Learn and Experience Entrepreneurship

MIT Sandbox provides up to $25K in seed funding, mentorship, and tailored entrepreneurial education to empower and support undergraduate and graduate student innovators!

  • Not a competition

  • Open to all MIT undergraduate and graduate students from all schools

  • Focused on student-driven entrepreneurship

  • Supports students at all stages of the start-up process - from idea to launch  

  • Funding is non-dilutive

  • Milestones and pace of work are flexible to accommodate academic and research obligations

  • Guidance from experienced mentors is personalized to support moving team ideas forward

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Application Timeline

New team application dates for Spring 2024:

  • Applications Open: January 5th

  • Extended Application Deadline: January 18th

  • Application Decisions: February 7th

Considering applying to Sandbox?

Are you a current Sandbox team?

View details and announcements about the self-assessment, funding, and resources on the Sandbox Program Team Guide. If you need the password, email sandbox@mit.edu.

 

Interested in Healthcare Entrepreneurship?

Learn from experts in the field, engage in ideation and team formation activities, and learn how to transform ideas into viable solutions


Program Structure

Sandbox is structured into three cohorts per year: fall, spring, and summer.

  • As a new Sandbox student/team who meets the eligibility requirements:

    • You can apply for the fall or spring cohort. The summer cohort is for continuing teams who have already started a project in the Sandbox .

    • You can apply as a one person team if you have not yet identified team members.

  • As a continuing Sandbox student/team:

    • You can apply to extend your existing funding for a subsequent cohort, if you have remaining unused funds.

    • You can apply for additional funding, whether you have unused funds or not.

    • You apply by filling out a self-assessment survey that outlines your progress and your plans, including your funding request.

    • Most teams remain in the Sandbox program for 2-3 cohorts, on average 12-18 months. Whether you extend or re-apply, you must continue to meet the eligibility requirements and fulfill the requirements of each cohort in which you participate.

    • During summer only, teams can allocate a stipend of minimum of $2K and up to $5K per MIT student on the team who is working full-time on the project, with a maximum of $10K per team.

A team may address one initiative/idea per application.

  • A team may submit more than one application, particularly at the exploratory level.


Funding, Equity and IP

Sandbox provides up to $25K in cumulative funding.

  • Sandbox awards up to $25K per idea. The application you qualify for (over or under $5K) is determined on a cumulative basis, for example:

    • If in cohort 1 you received $2K and are now applying for $4K, you are in the over $5K application.

    • If in cohort 1 you received $3K and are applying for $2K or less, you fall in the under $5K application.

The funding that you are awarded is distributed through reimbursements.

  • As part of the application process, current and prospective Sandbox teams prepare and submit a budget outlining planned expenses that support key project goals.

  • The Sandbox purchasing guidelines provide details on permitted and prohibited use of funds and should be used in preparing the budget.

  • Teams submit receipts for reimbursement, which typically takes 2 weeks to process.

MIT Sandbox funding is non-dilutive: the program does not take equity in student companies.

Students and teams do not give up any rights to intellectual property (IP) through participation in the program.

  • Students apply for funding – there is no need for a Principle Investigator

  • Graduate students are expected to discuss their projects and engagements with their research advisor. If commercializing research, graduate students will be asked to get approval from the TLO, which includes a signature from the PI.

  • Sandbox provides legal expert advice to address any questions or issues related to IP


Program Requirements

Once you become part of a Sandbox Cohort, you are required to: 

  • Attend a kick-off session

  • Actively participate in a mentoring session once a month (attendance and participation at all mentoring sessions is mandatory)

  • Attend 4 workshops or an equivalent class - view a list of acceptable classes

  • Submit a monthly status report and final report (template is provided)

  • Attend a Funding Board Showcase at the end of your cohort

  • Maximize the opportunity by taking advantage of the multitude of resources that we provide


Eligibility

Open to all degree-seeking MIT graduate and undergraduate students from any MIT department applying as individuals or as part of a team.

  • Special students, exchange students, and postdocs are not eligible to apply but are welcome to join a student-led team.

  • All students participating in the program have to be in good academic standing.

  • For the summer cohort, students who graduate in June are considered current students.

A team must have at least one full-time MIT student in a leadership role.

  • The MIT student should be directly involved in the development of the project and not in a cursory role.

A team can include non-students and non-MIT members.

