all judges and participants swag bags with stuff from Austin's hottest startups. It can anything from discount codes in brochures to samplers of your product.

If you would like to show off some of your products or services, fill out this form to get started.


This Year's Partners

    • Texas Convergent is UT's 1st and only organization to be formally backed by both UT's Department of Computer Science and the McCombs School of Business, focused on providing students an interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship.



Past Judges and Sponsors

Past Winners

You could be the next one on here.
client-1

2018 First Place: Switchcast

"Bringing big ad spots to small businesses."

Gilad Oved, Jansen Derr, Zack Crowell
client-1

2018 Second Place: Forestrike

"Forestrike clips to your shoe and gives you active feedback about your run."

Bhavin Gupta
client-1

2018 Third Place: SolverIQ

"Find and hire people you'll love."

Phil Hedayatnia, David Tesler
client-1

2018 Fourth Place: Seekr

"Seekr provides unique, curated experiences from local Austinites that only an Austinite can provide."

Andoni Almeida, Farhan Manjiyani, Rainier Ababao, Carlos Almeida, Trase Bednorz



Ready to go?

Don't wait to become part of Texas Shark Tank. Register your team today.


Contact Us

Feel free to reach out to us at anytime, or visit texasusit.org.
Catherine Cheng
USIT President
president@usiteam.org
Eric Sun
USIT Vice President
vicepresident@usiteam.org
Rohan Trivedi
Convergent President
president@txconvergent.org