TechLaunch: From invention to impact

Overview

The UT Austin Portugal Program fosters entrepreneurial thinking in academic research to create a thriving innovation ecosystem throughout Portugal. Therefore, it is organizing the first edition of TechLaunch – a groundbreaking, hands-on online advanced training program inspired by the successful NSF I-Corps^TM program in the United States. Certified U.S. instructors will support participants in Portugal in conducting deep customer discovery to explore the commercial viability of their deep technology solutions and spur innovation in the marketplace.

TechLaunch provides an introductory foundation for participants to explore the viability of business ideas. This bootcamp is open to all entrepreneurial minds — researchers, engineers, scientists, artists, musicians, and business and creative minds — who are ready to solve problems and turn their ideas into potential businesses. Applicants can be affiliated to universities, research labs, interface institutions and companies, as long as those organizations are based in Portugal.

The bootcamp is intentionally oriented to simulate the time- and cash-constrained environments in which startups operate, with instructors who will push, challenge, and question your business idea to provide direct, open, and constructive feedback. Teams will conduct customer discovery interviews to gain real-world insight into their customer bases and learn how to adjust their proposed business models based on market needs.

This 40-hour online bootcamp will happen between December 10, 2024, and February 21, 2025 comprising a pre-launch event, workshops, webinars, and a closing event. You may find more details about the program below.

To participate, you must apply as a team. Each team should have 2 to 4 participants. There are three types of team members: Entrepreneurial Lead (EL), Technical Lead (TL), and Team Mentor (TM), plus any additional co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs), co-Technical Leads (co-TLs), or co-Team Mentors (co-TMs). At least one EL and one TL are mandatory for a team to be eligible.

• The EL should be a postdoctoral scholar, graduate, or other student or other personnel with relevant knowledge of the technology and a deep commitment to investigate the commercial landscape surrounding the innovation. This role is responsible for the transition of technology should the project demonstrate the potential for commercial viability.
• The TL will typically be a faculty member, senior research scientist, or postdoctoral scholar with technical expertise in the team’s technology. This role also serves as the proposal Principal Investigator (PI).
• The TM will typically be an experienced entrepreneur with proximity to the institution and previous experience in transitioning technology out of academic labs and into the commercialization process; they must be a third-party resource. This role is responsible for advising the team through the TechLaunch process and helping the team navigate the business ecosystem.

Why TechLaunch?

Nine out of ten startups fail.

Half of all failures are attributed to the lack of market need for the product or service.

You’ll explore the viability of your business ideas through the customer discovery process, gain real-world insight into customer bases, and learn how to adjust your proposed business model based on market needs.

TechLaunch helps you learn the ropes of entrepreneurship, understand industry requirements and challenges, and ultimately transform your research from ideation to commercialization.

What can you expect from this advanced training program:

• Learn entrepreneurial skills to transform your cutting-edge research from invention to impact.
• Develop an understanding of your research’s commercial value.
• Master the customer discovery process to explore and understand your research’s commercial value.
• Understand industry requirements and challenges.
• Learn how to establish product-market fit, how to adjust and validate your proposed business model based on market need, and how to find potential beachhead markets for your technology.
• Validate your business model, learn how to commercialize technology, and overcome barriers to its adoption.
• Improve your odds for commercial success and expand your network of peers, mentors, customers, and potential investors.

Team Requirements:

• Relentless commitment
  • Significant resources are invested to deploy TechLaunch. No tuition fees will be charged to participants. By applying to this course, you are committing whatever time and effort is required to complete the work that must be done. Teams are required to participate in all sessions and conduct a minimum of 100 customer discovery interviews by the end of this bootcamp. No exceptions except in case of force majeure (extraordinary event or circumstance beyond your control). Hence, before applying, make sure that all team members can commit to this course.
• Deep tech innovation
  • Business idea should be based on a technology resulting from R&D&I activities.
  • Technical proficiency of research or innovation, with an idea to incorporate the research or innovation into a product or service.
  • Rights to practice intellectual property of the technology whose market the team is exploring.