RED Labs Summer Accelerator Program

RED Labs Summer Accelerator 2023
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RED Labs Summer Accelerator Program is a 12-week program designed to help UH students, faculty and recent alumni accelerate their business or business idea. Participants spend the summer attending startup-focused or small business-focused curriculum sessions, getting advice from local business owners, meeting one-on-one with mentors to help improve their businesses, and working on their business. The program then culminates with the Bayou Startup Showcase, a demo day where RED Labs teams pitch their ideas in front of community members and mentors.

Important Dates

January 2025: Applications for Class 13 open. Start yours here.

March 31: Applications close

Late March to early April 2025: Interviews for qualified applications

Early April, 2025: RED Labs Class 13 selected

Mid-May, 2025: Program begins

Early August 2025: Bayou Startup Showcase demo day

What should you expect:

  • Twelve weeks of curriculum focused on entrepreneurship with speakers from the University of Houston, Rice University, and business owners in the Houston Community.
  • One on one mentorship and access to pool of mentors
  • Legal office hours to advise on legal issues including intellectual property and incorporation.
  • Accountability meetings with program leadership to help you and your business achieve your goals.
  • A joint cohort with Rice University’s business accelerator, OwlSpark
  • A $5,000 stipend per business
  • A demo day to launch your business for the Houston community.

What do you need to apply:

  • An idea for a tech startup or a currently operating business. We now accept businesses and business ideas that range from technology based (software or hardware) to small business (products or services).
  • A validated customer. Teams or individuals should have already started customer discovery on their business idea and validated the market or are currently making revenue. Need help with this? Check out some of our classes on tech startups and programs.
    • Learn about Entrepreneurship classes here.
    • Learn about the WCE Pitch Competition here.
    • Learn about the Start a Business Toolkit Series here.
  • The skills to build. We look for teams/individuals that can build their business on their own. Meaning, if you have an app idea, someone on your team can build the app or your team can pay someone to develop the app. This doesn’t mean that you have to finish building over the summer, just that you or your team have the capacity to build your business.
  • Flexibility and coachability. All teams will receive a lot of feedback throughout the summer and being flexible, learning from customers and mentors and being willing to pivot makes for an ideal RED Labs founder.
  • Commitment. Ultimately, we want teams who are excited about pursuing their business and willing to put in the time and effort over the summer to launch the idea. The program contains in-person sessions and founders are expected to be working on their businesses outside of lectures and mentoring sessions.

How to apply:

Please fill out the application by Monday March 31, at 11:59 p.m. Applications will be reviewed and qualified applications will be invited to interview in late March to early April.

Apply here

The program begins in mid-May and culminates with the Bayou Startup Showcase in early August (dates TBD).

Curious about the Bayou Startup Showcase, click on the links below to watch previous classes pitch.

FAQs:

What happened to RED Launch?
RED Launch and RED Labs are now run together and accepts both technology-based businesses and small businesses.

What if I can only commit part time?
We recommend having at least one person on your team that can commit to being in-person for about 10 to 15 hours a week. A lot of the value that previous founders have gained from previous years is rooted in developing relationships with their fellow cohort and mentors. Those that can participate full time will be given priority.

How many businesses are selected?
RED Labs can currently support 10 teams a summer.

How big are the teams?
Generally, teams will be about 2 to 5 members.

I’ve submitted my application, what’s next?
Applications will be reviewed and qualified applicants will be invited to interview with the RED Labs leadership team in late March or early April.

I have more questions! Where can I get answers?
If you have any additional questions, you can email Liana@redlabs.uh.edu.

Does everyone on my team need to be associated with the University of Houston?
No. To be eligible for RED Labs Summer Accelerator, you only need one team member that is either a current student at UH, a current faculty member at UH, or a recent alumni of UH (graduated in the last year). The rest of the team can be composed of whoever you need to get the job done.

How much does RED Labs Summer Accelerator cost?
It’s free! That said, there is an *optional* three credit hour course (ENTR 4394/7394) associated with the program. If you need those credits, you can enroll. Those enrolled in the class, have to pay for the associated credit hours.

What exactly is the Bayou Startup Showcase?
The Bayou Startup Showcase is a demo day where RED Labs and OwlSpark founders deliver a 4-minute pitch to the startup community. Click on the links below to watch previous Bayou Startup Showcases.

Can I apply as a solo founder?
Yes, you can still apply as a solo founder. You still must have all the requirements expected from the startups, and there is a greater commitment required from the founder. We do find that teams are more successful with more than one founder on the team, but it is very possible to be a successful solo founder.

What is the time commitment?
We have about 6-7 hours of curriculum, sessions and mentorship scheduled each week. That said, this program is intended to provide resources and support you as you launch your startup. You should expect to spend a significant amount of time outside of that scheduled time working on building your minimum viable product, talking to customers, and launching your business.

Example Schedule

Below is the schedule from the summer of 2023 for RED Labs Class 11. Please preview to understand the program's time commitment. The schedule does change year to year but, there is a bootcamp with 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. days at the beginning of the program in May; a sort of regular schedule for June and July that includes lectures, talks and check-in; and daily pitch practice at the end of July as founders prepare for the Bayou Startup Showcase.

Bootcamp: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
May 17 through May 26

Additional Tuesday Sessions: 9 a.m. - 4.pm.
May 30, June 6, June 13, June 20, and July 11

Check-ins and Speaker Session: 20-minute team check in and lunch time speaker 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
May 31, June 7, June 14, June 2, June 28, July 5, and July 12

Pitch Practice: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. OR 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
July 17 - July 21 (online)
July 24 - July 28 (in person)

Bayou Startup Showcase: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
August 2