Welcome to the MIT Sandbox Portal! 
New to the portal? Please click Register to create an account, otherwise log in.
Continuing Teams:
2024 Fall Self-Assessments will be open between December 20th to January 5th. When planning your funding request please keep in mind that a team may pitch to the Funding Board up to two times.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis so the sooner you submit your application, the sooner you will get a response.
Please note the information at the bottom of this page about an error message you may receive.
Are you a New Team applying for the first time?
Applications for our Spring 2025 cohort will open on January 6th and will close on January 15th.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis so the sooner you submit your application, the sooner you will get a response.
Note that EMBA students are not eligible for Sandbox, but are encouraged to apply to VMS for
mentoring support.
Instructions for New Applicants (in Spring):
Congratulations on pursuing an entrepreneurial experience at MIT! Before you apply, please be sure to review eligibility requirements and program requirements.
A designated Primary Contact should complete the application for the team. Team members will be invited as collaborators and will receive an email invite to access the portal and enter their personal information.
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.
- EMBA students are not eligible for Sandbox, but are encouraged to apply to VMS for
mentoring support. - Teams may pitch to the Funding Board only two times
- 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
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 or less is acceptable.
If you have any questions, please email sandbox@mit.edu.
Occasional Error Message when completing your form
When you click Complete or Submit for your application form, you may once in a while receive the error message below. Our testing has shown that your information is still recorded. Simply return to your application form to check that your answers are up to date & try again. We have notified our vendor of the problem and are awaiting a resolution.
MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program
Welcome to the MIT Sandbox Portal! 
New to the portal? Please click Register to create an account, otherwise log in.
Continuing Teams:
2024 Fall Self-Assessments will be open between December 20th to January 5th. When planning your funding request please keep in mind that a team may pitch to the Funding Board up to two times.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis so the sooner you submit your application, the sooner you will get a response.
Please note the information at the bottom of this page about an error message you may receive.
Are you a New Team applying for the first time?
Applications for our Spring 2025 cohort will open on January 6th and will close on January 15th.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis so the sooner you submit your application, the sooner you will get a response.
Note that EMBA students are not eligible for Sandbox, but are encouraged to apply to VMS for
mentoring support.
Instructions for New Applicants (in Spring):
Congratulations on pursuing an entrepreneurial experience at MIT! Before you apply, please be sure to review eligibility requirements and program requirements.
A designated Primary Contact should complete the application for the team. Team members will be invited as collaborators and will receive an email invite to access the portal and enter their personal information.
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.
- EMBA students are not eligible for Sandbox, but are encouraged to apply to VMS for
mentoring support. - Teams may pitch to the Funding Board only two times
- 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
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 or less is acceptable.
If you have any questions, please email sandbox@mit.edu.
Occasional Error Message when completing your form
When you click Complete or Submit for your application form, you may once in a while receive the error message below. Our testing has shown that your information is still recorded. Simply return to your application form to check that your answers are up to date & try again. We have notified our vendor of the problem and are awaiting a resolution.