Awards ceremony recognizes ATI’s volunteer mentors and participating companies
On December 2nd ATI held the (virtual) first annual TEXVMS Awards Luncheon to celebrate the contribution of our volunteer mentors to the success of startups from ATI and UT Austin.
The TEXVMS Venture Mentoring Service is a team mentoring service operated by ATI with the support of the University of Texas System. It is open to a wide variety of startups originating in the innovator community of The University of Texas at Austin, including but not limited to ATI member companies.
TEXVMS is based on the methodology of the MIT Venture Mentoring Service (VMS), which has been used at MIT since 2000 and successfully replicated at over 50 organizations worldwide. The VMS model surrounds each startup with a team of experienced entrepreneurs and subject matter experts who offer practical, actionable advice and follow a strict code of ethics.
The awards were given to thank the 100+ volunteer TEXVMS mentors for the countless hours they have contributed, as well as to recognize some of the startups who have made the most of the opportunity offered by the program.
Awards were offered in the following categories:
Best Company: Healthcare
Health Discovery Labs
Founders:
Oussama Hassan
Alaa Hassan
Best Company: Sustainability
Shower Stream
Founders:
Greg Floyd
Ian Howard
Best Mentor Team: Healthcare
HiPR Innovation
Mentors:
Chris Oddo
John West
Becky Taylor
Janet Walkow
Lisa McDonald
Best Mentor Team: Sustainability
New Dominion Enterprises
Mentors:
Bill Ott
Jeffrey Schmitz
Tom Ortman
Richard Amato
Best Lead Mentor: Healthcare
Julie Renneker (Provene & Vaccine Systems)
Best Lead Mentor: Sustainability
Iga Hallberg (Big Wheelbarrow)
The “Couldn’t Have Done It Without You” Award
Matt Sorenson – University of Texas System
Inez Traylor – Austin Technology Incubator
Attendees were inspired by our keynote speaker, UT’s own Johnnie Johnson, who shared coaching and mentoring tips through his entertaining life stories. The presentation focused on “Encouragement, Inspiration and Empowerment” and Mr. Johnson drew from his latest book, You’re Closer Than You Think Whether You Realize It or Not .
ATI offers our deep appreciation to everyone involved in TEXVMS.
