The Blazer App Accelerator (BAA), funded and administered by the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE), supports UAB faculty, staff, and students developing software and app based ideas. The program helps teams validate promising concepts and prepare them either for further funding through the Blazer Bridge Fund or for launch as startup companies.
HIIE has partnered with Harmony Venture Labs (HVL), a Birmingham based company, to deliver the BAA through HVL’s AppThink entrepreneurship program. AppThink provides a proven, real world curriculum designed to help founders move from idea to execution. The program consists of two four week courses, and the Harbert Institute covers the full cost of both courses for up to two team members per accepted application.
Course 1 focuses on early validation. Participants work through key milestones to test their idea, understand the problem they are solving, and learn how to create a prototype.
Applicants initially apply only for Course 1.
Teams that successfully complete Course 1 are then eligible to apply for Course 2, which focuses on growth and commercialization. Course 2 covers audience development, minimum viable product (MVP) creation, go to market strategy, and product and company scaling.
Teams that successfully complete both courses are encouraged to apply for a Blazer Bridge Fund grant of up to $50,000 to continue developing and de risking their product.
Eligibility
Faculty members, staff, and postdoc intellectual property (IP) contributors are eligible to apply. Graduate students may apply with a faculty lead. Both individual participants and teams are invited to apply.
To be eligible for the award, the applicant must submit or have previously submitted an IP disclosure covering the proposal's project.
If you have issues with your application or IP submission, please contact
Application & Course Timelines
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Course 1 Application Timeline
Applications for the next BAA cohort will open in Fall 2026.
The Harbert Institute and AppThink teams will review applications and select 10–20 participants or teams for Course 1.
Course 1 Program Timeline
Course 1 will take place in late Fall 2026 (exact dates to be announced).
The four week course includes:
- Weekly asynchronous online content
- Weekly meetings
- Follow up assignments
The curriculum will cover:
- Validating whether the identified problem justifies product and company creation
- Assessing market opportunity and fit
- Generating and testing ideas to identify strong prototype candidates
- Learning how to drive demand for a product
The time of weekly meetings will be determined prior to the start of the course, as well as if the sessions will be held in person or online. Participants can expect the weekly meetings to be approximately two hours long. Online content will likely require an additional hour or more.
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Course 2 Application Timeline
Applications for Course 2 are expected to open in January 2027.
The HIIE and AppThink teams will review applications and select 10 or more participants.
Course 2 Program Timeline
The four-week Course 2 will be in Spring 2027. Exact dates TBD.
The four week course includes:
- Weekly asynchronous online content
- Weekly meetings
- Follow up assignments
The curriculum will cover:
- Building and engaging an audience
- Creating and testing a series of minimum viable products (MVPs)
- Bringing a product to market
- Iterating and scaling both the product and the company
The date and time of weekly meetings will be determined prior to the start of the course, as well as if the sessions will be held in person or online. Participants can expect the weekly meetings to be approximately two hours long. Online content will likely require an additional hour or more.
Apply
To apply for the next cohort of the BAA, download the Course 1 application using the link below. Complete the application and email it to
Download BAA Course 1 Application Opens a word document.
Course 2 applications are available only to participants who have successfully completed Course 1.
Eligible participants should download the Course 2 application using the link below, complete it, and email it to
Download Course 2 Application Opens a Word document.
Contact
For questions about the Blazer App Accelerator, please reach out to your Licensing Associate or send an email to