Become a Member

Affordable wet lab and office space. Entrepreneurship programming. Apply for membership here – and start benefiting from the SpinUp advantage.

a scientist adding green liquid to a plant sample in a test tube

Apply by October 31st

To apply for SpinUp membership, please complete this form using only non-confidential information.

You may opt-in to be considered for the Merck Blue Ticket Competition, which will award one SpinUp resident 1-year free membership at SpinUp, a $5,000 cash prize, and mentorship by Merck. More information on the Blue Ticket via this link.


NOTE: Please download this PDF to help you plan your answers prior to filling out the online application form below. You will NOT be able to save your answers and return to the form once you have started filling it out.

To apply for SpinUp membership, please complete this form using only non-confidential information.

You may opt-in to be considered for the Merck Blue Ticket Competition, which will award one SpinUp resident 1-year free membership at SpinUp, a $5,000 cash prize, and mentorship by Merck. More information on the Blue Ticket via this link.

Prior to using this form, please review the following items:

Membership at SpinUp entails access to the following at UTM’s New Science Building:

  • Co-working lab space
    • Dedicated 6x5ft full lab bench unit
    • Dedicated 6ft fume hood
    • Shared access to infrastructure, basic equipment, and instruments (e.g. cold storage, centrifuges, autoclaves, fume hoods, biosafety cabinets, CO2 cell incubators, microscopes, chemical storage)
  • Co-working open office space
    • Dedicated individual desk with a lockable cabinet within an open, shared office space.
    • Access to a bookable 8-person meeting room
  • SpinUp entrepreneurship programming

Before completing your application, please note that SpinUp prospective members:

  • are early-stage (up to seed funding) and in demonstrated need of subsidized wet lab space;
  • are part of a partner program (i.e. another UTE accelerator program, or an external partner entity including but not limited to CCRM, ISED, Ontario Genomics, OBIO, adMare, Altitude Accelerator, IDEA Mississauga, SPEC Labs, MaRS, BIOTECanada, TIAP); and
  • have a vested interest in interacting with the University of Mississauga (UTM) community, such as via trainee engagement (e.g. hiring interns, co-op, work-study students, participating as an entrepreneurship speaker at our INSPIRE program) and/or via research partnerships

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that the following materials/hazards are prohibited from use on the SpinUp premise:

  • Risk Group 3 pathogens
  • Risk Group 4 pathogens
  • Security sensitive biological agents (SSBAs)
  • Radioisotopes

To determine the Risk Group of your materials, please use this searchable database: https://health.canada.ca/en/epathogen.

By submitting your application, you also acknowledge that, upon becoming a member of SpinUp:

  • your team members using the SpinUp facilities will be required to:
    • complete safety training that our team will arrange for you, in line with the University’s Environmental Health & Safety requirements; and
    • attend an orientation session as part of your onboarding process;
  • your startup will enter into a standard space use agreement with the University of Toronto for use of SpinUp facilities, for a 2-year membership term contingent on your team’s adequate use of these facilities. The agreement may be terminated with adequate notice by your startup, or by the university, prior to the 2-year mark;
  • your startup will be required to complete a hazard assessment form, and apply and meet all necessary requirements to obtain and maintain a biosafety permit through the University of Toronto for the use of Risk Group 1 (RG1) or Risk Group 2 (RG2) pathogens. RG2 pathogens will only be permitted to be used in the designated RG2 spaces. Any RG2 pathogens that cannot be supported by the existing RG2 spaces will not be permitted. If you are unsure of the Risk Group classification of your materials, please use this searchable database: https://health.canada.ca/en/epathogen
  • your startup will pay a highly subsidized, affordable monthly membership fee for the duration of your residency at SpinUp;
  • your startup will be required to obtain general liability insurance covering your startup’s activities and operations;
  • both the lab space and office space are co-working facilities, and you will be responsible for protecting your own confidential materials as needed; and
  • your team will be required to complete, at a minimum, Level 1 of U of T’s free Intellectual Property Education Program within the first 6 months of your membership term.

Questions? Please reach out to the SpinUp team at spinup@utoronto.ca.


NOTE: Please download this PDF to help you plan your answers prior to filling out the online application form below. You will NOT be able to save your answers and return to the form once you have started filling it out.

Merck Blue Ticket Competition opt-in
Affiliations 1/2
Affiliations 2/2
Team – Main Contact
Team – Founders
Team – Other current employees
Team – Others
Startup profile
Financial overview
Equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations
Membership details
Please indicate whether you would like to be considered for the Merck Blue Ticket: *

The Merck Blue Ticket will award one SpinUp resident 1 year free membership at  SpinUp, a $5,000 cash prize, and mentorship by Merck. More information on the Blue Ticket via this link.

Affiliations

Affiliation with partner program (i.e. another UTE accelerator program, or an external partner entity including ISED, Ontario Genomics, OBIO, adMare, Altitude Accelerator, IDEA Mississauga, SPEC Labs, MaRS, BIOTECanada, TIAP):

Affiliation with UofT (please fill out for each member of your team):

Affiliation with UofT *

Main contact (must be a Founder or co-Founder):

Founder(s):

Paid, full-time employee? *

Other current employees:

Paid, full-time employee?
Intellectual property ownership status: *
Type of funding raised to-date: *
A strong value of SpinUp is to support underrepresented founders. As such, applications will be reviewed with an equity lens to support underrepresented communities of founders. These include, for example, women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples (Status of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Canada’s Life Sciences Sector; July 2023).
Please indicate whether a founder or co-founder of your startup identifies as part of an underrepresented community: *
Please confirm that your startup will be ready to move in to the SpinUp lab space in Q1 2024: *
Each SpinUp startup will be offered a dedicated desk within an open, coworking office space. If your startup does not require a desk, please let us know: *

Each SpinUp startup will be offered a dedicated 6ft fume hood within the coworking lab space.

If your startup does not require a fume hood, please let us know: *
The space use agreement is for a 24-month term, contingent on adequate use of the lab space. Do you foresee requiring the space for less than 24 months? If yes, please specify: *
a scientist adding green liquid to a plant sample in a test tube

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