Submit A Business Plan

Still Have Questions?

Have an early-stage concept that you would like us to look at? The more information you provide the better, and please take advantage of the option to upload additional documents and materials. Some suggestions include: business plan, financials, and/or executive summary.

We don’t sign confidentiality agreements, but please know we will keep your information confidential.

We look at every single entry – which is great, but also takes time. We will contact you as soon as we are able. Thanks for thinking of Sandbox!

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Let’s Stay in Touch!

If you would like to stay updated on news from Sandbox and our portfolio companies, feel free to add your email address to our mailing list below. Newsletter updates are sent out on a quarterly basis.

Office Hours

Let’s Chat!

Entrepreneurs, technologists, hackers, marketers, students, and anyone else looking to chat: we’d love to meet you! Sandbox Office Hours is a chance for you to lead a conversation with us.

Have an idea you want to kick around? Looking to meet new people? Or just want to see what Sandbox is all about? Office Hours is a great way to have these casual conversations.

Office Hours are on the third Thursday of each month from 2pm – 5pm in our Chicago office.

Provide us with a brief idea of what you’re looking to get out of your office hours session and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible with a 20-30 minute potential Office Hours time slot. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Jobs

Let’s Get To Know Each Other

If you’re a driven, creative and entrepreneurially-minded professional, we’d love to get to know you. Please review the openings listed below and contact us if you’re interested in learning more.

All Current Openings

• Developer Intern / Summer of Hacking
• Designer
• doggyloot Communications Associate
• Director of PR / Media Relations
• Blues Analyst
• Blues VP
• Lab42 Sales Executive
• CakeStylist
• Founding Developer

Contact Us

Still have questions?

Chicago
213 North Racine
Chicago, IL 60607

San Francisco
444 Townsend Street, Suite 3
San Francisco, CA 94107

@SandboxInd

Developer Intern / Summer of Hacking

Overview

We're looking for a developer intern who is creative and self-motivated to join the Foundry team this summer in our Chicago office.

Spend the summer hacking away in the West Loop on Xbox Kinect, Arduinos, sensors and wearable electronics. We're in the business of creating web startups and tech-enabled businesses. Whatever you create over the summer could result in one or more new startups. This is an awesome opportunity for a developer looking to get their hands dirty, try new things and spend a summer experimenting in a creative environment.

The ideal candidate is an honest, hard-working, team-oriented individual who can be organized and productive in an unstructured and changing environment.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on new ideas for tech-enabled products and services
• Rapid prototyping and ad-hoc user testing
• Handle a mix of directed and self-directed projects
• Define opportunity spaces for the aforementioned sensing technologies

About You

• Proficient in C++, C# or vb.net (required)
• Experience using Github

Bonus Points

Familiarity with Microsoft Kinect SDK and OpenNI; familiarity with processing

Compensation

Negotiable, based on experience. Full-time is preferred, but will consider part-time applicants. Possibility of transition to full-time employment following internship.

How to Apply

Send resume and any examples of projects you have created to droberts@sbxind.com.

Designer

Overview

Creative and independent designer needed to join the startup foundry team at Sandbox Industries in our new San Francisco office.

As a core member of our team, you will have the opportunity to work with a talented group of business people and specialists to develop ideas, create prototypes and launch web-based startups. The ideal candidate is an honest, hard-working, team-oriented individual who can be organized and productive in an unstructured and changing environment.

This is a great opportunity for a junior designer to receive exposure to a variety of work, from logo/branding to web design to print and more.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the design team and project managers to create marketing & sales presentations, collateral, illustrations, logos, icons and other graphics for web and print.
• Ensure creative alignment with branding and marketing strategies through design.
• Manage projects from start to finish (includes brainstorming concepts and approaching projects with zeal)!
• Original creative, branding for new concepts
• Production Design (Documents, Charts/Graphs, Marketing Materials)
• Production for web (image slicing) and print (including pre-press)
• PowerPoint presentation design
• Basic Website Design (including new concept prototyping)

About You

• You have at least 1-3 years full-time experience as a graphic designer
• Your middle name is typography
• You're an amazing designer, who is able to adjust your style for different audiences--everything from dog-loving 30-somethings to ad agency executives.
• You know and care about the differences between Arial and Helvetica.
• You’ve never underestimated the power of great kerning.
• You’re a self-starter who can work in a relatively unstructured environment.
• Oh, and you know CS5 InDesign, Photoshop & Illustrator & Powerpoint
• Proactive, detail-oriented team player
• Ability to juggle competing priorities

Bonus Points

Comfortable with web production, including CSS / HTML

Compensation

Based on experience. Salary plus equity participation.

How to Apply

Send resume and portfolio URL to sf-designer@sbxind.com. In a short email to us explain why you’re specifically interested in this position, and why we’d make a great team. Don’t forget to include a link to your favorite website (other than your amazing portfolio of course.)

