Brandeis University

The primary mission of Brandeis University's Virtual Incubator is to nurture and support the entrepreneurial activities of Brandeis students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty. The Virtual Incubator is a community for science & business, an interdisciplinary center promoting commercial application of science and technology developed at Brandeis. The Virtual Incubator's activities are four-fold, designed to foster entrepreneurial activities within the Brandeis community: educational opportunities to help develop entrepreneurship skills; mentoring by experienced, successful, Brandeis friendly entrepreneurs; networking events with industry and introductions into the local venture community; and Sprout Grant Seed Funds to move selected Brandeis inventions from the lab to the marketplace. The Brandeis Virtual Incubator Sprout Grant Program is designed to provide initial funds required to 'step-up' Brandeis technology and make it more attractive for licensing and commercial development. The program provides financial help for that 'next experiment' to prove the technology's real commercial worth. A total of $50,000 in Sprout Grants will be awarded during the Spring 2013 Award Round. Most grants will be in $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 amounts depending funds required and on the merits of the application received.