CometX Accelerator

 
Overview And Key Dates
Application And Eligibility
Agenda
Facilitator
FAQ
Testimonials
Sponsors
Past Winners
Contact

OVERVIEW AND KEY DATES

CometX is an eight-week, experiential accelerator program that pulls student entrepreneurs into an environment that incubates ideas and engages prospective customers in preparation for the launch of a new business concept.

This 8-week program covers the following topics:

  • Getting started and minimum viable product (MVP)
  • Startup legal basics
  • Building a team
  • Business model canvas
  • Launch and marketing
  • Fundraising, Investment, and KPI’s
  • Building a pitch deck and how to pitch

Guest speakers, subject matter experts, and mentors are included throughout the program. The program concludes with a pitch competition.

 

SPRING 2021

Applications Due Date: 02/03/2021
First Session: 02/10/2021
Last Session: 04/07/2021
Pitch Day: 04/14/2021
Time and Day: Wednesdays from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Location: Virtual

  • Applications Due

  • First Session

  • Last Session

  • Pitch Day


 
 

OVERVIEW AND KEY DATES

CometX is an eight-week, experiential accelerator program that pulls student entrepreneurs into an environment that incubates ideas and engages prospective customers in preparation for the launch of a new business concept.

  • This 8-week program covers the following topics:
  • Getting started and minimum viable product (MVP)
  • Startup legal basics
  • Building a team
  • Business model canvas
  • Launch and marketing Fundraising, Investment, and KPI’s
  • Building a pitch deck and how to pitch

Guest speakers, subject matter experts, and mentors are included throughout the program. The program concludes with a pitch competition.

 

SPRING 2021

Applications Due Date: 02/03/2021
First Session: 02/10/2021
Last Session: 04/07/2021
Pitch Day: 04/14/2021
Time and Day: Wednesdays from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Location: Virtual

  • Applications Due

  • First Session

  • Last Session

  • Pitch Day

 

APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY

ELIGIBILITY

Currently-enrolled UT Dallas students of any classification or major are welcome.


SPRING 2021 APPLICATION

Applications are closed for the spring 2021 semester. Fall 2021 applications will open in August. Check back here and on startup tree for the fall application.

 

FACILITATOR

David Evans

Founder & CEO, Geode Software


David is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, investor, and advisor. He got started early in technology and startups, coding at age 14 and launching his first business at 19. At only 22, he became a serial entrepreneur when he launched Geode Software in the wake of the dot com bubble burst. His third business, EasySeat.com, would ultimately be his most successful, reaching #176 on the Inc 500. In 2015, David sold EasySeat to a strategic buyer. He still runs Geode as a boutique consulting firm where he advises $25M-100M businesses on leveraging technology to make money, save money, or improve customer experiences.

As a serial entrepreneur, David enjoys helping entrepreneurs, at any stage, navigate their path to success. He is an active mentor and advisor with Capital Factory, MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, RevTech Ventures, the United Way Social Innovation Accelerator, and multiple early stage companies.

David is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, a former Beneficial Hodson Scholar at Johns Hopkins University, holds a Certificate in Corporate Finance from Harvard University.

FALL 2020 DATES

Applications Due Date: 8/30/2020 Program Begins: 9/01/2020 Program Ends: 10/13/2020 Pitch Day: 10/20/2020 Time and Day: Tuesdays from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM Location: Virtual

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A business accelerator is a fixed-term, cohort-based program that gives developing companies access to mentorship, educational components, and other support that help them become stable, self-sufficient businesses.
Are you a UT Dallas student with a business idea and you want to test out?
Do you need help identifying your target market or figuring out your business plan?
If you need help fine tuning your business model or revenue model, or you are a first-time entrepreneur wanting to hone your skills from proven entrepreneurs, then this program could be perfect for you. That being said, you get what you put in. We can’t (and won’t) start the business for you. We can’t (and won’t) do all of the research and customer discovery for you. We can (and will) teach you how to do it and support you along the way!
You will develop an entrepreneurial mindset, specifically skills such as creativity, persuasiveness, resourcefulness, problem solving, communication skills, leadership skills, collaboration/teamwork skills, presentation skills, and more.

CometX receives over 200 applications per semester and has an average of 50 participants each semester. Many CometX participants go on to compete in the UT Dallas Big Idea Competition and other state, national, and international competitions. 100% of feedback survey respondents agreed that the program added to their college experience at UT Dallas. By the end of the program, 15% of participants launch a business while 25% continue working towards launch.

