When computer science senior Stephen Smyth signed up for the Future Maker Accelerator at Texas State University, he did not have a plan for what he wanted to do. Now, after participating in the program for nearly a year, he is developing a technology application to teach people.
The Department of Computer Science commissioned Smyth to build an AI teaching assistant. The assistant’s purpose is to bridge the gap caused by the teacher-to-student ratio by giving students consistent, high-quality feedback.
“The workshops over the summer [and] talking to everyone helped me fine-tune where is the intersection of my skill, my passions, and the needs of the market,” Smyth said.
The Future Maker Accelerator is a program designed to accelerate the process of developing a business idea for potential customers and investors. It is open to any person interested in entrepreneurship. In April, it held four unique Saturday workshops from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the GeoSpace, with office hours and pitch practice sessions on the following Tuesday and Thursday in YouStar Studios. The program covered topics such as developing a business model and perfecting a pitch.
The program’s goal was not to see how many businesses students could start but to learn more about starting a business and learning unique skillsets as a result, said Shannon Weigum, associate professor and former co-director of the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). The CIE helps Texas State students, faculty, and alumni become innovators and entrepreneurs.
“It’s going through and trying to define that value proposition,” Weigum said. “In going through that, you learn the skillsets of identifying a problem [and] finding a unique solution. That’s creative problem-solving. That’s innovation.”
The program is a collaboration between the CIE and Future Maker Studios, an entrepreneur development organization meant to help people prepare their startups for potential investors. A five-year, $1 million grant from the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation supports it.
How the Accelerator Came to Texas State
Elijah May, Austin entrepreneur and Future Maker Studios cofounder, leads the program.
May was involved in multiple entrepreneurship training programs at universities in central Texas. He had prior connections to Texas State through some of its speaking engagements — such as the Innovation Series hosted by the CIE — and knowing one of its entrepreneurs-in-residence.
“With all of his background and experience, he was excited to be able to get engaged with Texas State and serve [as] an outreach to a different student population,” Weigum said.
While exploring the campus, May and his team came across Alkek One, the first floor of Alkek Library filled with technological spaces. They had a specific vision for what the accelerator should have to differentiate it from others and found those resources on the floor.
“We wanted to have production space so that as a company develops, it can take advantage of all of these resources at its fingertips and ultimately produce both the products that it’s trying to sell and then the assets that it needs to promote itself,” May said.
Audrey Tuttle, Assistant Director of Athletics (right), checks voice levels for the fourth episode of her podcast with her guest Jonas Tuttle, computer science sophomore (left). Her podcast Your Hype Girl focuses on encouragement, lifestyle, and self-care. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Austin Romano, computer science freshman, records the process of his first 3D print model commission. His choice, a sitting ghost figure from Lord of the Rings, was the first item he saw. After looking at other options, he plans to create more of them. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Luke Yoder, film production sophomore, works on a project for one of his classes. The computers in the Design Space area of Alkek One have many graphic design and editing programs. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
For his thesis, Johnathan Sims, physics graduate student, creates window holders made of silicon nitrate. He uses a sheet as a “test board” to cut out bits and discover the correct size to add to his nanopore. According to Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ page on nanopore DNA sequencing, nanopore sequencing observes changes to an electrical current as nucleic acids pass through a nanopore. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Gregory Khuri, exercise sports science freshman, delivers a punch to his opponent in a VR game. He is playing Blade and Sorcery, a “built-for-VR medieval fantasy sandbox with full physics driven melee, ranged and magic combat,” according to the game’s description on Steam. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Gwen Martin, computer science sophomore (left), and Maddy Jordan, theatre freshman (right), finish a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game on the switch. Jordan celebrated getting first in all four races. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Delani Ruiz, exercise sports science senior, embroiders the Greek letters for Rho Delta Chi onto a blanket. For two years, sororities paid her to make items for them. Ruiz likes arts and crafts and finds it satisfying to use the Brother PR670E Embroidery Machine and see the finished product. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Manny Hernandez, urban regional planning senior, compiles a list of vacant properties between 2022 and 2024 and maps out the data. The curved computers have geospatial software such as ArcGIS Pro installed. (Photo Credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Alex Bartz, mechanical engineering technology senior (left), Noah Davis, mechanical engineering technology senior (center), and Raphael Hill, electrical engineering technology senior (right), determine if their senior design project is level at zero degrees. Their project involves making Starbucks’ mobile and store pickup area more efficient with a carousel design of cup holders for drinks. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah) 
Sean Hoelscher, psychology freshman (left, sitting); Nevaeh Benton, exercise sports science freshman (left, standing); Rio Holub, interior design freshman (center, sitting); and Bailey Hurst, psychology freshman (right, sitting), use YouStar Studios to record a music video using piano and podcasting equipment. Benton, Holub, and Hurst record for leisure, while Hoelscher records for a class. (Photo credit: Carlene Ottah)
Weigum said they gave May’s team little structure to design the program based on their experiences with previous universities and their spaces. The CIE’s overview of what they wanted to achieve was to provide resources and coaching for topics that an entrepreneur may encounter or need, as well as the steps required to become one and to meet the participants’ level. These included the following sessions and their purposes:
- Developing Your Value Proposition — what makes a product or approach unique from other competitors
- Developing Your Business Model — how to make money off of an idea or product
- Building Your Team — creating a team that supplements what an entrepreneur may not be good at
- Perfecting Your Pitch — putting a pitch together and what a potential investor may look for inside of it
The Second Launch of the Accelerator
The program returned to Texas State under a new version compared to when it first ran in the summer and fall of 2023.
The most significant change was systemizing the use of Alkek One’s facilities. For instance, while May’s team made YouStar Studios available to program participants last year, it is now part of the workshops and the weekly supporting office hours this year.
“The idea is we have these weekend workshops where everybody comes in and works on whatever piece of the business they are working on,” May said. “Then we come in here during the week and capture where they’re at so we can go back and have good, documented progress.”
The accelerator also connects students to faculty with different ideas and startups. Smyth went into the program with no expectations but found it fostered the kind of entrepreneurial culture he wanted to find. He said he loved meeting people and seeing them develop their ideas, whether through getting feedback or failing and learning from their failures.
“I love that I’m meeting people building companies and people that run companies,” Smyth said. “It’s not a bunch of people pontificating. It’s a lot of people doing and iterating on feedback.”