A team should have a startup idea that they are actively working on or they want to begin working on.

  • All business models are welcome, including non-profit and commercialization of MIT research (the latter requires approval from the TLO).

  • The Sandbox cannot support projects that are internships, charities, or research that a team is not actively trying to commercialize.

A team’s total equity-based funding cannot exceed $50K.

  • Teams must disclose all other sources of funding, from both investors and non-dilutive sources.

  • You are still eligible for Sandbox as long as your prior or concurrent equity-based funding totals under $50K.

MIT Sandbox for Executive MBA (EMBA) students:

  • EMBA students have more extensive industry experience.

  • Applications will be accepted for ONLY more advanced stages with following expectations:

    • substantial initial primary market research

    • demonstrated team fit for addressing the problem

    • a good level of commitment to developing the venture

  • Very early stage exploratory ideas (concept level) will not be accepted in Sandbox. Teams are encouraged to develop those ideas in the appropriate classes and apply to Sandbox for the Spring/Summer terms.


Application Process

Spring 2024 applications open on January 5th.

New Teams: Submit an online application

Before you apply, please be sure to review all program details on this page including eligibility requirements and program requirements.

A designated Primary Contact should complete the application for the team on the Sandbox Portal. Team members will be invited as collaborators and will receive an email invite to access the portal and enter their personal information. View instructions for using the Sandbox Portal.

To complete this application, the Primary Contact for the team will need the following:

  • A clear description of the problem that your idea addresses

  • A clear, high-level description of the proposed solution

  • If possible, identify your competition (companies, products, technologies or status quo)

  • A very short description of your project that can be shared publicly

  • A description of the team members and their skills

  • A high-level project plan, including milestones

  • A description of achievements to date

  • Teams applying for $5K or more must provide a pitch deck. All other teams are encouraged but not required to provide a pitch deck.

  • Funding requested and a budget plan showing how you will use your Sandbox funds

    • Refer to the Sandbox purchasing guidelines, which lists permitted and prohibited use of funds

    • View sample team budget

    • Budget for early ideation teams: If you are in the early ideation stage, the focus is on market research and customer discovery, which typically does not have many associated costs. For your budget, consider what you would need to support that research. Perhaps you need to travel to meet a customer or you may need to hold a focus group session. Relative to software and other resources, there are many resources on campus you can leverage for free. Submitting a budget for $500 is acceptable.

Continuing Teams: Your self-assessment serves as your application for the next cohort.

If you apply for $5K or more, you may also be asked to pitch your idea to the Sandbox Funding Board, which is made up of investors and industry experts.

Decisions will be sent by email and will include:

  • Feedback from reviewers.

  • The awarded dollar amount if the reviewers decided to award you under $5K…

  • ….OR an invitation to the Funding Board, along with the maximum amount that you are allowed to request.

  • In some limited cases, we may ask you to come in for an interview prior to making a decision.

  • Most teams who are at the exploratory level will be awarded $1K.

If you are invited to the Funding Board ($5K - $25K only):

  • You are asked to present your pitch deck to the Funding Board.

  • Presentations are 5 minutes with approximately 10 minutes of questions.

  • The Funding Board assesses your proposal using the Sandbox Award Rubric.

  • Decisions are sent out with feedback and the dollar amount awarded.


Sandbox Award Rubric

Whether you are exploring a new idea or are ready to seek outside investor funding, the MIT Funding Board will assess your business proposals based on these criteria:

  • Project has educational potential for students: $1K-$25K

  • Students have identified a clearly defined problem: $1K-$25K

  • Team has a plan for customer discovery, product design, and technology validation: $5K-$25K

  • Team has completed preliminary market research and has proposals for a viable business model: $10K-$25K


Giving Back

Funding for MIT Sandbox (and other programs) is possible because of the deep commitment of alumni and friends to MIT’s mission. MIT Sandbox does not take equity in student companies.

  • There is an expectation, but no requirement, that participating students will make a pledge of cash or equity back to the MIT Sandbox Program and/or the organizations that have supported them, if their venture is successful.

  • If students elect to make a pledge, it will come due only when their venture becomes a legal entity and raises its first round of equity funding from sources outside of Sandbox.

    • Students who receive +$5K in funding will be asked to sign a pledge to give back to the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund or MIT.

    • This pledge to give back is a personal choice and not binding.

    • Funding will not be conditional on a student signing a pledge.