UT Dallas computer science senior Pablo Peillard has a number of titles: student, founder, innovator. And now he will soon be able to add a new one to the list – LaunchPad Lift Alumni.
The university recently announced Peillard was selected to participate in the spring 2020 cohort of LaunchPad Lift, a virtual mentoring program from Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars. The student entrepreneur-focused program lasts for 10 weeks and offers the selected 10 student-led startups a $10,000 grant. It also helps participants network and gain knowledge about fundraising, sales growth and executive hiring, among other things.
“Finding a community that cares about developing the technology behind products was a priority for me,” Peillard said in a prepared statement. “Being part of Techstars and Blackstone helps us find other companies that have had the same issues we’ve been running into and advisors who share a lot of field stories. Sharing that knowledge allows us to not make the same mistakes.”
Students were chosen by various university entrepreneurship center campus directors from across the county. In addition to the grant, members of the cohort will have the chance to compete for a $50,000 prize from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation in front of investors and Techstars accelerator directors.
"Pablo is a total ninja... He’s like a Chilean, blockchain version of the younger Mark Zuckerberg."
Peillard is only the second UT Dallas student to be part of the program, following former grad Veena Samareddy’s participation in 2018.
Peillard, a native of Chile, came to UTD in 2013, due to its computer science program’s emphasis on research. Since becoming a student there, he has participated in a number of innovation-focused endeavors, including the institution’s annual Big Idea Competition and UTDesign Startup Challenge. He has also done stints in product development at Livid Lobster and Dripthat. And he worked with Snowfall Technologies as a Watson developer and as a marketing lead for GridPlus.
In addition, since starting at the university, Peillard has co-founded Thread AI, a foot-traffic analytics hardware startup. He is also the founder of Dallas-based Hashing Systems, an integrated development platform for blockchain technology, which is backed by Hedera Hashgraph, Animoca Brands and Mind Fund.
“The type of technology we’re building is still new, so the services that can be provided are still developing. There are a lot of great ideas out there, but they still need to be proved in the market,” Peillard said in a prepares statement. “What’s key for us and for any new technology is to legitimize the changes we’re offering to the market.”
Peillard was also named to NTX Inno’s 2019 Inno Under 25 list, which highlights young innovators and entrepreneurs from across the region.
According to the university, other startups participating in the spring 2020 cohort span industries from biotech and IT to transportation and finance.
“Pablo is a total ninja – so quiet and unassuming, but devastatingly smart,” said Steve Guengerich, former executive director for UT-Dallas’ Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “He’s like a Chilean, blockchain version of the younger Mark Zuckerberg.”
