Center for Applied Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Building entrepreneurial pathways for an AI-driven economy, starting in Texas.Quick Links
Entrepreneurship in Action
At Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, the Center for Applied Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CAEI) helps students explore, test, build, buy, and transform businesses in real markets. Grounded in Texas as a living laboratory and guided by the Aggie core values, the center advances applied learning through industry engagement, AI-enabled experimentation, and collaboration across Mays and Texas A&M.
Building Entrepreneurial Leaders
Entrepreneurship is changing. In an AI-driven economy, advantage will belong to people who can identify real opportunities, move quickly, operate under real constraints, and make strong decisions with better tools. In Texas, those opportunities are especially visible. The scale, growth, and diversity of the Texas economy make it an ideal proving ground for students who want to learn entrepreneurship and innovation through action.
We help students pursue entrepreneurial pathways that are real, varied, and increasingly important across Texas and beyond. That includes starting ventures, joining entrepreneurial companies, pursuing entrepreneurship through acquisition, and helping transform existing firms. The center is built around pathways, not just ideas, because students need more than inspiration — they need exposure, judgment, and practical ways to move.
Part of Something Bigger
Empowering Entrepreneurial Learning at Mays
The center builds on the strong entrepreneurial foundation already present across Mays Business School, where students engage entrepreneurship through majors, minors, courses, co-curricular programs, clubs, and faculty-led experiences. We help align and amplify those strengths while contributing what Mays does best: business model thinking, venture and acquisition literacy, applied experimentation, and industry engagement.
Collaborating to Power Innovation
Based at Mays, we are proud to be one part of the broader entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem across Texas A&M University. The center works alongside peer efforts across colleges and disciplines to strengthen entrepreneurial pathways, applied programming, and Texas-focused opportunity discovery for Aggies across the university.
Experiential Education
Through programs like CDL-Texas, the AI Venture Velocity Challenge, and Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Forum, the center creates pathways for students, opportunities for industry partners, and pipelines for organizations seeking entrepreneurial talent.
Our Team
The center is led by Executive Director Levi Belnap, an experienced founder and operator with multiple successful exits. His vision is to build an applied platform where students develop entrepreneurial judgment through real opportunities, real constraints, and meaningful collaboration with faculty, former students, industry partners, and peer efforts across Texas A&M. We work closely with faculty across Mays and Texas A&M who bring expertise in venture creation, innovation strategy, and applied research.
Meet Our TeamPrograms and Events
CDL-Texas
A global seed-stage program, part of the Creative Destruction Lab network, that brings world-class objectives-based mentoring to massively scalable science- and technology-based ventures. CDL-Texas strengthens Mays’ connection to venture-building at the highest level and models disciplined, real-world entrepreneurship.
Learn More About CDL-Texas
AI Venture Velocity Challenge
A national student competition that rewards learning velocity, disciplined experimentation, and strong use of AI — not just polished pitches. Open to undergraduate and graduate students across venture stages, participants gain experience in customer discovery, entrepreneurial experimentation, AI-enabled execution, and evidence-based communication.
Experience the AI Venture Velocity Challenge
Mays Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Forum
A practical pathway for students interested in buying, operating, and growing existing businesses in Texas and beyond. Through the Mays Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Forum, students explore how acquisition works in practice, what strong opportunities look like, and how operators create value after a transaction.
Join the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition ForumRecent Center News
The center supports applied research and discovery at the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, AI, and regional economic opportunity. Working with faculty, students, and external partners, the center helps generate insight that improves practice and informs new models of entrepreneurship education. Current areas of focus include AI-enabled experimentation, entrepreneurial pathways, and Texas-focused opportunity discovery.
Get Involved
Interested in CAEI programs, partnerships, or contributing as a former student? We’d like to hear from you.
Questions? Email us at levibelnap@tamu.edu