Moot Corporation was the original name for what is now known as the Texas McCombs Entrepreneurship Competition. It began in 1984 at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business as a business plan competition, where MBA students would pitch startup ideas to investors and experts. The competition provided students an opportunity to simulate the real-world process of launching a company, refining their business plans, and receiving feedback from experienced professionals.
Over time, it became one of the most prestigious business plan competitions globally, attracting teams from top business schools. The format typically involved teams submitting their business plans, going through rounds of presentations, and receiving funding or investment offers if their ideas were promising enough.
In 2010, the Moot Corporation was rebranded as the Venture Labs Investment Competition and later evolved into its current iteration, focusing more broadly on entrepreneurship.
Several successful companies have emerged from the Moot Corporation (now the Texas McCombs Entrepreneurship Competition). Here are a few notable companies that got their start through this competition:
- Whole Foods Market
- uShip (2004 Winner) –
- Phurnace Software (2007 Winner) –
- Qcue (2008 Finalist) –
- EyeQ (2012 Winner) –
These companies illustrate the competition’s role in fostering innovative ventures and providing early-stage exposure and networking opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs.
WHOLE FOODS MARKET
While Whole Foods Market wasn’t directly launched through the Moot Corporation competition, it does have a connection to the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the University of Texas at Austin, where Moot Corporation (now the Texas McCombs Entrepreneurship Competition) originated.
John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods, started his first natural foods store, SaferWay, in Austin in 1978, which eventually merged with another store to become Whole Foods Market in 1980. His journey as a local entrepreneur in Austin during the late ’70s and early ’80s paralleled the growth of Moot Corp, which was founded in 1984 at the University of Texas as a business plan competition.
While Whole Foods didn’t directly come out of the Moot Corp competition, Mackey’s success story as an Austin-based entrepreneur likely had an inspirational impact on the local entrepreneurial scene, including students and participants in the Moot Corp competition.
uShip (2004 winner)
uShip, an online marketplace for shipping services, won the Moot Corporation competition in 2004. Founded by Matt Chasen, along with co-founders Mickey Millsap and Shiva Srinivasan, the company was conceived while Chasen was pursuing his MBA at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. The idea for uShip came from Chasen’s personal experience trying to move items across the country and realizing the inefficiency in the freight and shipping industry.
uShip’s platform connects customers who need to ship large or awkward items (like vehicles, furniture, or freight) with transporters who are traveling in the same direction, optimizing space and reducing costs for both parties. The company introduced the concept of reverse auctions, where transporters bid on shipments, helping customers get the best price.
Winning the Moot Corporation competition provided uShip with valuable exposure, validation, and seed capital, which helped the company secure further investments. After its launch, uShip quickly grew into a leading player in the shipping and logistics industry and has since expanded globally.
Phurnace Software (2007 winner)
Phurnace Software, the 2007 winner of the Moot Corporation competition, was a startup focused on simplifying and automating the process of deploying Java-based applications in IT environments. The company was founded by Daniel Nelson and Robert Reeves while they were students at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.
Phurnace Software’s core product, Phurnace Deliver, addressed a key pain point in enterprise IT by enabling developers to more easily manage the deployment of Java applications, which can be complex and error-prone. The software automated much of the process, reducing deployment time and minimizing human error.
Winning the Moot Corp competition in 2007 gave Phurnace Software critical exposure to investors and potential customers. After the competition, the company gained traction in the enterprise software market, securing investments and partnerships with leading companies.
In 2010, Phurnace Software was acquired by BMC Software, a major player in the enterprise IT management space. The acquisition allowed Phurnace’s technology to be integrated into BMC’s broader suite of solutions, bringing Phurnace’s innovations to a much larger market. The success of Phurnace Software stands as one of the major achievements of the Moot Corporation competition.
Qcue (2008 finalist)
Qcue, a 2008 finalist in the Moot Corporation competition, is a pioneering company in the field of dynamic pricing for live events. Founded by Barry Kahn while he was a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin, Qcue developed a software platform that allows venues and event organizers to adjust ticket prices in real-time based on demand, much like how airlines and hotels adjust prices dynamically.
Qcue’s dynamic pricing solution provided an innovative approach to ticketing, allowing event venues, sports teams, and concert organizers to optimize revenue by increasing or decreasing ticket prices as demand fluctuates. This system contrasts with traditional static pricing models, where ticket prices remain fixed regardless of how much demand exists for the event.
As a finalist in the 2008 Moot Corporation competition, Qcue gained significant visibility and credibility in the startup world, which helped the company secure investments and establish partnerships with major sports leagues and entertainment venues. Over time, Qcue’s technology was adopted by many high-profile clients, including Major League Baseball teams, Broadway shows, and concert venues.
Qcue’s role in transforming the ticketing industry is seen as a direct outcome of the innovation-driven environment fostered by the Moot Corporation competition.
EyeQ (2012 winner)
EyeQ, the 2012 winner of the Moot Corporation competition, is a retail analytics company that provides insights into customer behavior through the use of interactive displays and sensors in brick-and-mortar stores. Founded by Michael Garel, the company developed technology that gathers real-time data about how customers interact with products and displays, helping retailers optimize in-store marketing and customer experiences.
EyeQ’s platform uses digital screens and sensors to track how customers engage with products, offering personalized content and recommendations based on their behavior. This data-driven approach helps retailers understand customer preferences, improve store layouts, and create targeted promotions to increase sales.
Winning the Moot Corporation competition in 2012 gave EyeQ a platform to showcase its innovative retail solutions to investors and industry experts. The exposure helped the company secure funding and form partnerships with major retail brands. EyeQ’s technology is particularly valuable in the context of physical stores competing with e-commerce, as it allows retailers to leverage in-store data in ways similar to online platforms.
EyeQ’s success following the competition highlights how the Moot Corp competition has been instrumental in launching innovative companies that address real-world business challenges.
