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.

Application Details

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

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.

Application Form: SpinUp Membership (2-year term)

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: *

Yes No

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):

Program name*

Nature and timeframe of your affiliation with the program*

Contact within the program (name and email address)*

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

Position at the startup*

Name*

Email address*

Affiliation with UofT *

Undergraduate Student Graduate Student Postdoctoral Fellow Faculty Member Alumnus Other No affiliation

Please specify details (eg. program, degree, and projected graduation date, other)*

UofT affiliation department, faculty, and campus

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

Name*

Title*

Email*

Phone*

Founder(s):

Name*

Position/Title*

Email*

Paid, full-time employee? *

Part-time Full-time Not paid

Background and expertise*

Other current employees:

Name

Position/Title

Paid, full-time employee?

Part-time Full-time Not paid

Background and expertise

Management team (if already in place):

Current advisors (name, organization, title):

Board of directors (if already in place):

Projected number of additional employees within the next 12 months:**

Names of employees listed above who will use the SpinUp lab space (please note that only 2 individuals per startup may use the space simultaneously):*

Startup Name:*

Incorporation jurisdiction and year:*

Startup website (if one exists):

Startup logo (if one exists):

Industry:*

Application Area:*

Startup’s mission (problem you seek to solve, and proposed solution):*

Enabling technology/platform and program/service description (your technical/scientific innovation, in non-confidential and non-technical terms):*

Unique value proposition of your innovation (include a discussion on uniqueness in the context of your competitors):*

Target market/patient population (description and size):*

Go-to-market strategy:*

R&D path and commercialization plan:*

Projected impact of your innovation at the local, provincial, national, and/or international scale(s):*

Current stage of product or technology development (Technology Readiness Scale):*

Type of intellectual property (e.g. patents, trade secrets):*

Intellectual property ownership status: *

Exclusively licensed Non-exclusively licensed Assigned to your startup directly Other; please specify

Other; please specify*

Type of funding raised to-date:

VC funding

Dollar amount*

Angel investors

Dollar amount*

Grants

For each, please list funding program name, start and end dates, and dollar amount:*

Personal resources

Dollar amount*

Other

Please specify and include dollar amounts*

Approximate monthly recurring revenue (MRR), if any:

Other income / funding sources:

Milestones for 2024 Q1-4:*

Projected milestones for 2025 Q1-4:*

Long-term vision upon graduation from SpinUp:

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: *

Women Visible minorities People with disabilities Indigenous peoples 2SLGBTQ+ Other; please specify N/A

Other*

We welcome you to share any relevant insights related to your startup related to equity, diversity, and inclusion:

How did you hear about SpinUp?*

Anticipated benefits of membership at SpinUp:*

Please describe how your startup intends to interact with the UTM community during your membership period (e.g. trainee engagement, research partnerships):*

Please describe the type of lab work you will perform at the SpinUp lab space:*

Please confirm that your startup will be ready to move in to the SpinUp lab space in Q1 2024: *

Yes No

How often will your startup use the SpinUp lab space during your membership, in days per week?*

If you require bringing in your own equipment, please describe each piece (including dimensions and floor/bench space requirements), and indicate whether each piece requires additional infrastructure support. Please note that incoming equipment must be approved by SpinUp prior to your onboarding:

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: *

We require a desk We do not require a desk

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: *

We require a fume hood We do not require a fume hood

If your startup requires more than one dedicated fume hood, please specify (please note that additional fume hoods are not guaranteed, and are contingent on availability):*

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: *

Yes, we may need less than 24 months No, we will require 24 months

Specify:*

Please provide here any further information that may help us understand your startup’s goals and needs:

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