The Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs (TVL) at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business announced today its new Texas Venture Labs Scholar Program, in which entrepreneurs are awarded scholarships to pursue their startup businesses as part of earning their MBAs.
“Many of our best MBA startups come from students seeking our top-ranked entrepreneurship program, arriving with a business idea and using coursework to incubate their idea,” said MBA program director Christina Mabley. “With the TVL Scholar Program, we are recognizing and funding this fast- growing cadre of MBA applicants.”
The total potential value of each TVL Scholar award is $175,000. Competition winners will receive a scholarship package of $50,000, and their startups will be accepted into the Texas Venture Labs accelerator program, also valued at $50,000. Winners will also be automatically considered for a TVL summer internship and for a prestigious position as a postgraduate Accenture TVL Venture Partner, a combined value of $75,000.
“The Texas Venture Labs Scholar Program pulls together all the attributes that entrepreneurs look for when starting a business,” said Rob Adams, the director of Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs. “The Austin startup ecosystem, McCombs top ranked MBA and entrepreneurship programs, and the significant track record of Texas MBAs starting businesses on graduation. Combining these attributes with scholarship funding enables entrepreneurs to radically accelerate the development of their business while earning their MBA at McCombs.”
Scholarship applicants will submit their business plans and presentations electronically by Jan. 7, 2013. Finalists selected from this group will participate in the competition Feb. 9 on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Plans will be judged by a panel including TVL’s Accenture Venture Partners and representatives from the Texas MBA admissions committee and the McCombs entrepreneurship faculty.
Scholarship applicants do not have to apply for admission prior to the competition. Winners will be able to exercise their scholarship option for the full-time MBA program for 18 months after receiving the award. To exercise the scholarship, competition winners must follow the standard McCombs MBA application process and be accepted to the program.
The TVL Scholar application and FAQ are at this link.
