PROGRAM OVERVIEW
LIFT (Learning and Insights for Forward Traction) is a six-week, evidence-based digital marketing accelerator created by Texas State University through its SCALEUP initiative to help small business owners build practical, repeatable marketing capabilities that support long-term growth.
LIFT was developed in direct response to university-led research identifying marketing and customer acquisition—after financing—as among the most difficult barriers to small business growth.1 The program translates those research insights into applied training focused on confidence, structure, and execution.
QUICK FACTS: LIFT PROGRAM
• Program name: LIFT (Learning and Insights for Forward Traction)
• Host: SCALEUP, Texas State University
• Program type: Short-term, online training program for small business leaders
• Focus: Building structured, repeatable social media and digital marketing capabilities
• Cohort size: 350 entrepreneurs admitted
• Program length: 6 weeks
• Geographic reach: Participants from across the US (majority located in Texas)
• Target audience: Small business leaders seeking foundational marketing strategies and systems
• Funding: Primary funding by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• Outcomes: Measured using pre- and post-program participant surveys; full results available in the outcomes report (linked below)
Why This Matters
Small businesses are critical drivers of local and statewide economic growth, yet many struggle to turn digital marketing into a structured, repeatable system.
While social media and online tools offer low-cost opportunities for visibility, many entrepreneurs lack the planning frameworks and confidence needed to use them effectively.
LIFT addresses this gap by helping business owners move from reactive posting toward intentional strategy—supported by clear goals, defined audiences, performance metrics, and implementation tools.
The program offers evidence that short-term, targeted training can produce measurable capability gains at scale.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Strong Demand
More than 3,000 applications for 350 spots
Confidence Gain
28% → 73% reported being very confident
Knowledge Gain
5% → 97% reported having good/expert level knowledge
Systems Adoption
Written strategy (15% → 85%), content calendar (17% → 85%), personas (35% → 94%), KPIs (11% → 79%)
Behavior Change
12.5 → 22.2 hours/week (+78%)
Satisfaction
96% satisfied; 97% continue; 95% recommend
KEY OUTCOMES
Key outcomes from the LIFT accelerator program.
- • 350 entrepreneurs admitted to the 2025 LIFT cohort
- • Participants drawn from a national applicant pool of more than 3,000 small business owners
- • Businesses represented a wide range of industries and business stages
- • Within 6 weeks, participants reported measurable gains in planning clarity, marketing confidence, and execution readiness
- • 97% of participants reported plans to pursue business growth within the next year
- • Program design informed by university-led research identifying marketing and customer acquisition as key growth barriers for small firms
FEATURED QUOTES
All quotes are pre-approved for media use.
LIFT gives entrepreneurs a practical marketing system they can actually use. In just six weeks, confidence using social media jumped from 28% to 73%, and participants left with clear goals, stronger strategies, and tools they can keep using to grow.
Our research showed that after financing issues, marketing and advertising were among the most difficult challenges for small businesses wanting to grow. LIFT was designed to translate research insights into a practical, scalable solution for small business leaders. We wanted to make it an experience they enjoyed while also being impactful to their future business success.
The “Brand Visibility” module was especially helpful. Your brand is not just a logo. People have to feel something from it. It’s about digging deeper into why we’re doing what we do. Learning how to speak, as a company, to our customers’ emotions and make a deeper connection with them is so important. Customers know they are going to come here and they’re going to leave feeling a certain way.
ADDITIONAL QUOTE
from Rebecca Acosta-Ojeda
We've gotten so many new followers. It’s been amazing and a lot of fun now that I know what the analytics mean. I can see what’s driving interest, and which posts are doing better than others.
ADDITIONAL QUOTE
from Rebecca Acosta-Ojeda
I’m now working with my team to be more intentional about what we want to post about every week. Doing that and teaching the team to look at analytics will help them to also build their confidence using social media.
REPORT
The full report of LIFT's outcomes to support verification, deeper reporting, and data checks.
LOGOS & ASSETS
These official logos and visual assets are available for media use.
Media may use these assets for coverage of the LIFT program. For other uses, see Texas State’s resources for external media .
OTHER RESOURCES
Below are additional resources for the media.
MEDIA CONTACT
For story-related questions.
Twister Marquiss
Director, Marketing and Communications
McCoy College of Business
512.245.2990
twister@txstate.edu
Appreciation is given to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for supporting the LIFT program and related research.