Mississauga, ON – 14 September 2023
Welcome, early-stage life science entrepreneurs: U of T Mississauga invites membership applications for SpinUp, U of T’s first wet lab incubator for life science innovation. Apply online by 31 October 2023 to start your membership in early 2024.
What does it mean to be a SpinUp member?
Membership at SpinUp gives entrepreneurs access to
- Wet lab space in U of T Mississauga’s new science building – at heavily subsidized rates more than 50% below market standards. Here, each entrepreneur has a
- personal 6x5ft full lab bench;
- dedicated 6ft fume hood; and
- range of shared infrastructure, equipment, and instruments: e.g., cold and chemical storage, centrifuges, autoclaves, fully equipped biosafety level 2 rooms, microscopes, etc.
- Entrepreneurship supports run by SpinUp and UTE, one of the world's top-five university-managed business incubators. Supports include mentorship programs, networking events, and practical workshops. They focus on building strong lab cultures and helping companies scale up beyond their early stages.
- Outstanding faculty and science trainees at U of T, a world top-twenty university. U of T Mississauga opens entrepreneurs to new research partnerships and opportunities for student internship – all in the Greater Toronto Area, at the heart of Canada’s two largest life science sectors.
- Co-working office space in an open-concept suite, including
- A dedicated individual desk with lockable cabinet; and
- Access to a bookable eight-person meeting room.
Members also have the opportunity to work alongside other entrepreneurs at SpinUp, growing their companies through the shared knowledge of a talented cohort. Together, talent accelerates innovation.
► To learn more about SpinUp’s supports, please explore our website.
Am I eligible for membership?
SpinUp invites applications from scientists at U of T and beyond whose start-up companies:
- are early-stage – up to and including the point of earning seed funding;
- have demonstrated need of subsidized wet lab space;
- have a vested interest to interact with U of T Mississauga’s community by, e.g., (a) building research partnerships with faculty; (b) speaking in our INSPIRE entrepreneurship program; or (c) supporting students through experiential and work-study education; and
- participate in another UTE accelerator program or are supported by a U of T external partner organization. Examples of partners include – but are not limited to – CCRM, ISED, Ontario Genomics, OBIO, adMare, Altitude Accelerator, IDEA Mississauga, SPEC Labs, and MaRS.
► For questions about eligibility, please email spinup@utoronto.ca.
How do I apply to SpinUp – and win a Blue Ticket to advance my work?
- Apply online by 31 October 2023. The application form invites you to share basic, non-confidential information about your company’s research priorities, value proposition, and long-term goals.
- On the same application form, you can opt-in to be considered for the Blue Ticket competition. The inaugural Blue Ticket, generously supported by Merck, will provide one SpinUp-based company with
- Free one-year membership;
- An unrestricted $5,000 cash prize; and
- Mentorship opportunities with Merck.
- The two competitions – for SpinUp membership and for the first Blue Ticket – are assessed separately. Our first SpinUp cohort of up to twenty-three entrepreneurs will receive membership offers in December 2023. The one Blue Ticket winner will be announced in January 2024.
- For questions about SpinUp applications, please email spinup@utoronto.ca. To learn more about the Blue Ticket program, explore the announcement and application guide here.
How can I learn more about SpinUp and U of T Entrepreneurship?
- SpinUp is the first wet lab venture incubator at the University of Toronto, Canada’s leading centre for learning and discovery and one of the world’s top-two universities for health science productivity.
- SpinUp is purpose built to drive life science innovation. It offers early-stage life science start-ups access to outstanding wet lab space, equipment, and expertise in the new science building at U of T Mississauga – at a fraction of the cost of comparable facilities. The new science building will open in fall 2023 as one of the greenest and most comprehensive wet lab facilities in North America.
- SpinUp is proudly part of U of T entrepreneurship, a network of 12+ innovation accelerators across three campuses. Over the past ten years, this network has supported more than 650 capital-backed companies, which have created 9,000 jobs and raised $2.5 billion in external investment. U of T now launches more research-based start-ups than any university in North America outside of MIT.
► Learn more about SpinUp and U of T Entrepreneurship here.