An event held recently at The University of Texas at Dallas was the culmination of a six-week CometX Summer Accelerator program from the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Held Aug. 22 at the Blackstone LaunchPad, the Demo Day helped participants showcase the progress the startups have made during the 6 weeks of the accelerato. Seven participants took part with a $2,500 prize on the line, not to mention the experience to be gained. The companies are highly scalable and come from different schools within the university. The accelerator pushes teams to achieve key milestones and validate product-market fit.
Two students from the Naveen Jindal School of Management participated in the event. One was Tamara Marshall, an MBA student who isn’t a stranger to pitching, having racked up multiple cash awards at the UTDesign Startup Challenge and the Big Idea Competition earlier this year. She won the $2,500 prize for Manta Systems, an automated frozen fish food feeder for people on vacation.
“One of the improvements I had this time around that I took from the Big Idea Competition was a tip to have a larger team and now I do,” Marshall said. “I also honed my pitch more.”
The judges certainly reacted to it.
“Hearing that one said it was a near-perfect pitch,” Marshall said, “that felt great.”
Marshall is getting technical assistance for her product with one of its challenges related to temperature from a UTDesign team.
“It’s about having a long-term vision and seeing it through,” she said.
The other Jindal School student was Ralph Yongueth, a finance junior. This was his first pitch competition. A co-founder of Yong Bros, offering gaming that attempts to bring back what the startup assesses to be a potentially overlooked demographic: older gamers. Yong Bros creates games and community, estimating a cost of $20,000 for each game launch, including marketing.
“The community aspect isn’t focused on enough,” Yongueth said. “This is a chance to really make it about people.”
Yong Bros will be paid through revenue streams such as in-game transactions and engagement-based payouts, the presentation revealed.
Another participant, Ashlee Green, who graduated in May from the Jindal School with an MS in Information Technology and Management, took away multiple tips from the event and appreciates it as one more important benefit from the summer accelerator experience. Both Green and Marshall are recipients of Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholar Award in 2023.
Green is founder and CEO of Serve and Jam, which provides interactive events for communities and nonprofits as its leading offering. The startup has already secured its first Fortune 500 company as a client.
“The judges mentioned about bringing in a platform for the business and that was just one helpful example,” Green said. “The accelerator program has been critical. For example, I learned in the area of operations, legal and accounting. They brought in high level people who could answer questions in these areas. I appreciate the whole experience.”
Marshall, who hopes to go to market with Manta Systems’ product in August 2024, said it was a thrill to win the Demo Day pitch competition.
“Every time I pitch I feel I’m getting a little bit better,” she said.
Leon Jacobson, MBA ’22, assistant director of programs and operations in the institute, saw competitors improving before his eyes.
“You could see them get more relaxed and how receptive they were to feedback,” he said. “These are the situations they will find themselves in maybe many times. I think this will build their confidence that much more.”
Youngueth, for one, said he absolutely grew from the event, appreciating the chance to compete against people from myriad startups.
“It’s helpful to get honest feedback in how to continue with my plan and I felt the reaction was very positive,” he said. “These types of opportunities get me excited as I move forward.”
Carol Marcus-Rehtmeyer, executive director of IIE and an associate professor of instruction in the Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area at the Jindal School, said Demo Day is truly a valuable opportunity for participants to gain business insights.
“As an entrepreneur, so often you have to learn the hard way,” she said. “Here you have a chance to gain tremendous insights and learn best practices.”
