Tech Venture TeamUp is structured to maximize progress & cohesion for the new team:

• Phase 0 – Learn More: Attend the faculty/Researcher info session on Sep 8; student info session on Sep 17.
• Phase 1 – Apply: Faculty/Researchers apply by Sep 10 @6pm; Students apply by Sep 28 @6pm; 10-20 research teams/projects and 20-40 MBA/Masters students will be selected for the kickoff.
• Phase 2 – Kickoff: Oct 8, 5-7pm (by invitation only to accepted teams/students). Featuring pitches from research teams, introductions from MBA/Masters students, and structured networking over food & drinks. Researchers and students are matched afterward based on mutual interest.
• Phase 3 – Incubation: Oct 8 – Dec 10; Three months of collaborative business model development, with access to $1,000 in reimbursable expenses for customer discovery, venture coaching, office hours with investors and entrepreneurs, and workshops on customer discovery, go-to-market, regulatory and pitch prep. Each team will be expected to attend ~4 workshops and monthly office hours during incubation. 
• Phase 4 – Innovation Pitch Fest: Dec 10. Final presentations to a panel of investor judges and an audience of mentors and peers. Two winning teams receive an additional $2,500 in reimbursable expenses for customer development. This finale event is open to the broader NYU research community. 

Post Program: After the program concludes the newly formed teams will decide whether to continue to work together. Those who carry forward will receive support from the Leslie Entrepreneurial Institute to pursue additional programs and grants including NSF I-Corps, NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge, SBIR/STTR grants, and/or other follow-on programs to continue the commercialization & startup journey.

In addition to the individual criteria for researcher and students above (in who TVT is For), all applicants must also be:

Open to Co-Founding: Researchers and students who are open to potentially co-founding a company with a matched MBA/Masters student and faculty/researcher team. Note the time period working together during TVT is considered a trial period for your new team members – you’ll decide to keep working together after the finale on Dec 10. 

Committed: Teams and students who can commit to the full three-month incubation period and the mandatory events which include the kickoff, workshops and final pitchfest. 

Mutually Interested/Aligned: No students or research projects will be matched with each other unless both parties agree to be paired. After the kickoff, you/your team may not get selected by a counterparty, or may withdraw if you don’t see an appropriate match before committing to participate in the entire duration of the program.

For Researchers

• Gain business-focused teammates to complement your technical expertise
• Create real-world impact from your technology/research, through bringing it to market
• Training to identify valuable commercial opportunities emerging from academic research and guidance from established startup experts, entrepreneurs, and investors.
• Exposure to non-academic career pathways for PhD/Postdoc participants
• Build momentum toward other funding opportunities like NSF I-Corps, NYU’s Tech Venture Accelerator, and SBIR/STTR grants

For MBA/Masters Students

• Gain hands-on experience with early-stage deep tech startups and bringing an emerging deep tech/life science technology to market
• Develop valuable skills in regulated markets and business models
• Potential to co-found a startup based on cutting-edge NYU research

For Both

• Funding: Each team will access up to $1,000 in reimbursable customer discovery expenses during incubation, with two winning teams earning an additional $2,500 at the finale Innovation Pitch Fest.
• Mentorship: Venture coaching and office hours with the Leslie Institute team, investors and entrepreneurs throughout the incubation period.

• Researchers: Complete the application form here by Sep 10 @ 6pm. Selected projects will be announced on Sep 17 at the student info session, and project teams will be invited to the kickoff/match up taking place on Oct 8.
• MBA/Masters Students: Attend the info session on Sep 17 to learn about the projects selected for the pilot, then submit applications here (forthcoming by September 2nd) by Sep 28 @ 6pm. Selected students will be invited to the kickoff.

Intellectual property ownership remains with the University and Principal Investigators until teams choose to form a legal company together. At that point, the technology would be licensed from NYU to the company with equity granted accordingly. In order to participate in TVT all participants will be required to sign a form which indicates they understand this IP ownership status, before they can be matched with a team/student.