No recruiters please.

doggyloot Communications Associate

Overview

Creative, flexible and versatile Communications Associate needed to join doggyloot, the #1 flash sales site for dog owners. This is a great opportunity to gain experience with account management, customer service, and content writing while working with a talented group of business people and specialists to develop and grow our promising young company.

doggyloot is an exciting startup that was founded within, and currently housed at, the Foundry at Sandbox Industries. Since its launch in February 2011, doggyloot has grown to become the clear "top dog" in the dog discounts space.

This is a great opportunity to make your mark as one of the first 10 employees with a promising, funded startup with rapidly growing revenue on the board. Terrific growth opportunities with combined individual and team success.

Responsibilities

• Account management - coordinate with merchants on deal details after a sale has been made and compose concise and unique deal text.
• Customer service– respond to customer service inquiries by crafting creative and helpful responses to customer inquiries.
• Write deals and send daily deal emails– coordinate with designers and sales team to successfully execute complex weekly deal schedule.

About You

• You’re an effective communicator, whether over email, on the phone, or in person.
• You thrive on deadline
• You pay attention to details
• You're incredibly organized
• You're great with webapps
• You're comfortable working outside 9am-5pm
• You're an amazing writer, able to adjust your style for different situations - everything from serious and formal to punchy, casual and fun
• You love startups, and maybe you've interned or worked in this field before
• You're a perfectionist and a grammar freak. You always correct your friends' grammar and spelling.
• You're a self-starter who can work in a relatively unstructured environment
• You speak your mind and argue your opinion with good logic and reasons, and also know when to let others lead
• You may have recently graduated from college and are looking to make your mark

Compensation

Based on experience. Salary plus equity participation.

How to Apply

Please send your resume to jobs@doggyloot.com.

Also, please include:

• A sample deal text for an offer on doggyloot (choose an imaginary deal). Please review some of the past and current deals on our website for examples.
• A sample customer service response to, “My order was supposed to ship three weeks ago but I have still have not received it – can you please update me on this situation?!”

***No recruiters please***

Director of PR / Media Relations

Overview

This is a great opportunity for an entrepreneurial Public Relations professional to get hands-on experience building and running the PR team at one of the most exciting organizations in Chicago (and now San Francisco!).

Responsibilities

• Get significant media coverage for Sandbox Industries, the Sandbox Foundry and our portfolio of startups
• Work on a variety of Sandbox-founded startups at every stage, from very early prototype to revenue-generating companies
• Be generally present and visible within the company, collaborate with team members about their businesses to understand the big picture and also when something newsworthy is on the radar
• Manage and mentor a small, growing team of other in-house PR/Media professionals

About You

• 5+ years of experience in the PR/Media Relations Space, although contact depth trumps years of experience. If you know Matt Lauer, and he loves talking about your pitches, it’s cool if you only have a year of on-the-job training.
• You are outgoing, and comfortable getting on the phone and connecting with local and national media outlets
• You have a solid list of contacts that you can tap to pitch Sandbox, the Foundry and our portfolio of companies as well
• You have a keen sense of what is newsworthy and can guide your team on creating fabulous content to assist in your endeavors
• You are entrepreneurial by nature so you’re passionate and willing to roll up your sleeves to get the job done
• You’re genuinely excited about technology, startups, the entrepreneurial scene and Sandbox

Compensation

Competitive, based on experience.

How to Apply

Our email is pr-job@sbxind.com. Send us your resume and a short note that shows us: - Why you’re specifically interested in this position and Sandbox - A brief sample pitch to a national media outlet that you have experience contacting for any one of our portfolio companies. No recruiters please.

Blues Analyst

Overview

Sandbox Industries manages the corporate venture fund for Blue Cross Blue Shield (for more information see http://www.sandboxindustries.com and http://www.bcbsvp.com). The team seeks an analyst to assist with industry analysis, deal due diligence, financial modeling, and portfolio and relationship management. Our fund team operates in an open, thoughtful, and collaborative way so fit with the team is important. The following represents the responsibilities and required skills:

Responsibilities

• Work with fund team to conduct deal due diligence
• Perform financial modeling and analysis
• Record all deal information for reporting and trend analysis
• Research and report on industry trends and analysis
• Help present deals to Investment Committee
• Help manage Blue plan relationships
• Assist in portfolio company management
• Source deals and develop key industry relationships

About You

• 2-4 years of financial services experience
• Strong communication (oral and written) and presentation skills
• Adept with financial modeling
• Know how to ask hard questions
• Good relationship building skills
• Ability to work in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Ability to prioritize and manage several initiatives at one time
• Bachelor's required, recent MBAs with relevant experience will also be considered.

Bonus Points

Healthcare and/or technology industry operating experience preferred; Knowledge of Salesforce preferred

How to Apply

Please send resume and cover letter to bluesanalyst@sandboxindustries.com. Unfortunately we cannot respond to every inquiry, we will contact you if there is a fit with the open position. Thank you for your interest.

