MavPitch Gives Maverick Founders a Head Start

For Matt Logan, a management and marketing senior at the UTA College of Business, launching a business wasn’t some far-off dream, it was something he and his best friend had been working toward since high school. 

“Back in high school, me and my co-founder, Chad, we've been best friends for years now,” Logan said. “We've always been trying to create a business of some sort.”

Their dream became a reality through MavPitch, UTA’s student entrepreneurship competition, which awarded Logan and his team $40,000 in startup funding for their company, Higher Skills.

“It was surreal,” Logan said. “It's just all the more encouragement for us to make this as much of a reality as we possibly can.”

Matt Logan and teammate Blossom Nguyen present to MavPitch attendees and judges. Photo by Jalen Larry.

MavPitch is UTA’s student business pitch competition, launched in Fall 2018 as a collaboration between the College of Business and the College of Engineering, designed to encourage UTA students to explore and express their business ideas in a friendly and encouraging environment. The competition is open to all UTA undergraduate and graduate students, with the option to compete alone or in teams of up to four. 

The competition begins with a video submission round, where students pitch their business idea in three minutes or less. From there, selected semifinalists are invited to deliver a live six-minute pitch to a panel of judges. Winners from that round advance to Phase II, where they receive mentoring, business development support and additional funding opportunities.

The judging panels for MavPitch are made up of professionals from the local entrepreneurial community, many of whom are MAVS100 business owners. They offer feedback on pitch delivery, product-market fit and development strategies, in addition to awarding funding.

Along the way, students participate in pitch coaching, business model development and Deep Dive Accelerator, a summer-long cohort program where Phase II teams refine their concepts alongside mentors, faculty and entrepreneurs.

In total, student teams can receive up to $40,000 in venture development funding. Up to $15,000 is awarded in Phase I, with additional funding available in Phase II based on continued progress and refined business plans.

MavPitch judges deliberate. Photo by Jalen Larry.

Logan’s startup, Higher Skills, is a student-focused AI platform that helps users build communication skills through simulated interviews and realistic feedback.

“Higher Skills is a SaaS platform that assesses, teaches and refines students’ soft skills through AI-powered simulations,” he explained. “We use behavioral interview questions, gamification, linguistic analysis and body language detection to prepare students for workplace success.”

The idea came from a simple issue: many students struggle to communicate effectively in interviews, even if they’re highly qualified.

“Let’s say you have a computer science engineer who is brilliant technically, then they go into an interview and they just can't display their personality,” Logan said. “They might get passed up on for someone who's not as technically skilled, but they're just that much more personable, and we're trying to essentially close that gap.”

The solution? A platform that helps students practice those interactions in a low-stakes, realistic environment. In a Higher Skills simulation, users speak to an AI-powered avatar that mimics a real person, reacting with facial expressions, tone changes and responsive dialogue.

“The goal is that whenever you go and actually do an interview, or you're in the workplace, it comes naturally for you to be able to handle those interactions,” Logan said.

MavPitch competitors pose for a photo. Photo by Jalen Larry.

Logan encourages other students with business ideas to go for it and take advantage of the resources offered at the College of Business.

“The fact that UTA gave us $40,000 just from presentations is incredibly generous. A lot of people don’t realize how accessible these opportunities really are. I don’t want to say it’s easy, but it’s right there, they’re practically pushing it toward you,” Logan said. “Not enough students take advantage of it. My advice? Think of something you’re passionate about and just try. Try to make it a business. You’d be surprised what could happen.”

Each year, MavPitch empowers dozens of students from all backgrounds and majors to pitch, refine and launch their ventures. Whether a student is launching a tech platform, developing a product, or solving a niche problem in their community, MavPitch helps them move beyond the classroom and into the marketplace.

Interested? MavPitch competitions are held annually, and submission deadlines vary each year. Students can find timelines, eligibility requirements and past winners on the MavPitch home page. 

See photos from this year’s MavPitch and more on our Flickr.