E-Stars Align: TVL Expo to be Highlighted by Top Austin and University Entrepreneurs

In addition to top leadership and rising business stars at The University of Texas at Austin, the first Texas Venture Labs (TVL) Expo on Nov. 19 will feature some of Austin’s entrepreneurial elite and showcase new companies and initiatives that represent the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, including:

• A lunch program with remarks by William Powers Jr., president of The University of Texas, Thomas Gilligan, dean of the McCombs School of Business; Gregory Fenves, dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering; and Richard Miller, chief commercialization officer.

• Following lunch, the university will recognize TVL’s founding contributors, all distinguished alumni. They are Bryan Stolle, general manager at Mohr Davidow Ventures; Shane Brisbin, managing director at Smith Barney San Francisco; Beau Ross, local angel investor; and Daniel Nelson and Robert Reeves, co-founders of the recently acquired Phurnace Software.

• At the close of the day, Brett Hurt, co-founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice, will share the stage with Tom Meredith, former CFO at Motorola and Dell, and founder of investment firm Meritage Capital. They will discuss the intersection of universities, entrepreneurs and venture capital.

“Since TVL was launched last March, there has been substantial traction around deal flow, support from alumni and interest from students university wide,” says Rob Adams, director of TVL. “This event will showcase the progress that’s been made by Texas Venture Labs and the kinds of new ventures ready for funding and technologies ready for commercialization we’ve been working on for the last six months.”

There is no charge for the event at the ATandT Executive Education and Conference Center on the campus, but registration is limited and is filling up fast. The schedule and registration for the public is available online.

Background:

Texas Venture Labs is an interdisciplinary education and research initiative at The University of Texas at Austin created to support entrepreneurship, innovation and company formation while providing a unique and directly applicable educational experience for participating students and a research environment for faculty. Texas Venture Labs delivers the intellectual horsepower required to promote new venture creation at The University of Texas at Austin through education and mentoring; market and business plan validation; team-building and networking; and providing direct links to resources and funding.