Is your lab’s breakthrough the foundation for a Tough Tech company?
Whiteboard helps faculty evaluate whether their research is ready to move toward company formation. Through a structured framework and candid discussions, the seminar surfaces key risks, potential milestones, and the roles faculty may play in building a Tough Tech startup.
Participants join a cohort of peers and experienced entrepreneurs to examine real-world case studies and decision points, leaving with a clearer sense of their research’s commercial potential, a working hypothesis for their role, and connections to The Engine’s broader ecosystem.
Whiteboard focuses on activating the three pillars essential to Tough Tech company formation: Human, Intellectual, and Financial Capital.
Intellectual Capital
How to think about scientific, technical, scaling, and market risk, and how to build a plan to de-risk your technology over time, both in the lab and in a startup.
Financial Capital
How companies are financed from pre-formation through early fundraising, what different capital sources expect, and how to aim each raise at a clear next milestone.
Human Capital
How to design and build an effective founding team, understand common founder archetypes, and define a sustainable role for a PI over a 10–15 year company journey.
of pre-program participants have never founded a company
have founded a single company
“Whiteboard provided a framework for rapidly understanding the human considerations, evaluating the tech viability, and assessing the risks of commercializing IP from our lab. Since 2023, we’ve spun out three Tough Tech startups with focuses on sustainable agriculture and chemical production.”
Built to Meet Researchers Where They Are
For PIs & Researchers
One day. A clearer
path to translation.
A full-day seminar hosted at The Engine in Cambridge, MA. Designed for cohorts of 20–30 principal investigators, Whiteboard gives researchers the frameworks, case studies, and peer community to move their science toward commercialization.
*For more than four PIs from a single institution, please see below for Private or Custom Whiteboard seminars
What you’ll leave with:
- Frameworks for Tough Tech venture formation
- Applied case studies from real university spinouts across sectors
- A peer network of PIs exploring entrepreneurship
- Access to pre-read materials and online content library
- Digital certificate of completion
- Admission into Whiteboard Alumni Community of Practice
For Institutions
Bring Whiteboard to your campus.
Tailored to your institution’s research community, ecosystem, and Tough Tech sectors.
Developed by The Engine, a nonprofit incubator and accelerator built by MIT, Whiteboard has helped PIs from over 25 institutions explore Tough Tech research translation.
Facilitated by The Engine team with speakers drawn from your local venture ecosystem and institutional leadership. Frameworks, case studies, and data drawn from real Tough Tech company formation.
Content customized to your institution’s research domains and sectors, spinout history, and faculty community (For Whiteboard Custom only).
Two ways to bring Whiteboard to your institution.
Whiteboard Private
Whiteboard Custom
Sample Seminar Agenda
- 8:00 AM: Welcome and The Whiteboard Framework
- 9:00 AM: Tough Tech Venture Formation Frameworks
- 11:00 AM: Case Studies from University Spinouts
- 1:00 PM: Working Session: Applying Frameworks to Your Research
- 3:00 PM: Founder Stories and Peer Discussion
- 4:30 PM: Next steps and wrap-up
Bring Tough Tech entrepreneurship training to your institution, tailored to your faculty, your sectors, and your regional ecosystem.
Built for translation,
not just for one day.
Extended learning & community available to alumni of both the individual and institutional programs. Launching June 2026.
Ongoing Webinars
Bimonthly sessions with PI-founders and venture experts, covering key topics in Tough Tech translation. Includes interactive discussions and 1:1 office hours.
Whiteboard Portal
Webinar recordings, case studies, tools, and resources, all in one place for ongoing Tough Tech translation.
Peer Community
An online community connecting Whiteboard alumni across institutions for ongoing collaboration and support.
Participating Institutions
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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US-based faculty members or principal investigators employed at a university or research institution that are able to attend the session in-person at The Engine (750 Main St., Cambridge, MA).
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We cast a broad net and are open to all scientific and engineering disciplines. Areas The Engine has already invested in address challenges in climate change, human health and advanced systems and infrastructure but are by no means limited to that. We are constantly learning from researchers like you about new areas that are impactful. -
No. The aim of the Whiteboard program is to help faculty explore the commercial opportunities for their research. -
No. Whiteboard is designed for faculty members at any stage of venture formation, including professors without a specific idea or technology to commercialize. -
We do not take an equity stake in or create a formal business relationship during Whiteboard.
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Yes, the program is open to faculty members and principal investigators at all universities and research institutions, as long as they can attend all of the Whiteboard sessions in person. -
Yes, Whiteboard is an in-person only program aimed at facilitating networking and sharing of experiences between faculty members.
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We are happy to welcome you to our next cohort, but this program will be run entirely in-person.
