TechLaunch: From invention to impact

TechLaunch 2025 kicks off this September 2025, with the first cohort of entrepreneurial teams already selected.

Over two months, participants will take part in an intensive, hands-on training experience that combines online workshops, weekly feedback sessions, and a fully funded in-person Closing Week at The University of Texas at Austin.

————– Get the full breakdown below! ————–

Highlights:

Advanced training program inspired by the NSF I-Corps™ model:
Certified U.S. instructors guide participants through deep customer discovery, helping them test the market potential of their research-driven technologies.
Fully funded week at UT Austin:
Teams will travel to Austin for the program’s final stage, where they’ll present their work, connect with mentors and stakeholders, and refine their commercialization strategies.

TechLaunch’25 – Portugal

Schedule At-A-Glance | Fall 2025

September 19 – November 14, 2025

Please note : All sessions will be held virtually, except the Closing Workshop. All times are in Western European Summer Time (WEST) until 26 October, and in Western European Time (WET) after.

Pre-Launch event

Friday, 19 September 2025

4:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Lisbon time)

Log in and connection check-in
Introduction & Welcome
Preparing for Interviews
Logistics & Tools Tutorial

From 4:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Log in to Zoom and check your connection

From 5:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. – Introduction and welcome remarks

From 5:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Preparing for interviews

From 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – Tools and logistics tutorial (LPC & Google Drive)

Opening workshops

Monday to Friday, 6–10 October 2025

3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Lisbon time, WEST)

Monday, 6 October 2025
• 2:45 p.m. – Zoom check-in
• 3:00 p.m. – Opening Remarks and Team introductions
• 4:30 p.m. – Break
• 4:45 p.m. – Lecture: Business Model Canvas
• 5:30 p.m. – Workshop: Best practices for customer discovery
• 6:45 p.m. – Q&A
Tuesday, 7 October 2025
• Interview Day (minimum 5 interviews per team)
• Office Hours: 20 mins/team
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
• 2:45 p.m. – Zoom check-in
• 3:00 p.m. – Opening Remarks and Team Presentations (10 mins/team)
• 4:20 p.m. – Break
• 4:45 p.m. – Lecture and Workshop: Customer Segments & Ecosystems
• 6:45 p.m. – Q&A
Thursday, 9 October 2025
• Interview Day (minimum 7 interviews per team)
• Office Hours: 20 mins/team
Friday, 10 October 2025
• 2:45 p.m. – Zoom check-in
• 3:00 p.m. – Opening Remarks and Team Presentations (10 mins/team)
• 4:45 p.m. – Lecture and Workshop: Value Propositions
• 6.30 p.m. – Q&A + Prep for Webinars

Webinars

Fridays: 17, 24, 31 October & 7 November 2025

4:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Lisbon time, WET)

Weekly Webinars – Fridays: 17, 24, 31 October & 7 November
Time: 4:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Lisbon time, WET)
Format: Each session includes team presentations and a themed lecture/workshop led by one instructor.
October 17
• Team Presentations (Breakout Rooms)
• Workshop: Customer Relationships
October 24
• Team Presentations
• Workshop: Channels
October 31
• Team Presentations
• Workshop: Revenue Streams
November 7
• Final Presentation Overview
• Team Presentations
• Storytelling Workshop

Closing Week at UT Austin

Monday to Friday, 10–14 November 2025 (In person at UT Austin)

Closing Week at UT Austin
In-person, Austin, Texas (CST)
Monday, 10 November 2025
In-person – Austin, TX (Texas Innovation Center – EER Building)
• 10:00–11:00 a.m. – Welcome Breakfast (hosted by UT Austin Team)
Google Maps Location
Website
• 11:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. – Kick-off: Customer discovery activities & site visits (tentative)
Tuesday–Wednesday, 11–12 November 2025
Ongoing
• Customer discovery activities
• Site visits with local stakeholders
Thursday, 13 November 2025
• 1:00–1:30 p.m. – Welcome back
• 1:30–2:30 p.m. – Communicating your story
• 2:30–3:00 p.m. – Break
• 3:00–6:15 p.m. – One-on-one team meetings with instructors
• 6:15–6:30 p.m. – Closing logistics
Friday, 14 November 2025
• 10:00–10:30 a.m. – Welcome back
• 10:30–11:50 a.m. – Final presentations (12 min + 3 min Q&A per team)
• 11:50–12:45 p.m. – Lunch
• 12:45–2:05 p.m. – Final presentations (continued)
• 2:05–2:20 p.m. – Break
• 2:20–3:00 p.m. – What’s next
• 3:00–3:30 p.m. – Official program closing

Overview

The UT Austin Portugal Program encourages entrepreneurial thinking in academic research and supports the development of a strong innovation environment across Portugal.

TechLaunch is an advanced, hands-on entrepreneurship bootcamp that helps researchers and innovators explore how their technologies can create real-world impact.

Participants go through two months of online training, workshops and weekly presentations. They carry out over 100 customer discovery interviews and receive focused feedback from experienced instructors trained under the U.S. NSF I-Corps model.

