TiE PHOENIX · UNIVERSITY FOUNDERS
TiE University
Educating, mentoring and inspiring Arizona’s university students to start and scale the next generation of companies.
TiE UNIVERSITY PHOENIX · IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
KEY DEADLINES
From application to pitch day
TiE University follows the academic year. Applications open in the fall and run until January, and the program runs through to the Phoenix final in the spring.
FALL – WINTER
Applications open
College students and recent graduates with a startup idea or an early venture apply. Applications run until January. Questions? Email [email protected].
WINTER
Orientation
Founders and mentors meet, set goals for the year and get to know the TiE Phoenix community.
WINTER – SPRING
Mentoring and workshops
Touch-base sessions with mentors and hands-on workshops on customers, business models, financials and the pitch.
SPRING
Pitch rounds
A mock round, then a qualifying round, with feedback from judges at every step.
SPRING
Phoenix final
Finalists pitch at the TiE Phoenix University Pitch Showcase.
THEN
The global stage
TiE University’s global program brings top chapter teams together at the TiE University Global Pitchfest.
PITCH SHOWCASE
TiE Phoenix University Pitch Showcase
TiE University is empowering college students to become the next generation of entrepreneurs by educating, mentoring, and inspiring university students to plan and take intelligent risks in starting or scaling a business. TiE Phoenix runs the program with our university partners, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. The program is complimentary and open to students currently enrolled in college or recent graduates from 2025 or 2026.
- Complimentary for students
- Open to current college students and 2025 or 2026 graduates
- Mentoring from experienced TiE Phoenix entrepreneurs
A student presents her research at One Year Stronger: Celebration of Startups, TiE Phoenix, April 2026.
WHY IT MATTERS
“
Inventing is not the hard part.
Scaling is.
The central message of the ASU panel at One Year Stronger: Celebration of Startups, hosted by TiE Phoenix at AZ Startup Week, April 2026.
The university system is generating real, fundable intellectual property. The bottleneck isn’t ideas, it’s the infrastructure to take them from a lab bench to a market. Three things came up again and again:
Experienced operators
Fractional talent and seasoned founding team members are often the difference between a promising prototype and a real company.
Support networks that stick around
A one-time grant can jump-start a startup, but sustained mentorship, community accountability and warm introductions to capital drive long-term success.
A culture that celebrates commercialization
Academic incentives still skew toward publishing. The shift toward market impact is happening, but it needs to accelerate.
TiE Phoenix is working to be part of that answer.
GET INVOLVED
Ready to pitch your startup?
Apply to TiE University Phoenix, or help student founders as a mentor or judge.
Student membership in TiE Phoenix is complimentary. See how to join
PART OF A GLOBAL TiE PROGRAM
TiE University
TiE Phoenix’s TiE University program is part of TiE University, TiE’s global program for university student entrepreneurs. Visit the global site to learn more.
Photos: One Year Stronger: Celebration of Startups, TiE Phoenix, April 2026.