Rice Business Plan Competition $1,000,000 Challenge Achieved

The Softeq Venture Studio is proud to again award $250,000 in prizes at the RBPC. And, we're prepared to add an additional $1,000,000 in prizes if the following condition is met:

 

50 New Investor Demo Day Registrations by 6:00 PM CST today

(Dallas, Austin, or Houston — see registration details below)

 

How the $1M incremental prize breaks down:

(1) additional prize of $500,000

(1) additional prize of $300,000

(1) additional prize of $200,000

 

A total of $1,250,000 will be awarded if the conditions are met.

 

Registration Count:

124 of 50 Needed

$1M Bonus Level Unlocked!

Total of $1,250,000 to be awarded.

 

 

 

Sign Up to Attend in Dallas, Austin, or Houston
We welcome accredited investors, family offices, investment firms, and institutional investors.

 

The capstone of our Venture Studio program is our Investor Demo Day. We feature portfolio company founders presenting their pitch deck, demonstrating their product, outlining their ask, and answering questions. Join us to provide feedback and evaluate them for follow-on investment potential. Happy Hour to follow.

 

 

Dallas Demo Day

CLICK TO REGISTER

Tuesday, May 16th

3:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Old Parkland, Parkland Hall Founder's Court & Lobby

 

Austin Demo Day

CLICK TO REGISTER

Wednesday, May 17th

3:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Austin Central Library

 

Houston Demo Day

CLICK TO REGISTER

Thursday, May 18th

3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Fleming's Steakhouse in City Centre

 

See the CHARGE '67 EV with Softeq Inside

Softeq client CHARGE Cars will be on hand at all our Investor Demo Days showing a pre-production version of their limited edition '67 Fastback. Sit behind the wheel. Smell the leather. Check the electronics. And pre-order your hand-built custom production unit of only 499 cars to be made.

Learn More About Our Venture Studio

We help startups grow — over 100 investments made

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In tech, there are talkers and there are doers. We’re the doers. Building businesses is in our DNA.

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Chris Howard Founder and CEO, Softeq

What we do

We look for people with a vision that we can believe in. When we find you, we invest in you and roll up our sleeves.  We work intimately with you over 3 months to accelerate your technology roadmap, putting some of the world’s most experienced development teams and business experts at your disposal. We focus on the hard things that build real, scalable and investable businesses. Our mission is to reduce the technology, market and capital risks of your venture.

The result? Get to your vision faster, build a product people love and connect with the right mentors, investors or acquirers.

How it works

Twice annually we open the application process. If we’re excited about your company we’ll meet to learn about you and your team, vision, growth strategy and technology.  If it goes well, we invest $125K and you spend 3 months with us either in the Spring or Fall. Together, we develop a technology roadmap, identifying the most strategic areas we can help accelerate. We muster the resources we need, and we get to it.

Our companies get access to our mentor network, free workspace at our Houston studio, and a variety of free or highly discounted services including hosting, legal, banking and more.

No big list of mentors?

Rather than make a big fancy list of our friends, we focus on carefully inviting the best people we know will actually spend time with you. Coffee is great, but it’s not enough. It’s about matching your particular company with experienced operators and executives that can help advance your vision and provide access to talent, customers, partners and investors. Often, they join companies as advisors or executives.

Something You Should Know

We value clarity and simplicity. We have a no a**holes rule. We show up, talk less, and do more. We take the time, pay attention, and overdeliver. We are not afraid of technology risk, heck, it’s our superpower. 

Above all, we help entrepreneurs win, whether or not we invest in them.

Get Started

If you believe in the future and your ability to shape it. If you see a problem and can’t help but solve it. If you have the courage to do what’s different and daring. If you dream big when others think small. You’re ready.

We’re excited about the chance to head down the road together.

Look Who's Talking About Us

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FAQs

How do I apply?

Complete our application form to be considered for a future cohort. Be prepared to submit a link to your current pitch deck and a no-frills 1 minute video of founders only telling us why we should fund your project. Here's an example.

How do we select companies?

Our senior management team will review your application and select founders we believe in and business concepts that align well with our core skills.

What happens at the Softeq Venture Studio?

Together, we build your demo, proof of concept, or enhance the development of your existing tech. Then, we unleash our engineers on your idea to get to the next round of funding as a team effort. We introduce you to investors from day one forward and help you refine your pitch, business model, legal structure, approach to finance, intellectual property, marketing, and operational readiness. We ensure your company is investable and work together as a team to secure the next round of funding.

How much do you invest?

For up to $125K in cash and in-kind services, we expect between 6-10% equity for our hands-on development expertise, knowledge of how to design and build for scale, and our commitment to getting to the next round of funding together.

The exact percentage breakdown is determined on a case-by-case basis.

In-person or remote?

We're open for business at all of our global offices. However, we learned that a hybrid model combining one week per month in-person in Houston with remote access on the off weeks has real benefits to founders who have busy lives, families, and pets. We're flexible so let us know if you have any questions.

What is the Launch NH accelerator partnership?

Investors from New Hampshire and New England have joined the Softeq Venture Fund to support Launch NH, an entity formed to help cultivate a successful startup community, create jobs, and diversify the economy in New Hampshire and beyond. The Softeq Venture Studio will consider 12 startups from the region and, in addition to the full Venture Studio program, Launch NH will provide additional resources and support to startups from the region.

What is the Launch PNW accelerator partnership?

The purpose of the program is to create opportunities for start-ups serving the unique healthcare and economic challenges of Generation Z.  Based in Bellevue, Washington, the Launch PNW accelerator program supplements the core curriculum of the Softeq Venture Studio to add more resources, access to investors, mentors, and experts in Gen Z. 

When is the next cohort?

We host cohorts with up to 20 startups each that are aligned roughly with H1 and H2 each year on the calendar. The deadline to apply is listed at the top of our application form and is about 1 month prior to the beginning of preboarding each new cohort.

When is the deadline to apply?

Applications are due on a rolling basis for each upcoming cohort. Click here to find out more about the next available program period.


APPLY NOW


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