your no-risk shot at a startup.
Launch a venture backed startup or
land a top job in tech—all while
getting 18 credits inside your major.
apply to sandbox
Sandbox was born as an experiment at BYU in 2020. Through collaboration with BYU’s top academic programs and alumni networks, and building on its history of startup success, that experiment became a new model for startup incubation:
sandbox companies are collectively valued at $111M.
Five Sandbox companies have been accepted to Y Combinator, the world's most prestigious startup accelerator.
Read about venture-backed Sandbox companies at BYU: Buster, Cheers, Devote, Lovage, Mindsmith, Relay, Stratus, Swipe, Zaymo
Starting in the 24/25 school year, Sandbox is available at more universities. Click here to bring Sandbox to your university.
sandbox alums who don't continue with their startups make 25% more in starting salary than non-sandbox grads 1.
Mike Mella, Leland, Product Manager
Justin Hill, Figma, Software Engineer
Holland Seamons, Nike, Digital Product Designer
Meredith Von Feldt, Lucid, Software Engineer
Jacob Parry, Google, Google
Camara Pender, Campfire, Head of Product
Rachel Vance, NVIDIA, Product Manager
learn how our alums get better jobs
sandbox integrates deeply with your university so that you can spend a year focused on building a startup.
- Sandbox replaces up to 18 credits of your major across two semesters. Think of it as a gap year to focus on launching a tech company.
- Instead of textbooks, midterms and final exams you'll spend your time learning hands on.
- You'll attend class just twice a week in our global classroom where you'll interact with leading founders and experts.
you don't need a team or startup idea to join sandbox. Instead, successful applicants have a ton of grit and willingness to put in the time.
You'll join a cohort of software engineers, designers and generalists—all the skills needed to launch a successful company. Sandbox facilitates you finding the perfect team.
In Sandbox, you'll be pushed to your limits while having direct access to the networks you need to succeed:
- Founder Advisors: current or former founders committed to mentoring Sandbox companies on a regular basis.
- Domain and Industry Experts: experts in specific fields who are willing to do one-off consultations with Sandbox teams.
- Early Adopters: people with purchasing power willing to listen to your product demos.
- Investors: early stage investors who actually write checks.
- Sandbox Alums: the rapidly growing community of Sandbox alums who jump in to help on your startups and connect you to jobs.
We put your interests first.
- We don't take any equity in your company for participating in Sandbox.
- Sandbox is paid for by your university plus nominal class fees (~$30 per credit hour). There are no textbooks for Sandbox.
sandbox founders have special access to the best jobs:
- Dozens of high growth startups partner with Sandbox to guarantee that Sandbox applicants get a fair look—no more sending your resume into a black hole. Apply for jobs via the Sandbox app and your resume will go directly to the hiring lead.
- Sandbox founders have access to our exclusive job board where we constantly monitor exceptional startups for internship and new grad job openings. You won't find these jobs on your university job board.
sandbox is currently offered at these universities:
We're actively expanding to more schools.
Want Sandbox at your school?
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