VentureLab's 2026 Ready, Set, Startup!
PITCH FOR PURPOSE
A VentureLab Fundraiser
Saturday, November 7, 2026
The Mansion
Ready, Set, Startup! is evolving into an intimate Pitch for Purpose Fundraising event that puts VentureLab’s work, and our students, center stage.
Join Austin’s entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, and community champions as VentureLab IGNITE finalist teams pitch their ideas live. Meet the students behind the ideas, see entrepreneurial learning in action, and invest directly in the next generation of innovators.
Presented by West Chelsea Contemporary, this year’s Ready, Set, Startup! is all about connection, mentorship, and investing in what’s next.
5:00 PM Cocktail Reception
6:30 PM Pitches + Paddle Raise
8:30 PM After-Party
Come ready to connect, collaborate, celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit, and invest in what’s next.
Dress for the Future
Cocktail attire with a futuristic twist.
Think metallics, bold silhouettes, unexpected textures, sleek details, or your own vision of what the future looks like. Go subtle or go all in.
What is VentureLab IGNITE?
IGNITE is VentureLab’s hands-on, immersive innovation experience where students become entrepreneurs in a single day.
Working alongside mentors from the business community, students identify real-world problems, use AI and design thinking to build solutions, create prototypes and professional pitch decks, and present their ideas to a live audience.
At Ready, Set, Startup!, you’ll watch three IGNITE finalist teams take the stage and pitch their ideas live.
You’re not just attending a fundraiser. You’re investing in the movement transforming how the next generation learns, leads, and builds.
Imagine. Build. Launch.
Thank you to our
2026 Ready, Set, Startup! Sponsors
Interested in becoming a 2026 sponsor?
Connect your brand and team directly with the next generation of innovators.
Contact Monica Morales at monica@venturelab.org.
ABOUT VENTURELAB
At VentureLab, we’re closing the opportunity gap for future creators and leaders by building students’ confidence, creativity, and growth mindset, especially for girls and historically marginalized youth.
Your support at Ready, Set, Startup! helps bring VentureLab IGNITE and entrepreneurial learning to more young people who otherwise may not have access. Together, we can give the next generation the confidence, skills, and opportunity to build what comes next.
Help us bring VentureLab to more under-resourced communities and change the face of entrepreneurship!