Blues VP

Overview

Sandbox Industries manages the corporate venture fund for Blue Cross Blue Shield (for more information see http://www.sandboxindustries.com and http://www.bcbsvp.com). The team seeks a Vice President to assist with deal sourcing, industry analysis, deal due diligence, financial modeling, and portfolio and relationship management. Our fund team operates in an open, thoughtful, and collaborative way so fit with the team is important. The following represents the responsibilities and required skills:

Responsibilities

• Work with fund team to conduct deal due diligence
• Perform financial modeling and analysis
• Record all deal information for reporting and trend analysis
• Research and report on industry trends and analysis
• Help present deals to Investment Committee
• Help manage Blue plan relationships
• Assist in portfolio company management
• Source deals and develop key industry relationships

About You

• 6+ years of financial services experience
• Healthcare technology and/or healthcare delivery industry experience
• Strong communication (oral and written) and presentation skills
• Adept with financial modeling
• Know how to ask hard questions
• Good relationship building skills
• Ability to work in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Ability to prioritize and manage several initiatives at one time
• Bachelor's required, MBA or advanced degree preferred.

Bonus Points

Knowledge of Salesforce preferred

How to Apply

Please send resume and cover letter to bluesvp@sandboxindustries.com. Unfortunately we cannot respond to every inquiry, we will contact you if there is a fit with the open position. Thank you for your interest.

Lab42 Sales Executive

Overview

Lab42 is an innovative market research company that conducts surveys using social networks to (1) deliver quality insights rapidly (2) for a fraction of the price charged by traditional research solutions. We work hard and we work fast to make our clients happy, completing surveys within three to five business days. Some of our notable clients include Ogilvy, Redbox, Dave & Goliath, CarX, Time etc. We are looking to build our team of Sales Executives, who will continue to accelerate our client base.

Lab42 was founded within and is currently officed at the incubator at Sandbox Industries, located in the West Loop of Chicago. With our recent funding and continued market validation, this is an exciting time for Lab42 with many key initiatives underway. By taking advantage of this opportunity, you will be an integral part of team Lab42's success collaborating with talented professionals to take our company to the next level.

Experience and Skills:

• At least two years of sales experience; proven track record of maintaining and generating new sales relationships and generating repeat business
• Experience with business-to-business sales
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and a CRM system like Salesforce or Zoho
• Effective presentation creation and delivery, and confidence in speaking and leading meetings
• Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented environment

Responsibilities

• Prospect, call, pursue, and foster consultative relationships with potential clients, specifically clients in Marketing and Advertising agencies as well as Consumer brands
• Build a healthy pipeline and grow client base to achieve and exceed monthly sales target
• Lead the cross-functional collaboration of internal teams based on client needs
• Identify and purse alternative industries for Lab42 business development
• Present yourself as an industry expert by developing industry intelligence by researching trends and best practices

About You

• You are self-motivated, self-sufficient, and assertive
• Rejection has never fazed you
• You enjoy working with people and people enjoy working with you
• You want to be a part of a startup that is going places

Bonus Points

• Experience selling to ad agencies and innovation consultancies
• Knowledge and familiarity of the market research industry
• Experience selling market research solutions

Compensation

Based on experience; components: base salary, commission, and benefits.

How to Apply

Please send your resume to us at jobs@lab42.com explaining your interest in Lab42 and the Sales Executive position.

Founding Developer

Overview

Creative, independent and curious developer needed to join the startup foundry team at Sandbox Industries. As a core member of our team, you will have the opportunity to work with a talented group of business people and specialists to develop ideas, create prototypes and launch web-based startups.

You’ll have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects created by our foundry team as a full-stack developer, where you will initially work in stints of several weeks to several months on a primary project. When startups you’ve worked with receive funding, you may have the option to join that team full-time, often as a lead developer or CTO.

This is a great opportunity for a junior to mid-level developer to receive exposure to a variety of startups at all stages, work with the full stack, learn new technologies and skills, and collaborate with our truly special foundry team.

Responsibilities

• Work on a variety of Sandbox-founded startups at every stage, from very early prototype to revenue-generating company with a million uniques a month
• Collaborate with team members about technical and business strategy
• Coordinate with designers and other specialists on our team to create beautiful, functional web experiences

About You

• 2 years experience working on web-based projects, ideally full-stack
• You code using either Ruby, Python or PHP (or even better, all three) and know how to use a framework like Rails, Sinatra, Django, or Cake
• You’d be excited to learn and use any of these or any other reasonable coding language on the job
• When you encounter a new problem, you can figure out a way to make it work
• You can clearly explain technical concepts and make decisions with non-technical team members
• You can slice a design file and create clean HTML and CSS
• You’re comfortable with Javascript
• You can complete basic server administration tasks
• Ideally, you’ve created a public GitHub project, posted answers on Stack Overflow, modified open-source code, or created some hacks that you're proud of

Compensation

Based on experience. Salary plus equity participation.

How to Apply

Our email is developer-jobs@sandboxindustries.com. Send us your resume and links to work you’ve created. Also, in a short email to us:

• Explain why you’re specifically interested in this position and Sandbox
• Make one technical suggestion for any of our portfolio companies (could be an improvement to our existing website, or a general idea of something that could help bring one of our businesses to the next level)