The program ends with a fully funded, in-person week at UT Austin. During this final stage, teams present their work, reflect on lessons learned and engage with the U.S. startup and innovation community.

TechLaunch helps participants understand the value of their research, test its relevance in the market and take practical steps toward commercialization.

What can you expect from this advanced training program

Nine out of ten startups fail.
More than 40% fail because there’s no real market need for what they built.

TechLaunch is here to help you avoid that.

Through hands-on training and live customer discovery, you’ll learn the ropes of entrepreneurship by doing the work founders do. Each week, you’ll pitch, gather feedback, refine your model, and build a clearer picture of how your research can solve real problems.

By the end of the program, you’ll walk away with:

A tested and refined value proposition
Deep insight into your target customers and markets
A realistic path toward commercialization
And the mindset to think beyond the lab and into the real world

This isn’t just about learning, it’s about proving your idea belongs out there.

Meet the 2025 TechLaunch Teams

Eleven teams selected for the first edition of TechLaunch.

Program Groups & Representatives
Group	Affiliation	Representative Members
4SymHive	INESC TEC	Pedro Senna (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); Romão Santos (Technical Lead (TL)); Henrique Piqueiro (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs)); Ana Silva (co-Technical Leads (co-TLs))
@depth	Atlantic International Research Centre	Kristen Davis (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs)); Tomas Faria (Technical Lead (TL)); Joao Pinelo (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL))
BodyBoost	Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto	Manuel Cerqueira (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); Ana Sofia Teixeira (Technical Lead (TL))
CarbonLayers for Buildings	Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon	Sara Parece (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); Ricardo Resende (Team Mentor (TM)); Tiago Pedro da Costa (Technical Lead (TL))
DroneMist	Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute	Pedro Torres Fraga (Technical Lead (TL)); Sandra Rodriguez (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL))
GuardPeptides	Polytechnic Institute of Bragança	Nathalia Fernandes (Technical Lead (TL)); Sabrina El Metenani (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL))
IS-ABS	INESC TEC	Pedro Marques (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); António Carneiro (Technical Lead (TL))
NeuroSoV	Universidade da Beira Interior	Dina Pereira (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); Ana Cristóvão (Technical Lead (TL)); João Leitão (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs))
SLIM-G	CIIMAR - University of Porto	Ana Catarina Fonseca (Technical Lead (TL)); Ana Rita Vieira (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); Carlos Filipe Gomes Henriques (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs)); Mariane Bittencourt (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs))
STOPneumo	Universidade NOVA de Lisboa	Catarina Candeias (Technical Lead (TL)); João Lança (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)); Pedro Pedrosa (Team Mentor (TM))
XyGuard	International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), University of Aveiro, University of Minho	Renato Gil (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs)), Samuel Silva (Technical Lead (TL)), Tiago Moura (co-Entrepreneurial Leads (co-ELs)), João Barbosa (Entrepreneurial Lead (EL))

Instructors

Aprille (Raabe) Busch, Esq.
Executive Director, Southwest I-Corps Hub
The University of Texas at Austin

Aprille leads the Southwest I-Corps Hub and teaches in NSF’s national I-Corps programs and U.S. SBIR bootcamps.

Before joining UT Austin, she served at the U.S. Department of State, supporting global science and tech cooperation.

Her career spans roles as senior counsel in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and as a foreign affairs officer.

Aprille also serves on the boards of SXSW Pitch and TUNIE, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship across Texas.

She holds a JD from Tulane University and a BA in Communication from Saint Mary’s College, with a Peace Studies focus from Notre Dame.

Weston Waldo, MBA
Program Manager, Southwest I-Corps | Director, TEXVMS
The University of Texas at Austin

Weston is a certified NSF I-Corps instructor and experienced startup founder with multiple exits. He has helped guide over 1,800 teams through the I-Corps program and has supported early-stage commercialization across DeepTech, life sciences, and renewables.

He’s also an investor and commercialization reviewer for NSF’s SBIR/STTR program, and has trained teams across multiple I-Corps Hubs. Weston holds both an MBA and BBA from Texas Tech and is fluent in Mandarin.

Jessica Fleenor
Teaching Assistant, Southwest I-Corps Hub
The University of Texas at Austin

Jessica Fleenor is a leader in venture acceleration and startup program design. She directs OwlSpark, Rice University’s tech and small business accelerator, where she oversees strategy, operations, and founder support.

She also founded BlueLaunch, Rice Alliance’s first initiative for non-tech entrepreneurs, which she later integrated into OwlSpark as a dedicated track to expand its reach.

Jessica plays a key role in delivering the NSF I-Corps™ program across Texas, training research teams in customer discovery and commercialization. With a strong background in strategic planning, ecosystem development, and operational execution, she helps entrepreneurs build sustainable, high-impact ventures.