No, this program is free to all UT Dallas students. We fund the program through the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars grant.
No, this is an experiential program that does not qualify for academic credit.
Any currently enrolled UT Dallas student, any classification (Freshman to PHD) and all majors are welcome.
Probably not but you are welcome to bring your own. If we have a sponsor to provide funding for food, then we will provide it.
The program is offered in the spring and fall semesters. Please see the dates tab for specific information each semester.
The Blackstone LaunchPad located on campus at 2830 Rutford Ave, the ground floor of the Parking Structure 3, next to IHOP Express.
There is a significant cost for the entrepreneurial programs, resources, and support provided by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship each year, at no charge, free to you — our students and the UTD community. We do this because we believe it will lead to significant economic value, as your venture is able to generate revenues and hire employees. But, in order to continue offering these programs, the “cost” to you is the data about your startup’s progress instead of a financial cost. By providing information about your venture, you help us communicate and demonstrate the impact we are making to our stakeholders. Some of the key factors we need to measure include job creation and revenue.
If you are a student, then the short answer is no – please see Section 6 in the link below for more details. If you are a faculty member, researcher, or are employed by the university, there may be some intellectual property rights to consider.
More information here: https://cms.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/rules/90101-intellectual-property.
Please contact Dresden Goldberg if you are unsure: Dresden.goldberg@utdallas.edu

TESTIMONIALS

My experience in CometX was irreplaceable. I had been slowly working on my company for 2 years, spending time planning and tweaking my idea. When I joined CometX, from the first day I was instantly set on track. Through the few weeks that the course had been going on, my company had matured from a small idea to a team of 6 people and a goal to have an MVP available by the end of the year. The distinguished lectures gave several answers to questions we had not event thought about. The accelerator is structured in a way that helps form a clear guideline for some of the key points to creating a startup, and the only thing I would change is to make it longer
Major G.
BS Biomedical Engineering
There are some events in life that change you and CometX is one of them. I came to the USA to pursue an education in Computer Science because almost all of the top CS companies I could name of started here. There is something unique about building businesses in America that fosters such growth, and I believe programs like CometX are such an amazing gateway to them.
Anish H.
MS Computer Science
Going through the entire program opened up such a breadth of knowledge that gave me the right set of tools and information to build an amazing product while making it into a business. I not only was able to shape my vision but it also kickstarted a series of events that led to ResumePuppy winning 2nd place in the CometX pitch competition and then later winning the Big Idea Competition.
Anish H.
MS Computer Science

PAST WINNERS

FALL 2020

  • 1st – Cooked19 – Jeannie Nghiem, BS Neuroscience
  • 2nd – Fluingo – Murali Krishna Velineni, BS Computer Engineering
  • 3rd – Food Magnet – Mercedes Johnson, MBA

SPRING 2020

  • 1st – Kairos VR: Rohit Nair, BS Biomedical Engineering
  • 2nd – Smart Wheelchair: Shobhit Jain, MS Computer Science,
  • 3rd – Tiremba: Purav Kumar Maheshwari, BS Mechanical Engineering;   Anushka Noubad, BS Finance; Hamsini Ajjan, BS Finance

FALL 2019

  • 2nd – Resume Puppy: Anish Hegde, MS Computer Science
  • 3rd – Empire: Ankita Bantey, BS Computer Science

SPRING 2019

  • 1st – Senseloaf: Bharat Rao, MS Business Analytics
  • 2nd and Best Undergraduate Pitch – Comely: Amelia Novikau, BSBA, Entrepreneurship
  • 3rd – IDA: Varika Pinnam, BS Marketing
  • Innovate(her) – Leg Up Legal: Anjie Vichayanonda, BSBA

FALL 2018

  • 1st – GetARoommate: Mitesh Khadgi, MS Computer Engineering
  • 2nd – WorkEng: Alex Garcia Topete, PhD, Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communications
  • 3rd – Vault: Tommy Zhu, MS Accounting

CONTACT

If you are interested in or have any questions about CometX, please contact:

Dresden Goldberg

Director Programs & Operations

Campus Director - Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars

AGENDA

Spring 2021

Business Model Canvas & Building a Pitch Deck

  • Understand the core requirements of starting and building a successful business
    • What’s the problem you’re solving?
    • Who will pay for the solution?
    • How will you make money?
    • How are you different?
  • Pitch Deck basics
    • Key slides and content
    • Understanding your audience

Identifying a Problem & Building a Team

  • Identifying a problem to solve
    • Vitamin vs Aspirin
    • Customer Discovery
    • Problem-Market Fit
  • The key elements of a startup team
    • Equity splits
    • Role definition
    • Recruiting

Legal

  • Understand the key legal issues that any new business will face
    • Company structure & location
    • Intellectual property
    • Founder agreements
    • Customer agreements/contracts
    • Engaging counsel
    • Cap tables & share structures

GTM

  • Navigate a successful go-to-market strategy and product launch
    • Unique selling proposition
    • Ideal customer profile
    • Understanding buyer personas

MVP

  • Creating a product that customers want with the least possible investment
    • Hypothesizing
    • Customer research
    • Prototyping
    • Testing
    • Iteration

Marketing & Communications

  • Understand the most applicable marketing strategies
    • Finding where your ICP resides
    • Messaging strategies
    • A/B testing
  • Learn about the strategies and techniques for successful communication
    • Know your audience
    • Key points to cover
    • Pitching strategies

Financial Modeling & KPIs

  • Developing a working model of how the business grows
    • The components of a basic financial model
    • Use a model as a planning tool
  • Determine the measures of success
    • Define your north star metric
    • Establish a scoreboard for your team

Fundraising & Investment

Live Pitch Practice

  • Learn core concepts about raising money and investors
    • VC-capable businesses
    • Types of investors
    • Financing structures
  • Funding rounds and metrics
  • Live pitch practice with guest evaluation (2-3X per team)

Pitch Day