The Blazer App Accelerator, funded and administered by the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE), will help potential UAB software and app creators validate ideas that are ready for further funding via the Blazer Bridge Fund application process or to launch as potential startup companies.
HIIE has partnered with Harmony Venture Labs, a Birmingham-area company, to create the Blazer App Accelerator. Through funding via the Blazer App Accelerator, HVL’s AppThink program will guide participants through a proven entrepreneurship curriculum with a focus on real-world applications.
The Blazer App Accelerator will cover the cost of the AppThink’s four-week “Foundations” course for up to two team members per successful application. The course is designed to help founders move their idea through a series of validation milestones, culminating with learning how to create a prototype.
Participants who successfully complete the “Foundations” course are eligible to apply for AppThink’s “Your First Customer” course. This course helps potential founders understand audience building, creating MVPs, going to market, and scaling the product and company. Upon completion of both “Foundations” and “Your First Customer,” participants will be encouraged to apply for a Blazer Bridge Fund grant of up to $50,000 to continue developing 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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“Foundations” Application Timeline
- September 15, 2025: Applications open for “Foundations” course.
- October 17, 2025: Application deadline for “Foundations” course.
- October 24, 2025: Announcement of successful applicants for “Foundations” course.
The HIIE and AppThink teams will evaluate the “Foundations” applications to choose 10-20 participants or teams.
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"Foundations” Program Timeline
The four-week "Foundations" program will begin the first Saturday of November. Training sessions will be Nov. 1, Nov. 8, Nov. 15 and Nov. 22.
The course curriculum consists of asynchronous online content each week, weekly meetings, and follow-up assignments. The curriculum will cover:
- Validating whether participants have identified problems that justify product and company creation.
- Evaluating if the market has space for your product.
- Creating and testing ideas to find a few worth prototyping.
- Learning how to drive demand for your 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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“Your First Customer” Application Timeline
- January 12, 2026: Applications open for "Your First Customer" course.
- February 6, 2026: Applications close for "Your First Customer" course.
- February 13, 2026: Successful applicants for "Your First Customer" will be informed.
The HIIE and AppThink teams will evaluate the applications to choose 10 or more participants for the “Your First Customer” course.
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“Your First Customer” Course Timeline
The four-week “Your First Customer” course will likely begin the first week of March 2026 and end in early April 2026. Exact dates TBD.
The course curriculum consists of asynchronous online content each week, weekly meetings, and follow-up assignments. The curriculum will cover:
- How to build an audience.
- Creating a series of minimum viable products.
- Bringing your product to market.
- Iterating and scaling your product and 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 “Foundations” course through the Blazer App Accelerator, please click the link below to download the application in a Word document. Once you have completed the application, email it to
Download Foundations Application Opens a word document.
The “Your First Customer” course application will be available in early 2026.
Contact
For questions about the Blazer App Accelerator, please reach out to your Licensing Associate or send an email to