Eligible Applicants:

To join TechLaunch, you must apply as a team of 2 to 4 people based in Portugal and affiliated with:

University
Research lab
Interface institution
Company conducting R&D

Your team must include at least:

1 Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)
1 Technical Lead (TL)

You may also include a:

Team Mentor (TM)
Co-ELs, Co-TLs or Co-TMs if needed

Who fills each role?

Entrepreneurial Lead (EL)

Usually a PhD student, postdoc, or staff member with a deep interest in exploring the market for your tech.
They’ll lead the business discovery process.

Technical Lead (TL)

A faculty member or senior researcher with expertise in the technology.
The TL serves as the team’s Principal Investigator.

Team Mentor (TM)

An external advisor with entrepreneurial experience and familiarity with startup ecosystems.
The TM supports the team with strategy and real-world perspective.

Other Team Requirements:

Commitment

TechLaunch is fast-paced and intensive. All team members must be available to:

Attend every session (no absences unless due to force majeure)
Complete a minimum of 100 customer discovery interviews
Dedicate time outside of sessions for research, interviews, and team syncs

There are no tuition fees, but the real cost is your time and focus. Make sure your full team can commit.

Deep Tech Innovation

Your business idea must be based on:

A technology emerging from research, development or innovation (R&D&I)
A clear plan to explore real-world application or commercialization
Sufficient technical knowledge within the team to explain and iterate on the innovation

Intellectual Property

Your team must have the right to work with or explore the market potential of the technology, including:

Permission to apply, test, or modify the solution
No outstanding IP issues that block discovery or future development

Application Period

Applications for the 2025 edition of TechLaunch are now closed.

The selected teams will begin their journey in September 2025, with virtual sessions followed by an in-person Closing Week at UT Austin.

Want to join a future edition? Stay tuned for updates on our next call.

Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn to be notified when applications reopen.

Closed

Success Stories

Check out the latest success story of a UT Austin Portugal team admitted into NSF’s I-Corps^TM program: Advancing Cancer Treatment: UT Austin Team Pioneers Real-Time Proton Therapy Monitoring

Curious about other success cases? Click here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

(Click on the left side boxes for an overview of each FAQs’ content)

What is deep tech? How is it defined for TechLaunch?

Deep technology (deep tech) describes technologically based enterprises that work to overcome scientific and/or engineering challenges through fostering innovative solutions and approaches. Deep tech centers research and development focused on the successful commercialization of innovative ideas and valuable intellectual property.

What is the time commitment for the TechLaunch bootcamp?

This program requires a substantial time commitment. All team members are required to attend program sessions, however, the time investment varies for each role. Team Mentors (TMs) will commit approximately 5-10 hours/week, Technical Leads (TLs) will commit approximately 10 hours/week, and Entrepreneurial Leads (ELs) will commit approximately 30 hours/week to TechLaunch programming and customer discovery.

Can teams not affiliated with a university in Portugal apply to participate in the TechLaunch bootcamp?

Yes, the TechLaunch bootcamp is open to individuals affiliated not only to universities but also research labs, interface institutions and companies, as long as those organizations are based in Portugal.

How many customer discovery interviews are required for each team?

Teams are required to participate in all sessions and conduct a minimum of 100 customer discovery interviews by the closing workshop.

What does a TechLaunch team look like?

Each team should have 2 to 4 members. 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 elegible.

Entrepreneurial Leads 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 Technical Lead 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 Team Mentor 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.

Is a Team Mentor (TM) needed for participation in TechLaunch?

In most cases, teams perform better if they have a TM. Hence, TMs are highly recommended but not mandatory. Teams do not have to identify a mentor prior to program application. Teams can apply with one EL and one TL and try to find a TM before the bootcamp’s kickoff.

Is there anyone that can help me with my application?

Yes, our team can assist with program applications. Please contact Marco Bravo, Co-Principal Investigator and Executive Director at UT Austin (bravo@austin.utexas.edu).

What if the faculty member doesn’t have time to participate in this bootcamp?

If a faculty member does not have the time to participate in the TechLaunch bootcamp, they can consider involving a co-investigator or collaborator who can take on the role of the Technical Lead (TL) or Principal Investigator (PI). The TL/PI is responsible for representing the academic/research institution/company and overseeing the project. It is crucial to identify someone who has the necessary time availability, expertise, and commitment to fulfill the responsibilities of the TL/PI role.

What does an eligible team look like?

TechLaunch teams will have 2-4 members who can participate in all interviews, office hours, and online sessions workshops, and customer discovery efforts; proficiency in the research or innovation, with an idea to incorporate it into a product or service; and the rights to practice intellectual property. Teams must have at least one EL and one TL.

The innovation or research should be R&D&I-based intellectual property; demonstrate promise for commercialization; and/or be a “deep tech discovery” from fundamental STEM-based research.

Past Info Session

The UT Austin Portugal Program organized an Online Info Session on October 23, 2024.

Contacts

Have a question about TechLaunch?

Marco Bravo
Co-Principal Investigator and Executive Director at UT Austin
bravo@austin.utexas.edu

Feel free to reach out – Marco and the team are happy to help.

UT Austin Portugal