News from Our Center
See the latest stories on events, opportunities, and entrepreneurs at the UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization, a Blackstone LaunchPad!
The latest from our center...
UTRGV Student William Brown Named a Future Texas Business Legend, Awarded $15,000 at the 2022 Texas Business Hall of Fame Awards
November 7, 2022
WILLIAM BROWN, UTRGV student and founder of local startup Embedded, was recognized as a Future Texas Business Legend at the Texas Business Hall of Fame’s Annual Induction Dinner.
“It was so exciting to see so many young entrepreneurs at the Texas Business Hall of Fame,” said LAURIE SIMMONS, Director of the UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization. “We are so proud of William for receiving such a distinguished award. He is an excellent example of the entrepreneurial spirit and potential that can be found at UTRGV.”
This accomplishment comes only a few months after after Brown and his Embedded, Inc. co-founder Leo Martinez took home first place and a $5,000 prize in the 2022 Rafael Munguia Business Plan Competition, hosted by the UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization, a Blackstone LaunchPad.
Center for Innovation & Commercialization's Big Idea Competition supports entrepreneurial spirit within the UTRGV student body
November 1, 2022
The third annual Big Idea Competition, hosted by UTRGV's Blackstone LaunchPad - the Center for Innovation and Commercialization (CIC), brought together students, staff, faculty, alumni, investors, and the Rio Grande Valley entrepreneurial-minded community to witness student finalists pitch innovative startup ideas to a panel of judges in a Shark Tank-like event. The competition, held in person this October, provided the chance for UTRGV students with business ideas to win prize money that can help further develop their ideas. 13 finalists deemed to have the best potential to commercialize competed for more than $5,000 in total prize money. Awards went to the three teams with the top overall ideas, and to special category winners as part of the larger Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition. Winners of these special categories -- Social and Climate Impact, Health & Life Science, Consumer Products & Services, and General -- qualified automatically for the national level of Blackstone LaunchPad's Ideas Competition, providing the chance for each of these teams to compete to win an additional $10,000 to launch their ventures.
"Coming back as an Alum to support the Big Idea Competition Finale was both an exciting and inspiring experience," said YAW SAM, Founding Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Brand Geniuz, who served as a competition judge. "The amount of talent and passion that was demonstrated by the finalists in the competition is a testament that there is so much potential for innovative ideas and business development here in the Rio Grande Valley. The UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization is shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs and I'm excited for the impact that will have in South Texas."
Nearly 100 people in the audience watched the competition, including faculty and staff from the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, local angel investors and entrepreneurs, family and friends of the competitors, and a group of 15 competition judges and mentors comprised of experienced business owners and professionals across the Rio Grande Valley.
Read more HERE, or watch the UTRGV Newsroom coverage below!