Golden Tickets
LabCentral Golden Tickets provide direct support and priority access to biotech founders seeking to join our community
Golden Tickets represent the unique opportunity for our sponsors to directly partner with promising early stage companies by underwriting the cost of residency for one scientist and one lab bench for one year. In 2021, LabCentral partnered with sponsors to award dozens of Golden Tickets; the equivalent of providing $1.2M in services and support.
In 2021...
Process and Criteria
Below you'll find answers to common questions about our Golden Ticket awards. If you don't find the answer you're looking for here, please reach out to info@labcentral.org
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A Golden Ticket is an award voucher representing use privileges for LabCentral 700 sponsors. Select LabCentral 700 sponsors can award to a startup company they would like to support.
The value of a Golden Ticket prepays the cost of a $50,000 credit at LabCentral’s 700 Main Street facility in Cambridge, MA. This credit can be used towards the recipient’s monthly invoice of lab benches, private suites, dedicated desks, private offices, per person fees, or parking.
Any life sciences startup that is eligible for residency at LabCentral is welcome to apply. Startups must be focused on human health and show a willingness and capacity to operate within the LabCentral shared community. Startups must also be ready to move into the LabCentral 700 facility soon after receipt of the Golden Ticket award.
In keeping with the MLSC’s guidance to support the entrepreneurial, early-stage activities of startup companies, Golden Ticket applicants must not have raised more than $10 million of capital (excluding non-dilutive funding) or have trailing 12-month revenue of more than $3 million.
Current LabCentral 700 residents and Harvard Life Lab residents are eligible provided they meet the funding threshold guidelines outlined above.
If eligible, startups can apply for Golden Tickets as they become available. Over the course of each calendar year, LabCentral sponsors issue independent calls for applications that are shared HERE. In addition to LabCentral criteria, sponsors use their own criteria to determine winners.
There is no limit on how many Golden Ticket competitions applicants can apply to.
There is no limit on how many Golden Ticket competitions applicants can apply win, provided they continue to meet eligibility requirements.
All resident companies at LabCentral, including Golden Ticket recipients, are required to have a lab presence at minimum. The Golden Ticket value cannot be used for dedicated desks, private offices, per person fees, or parking unless this minimum is met.
If there is no lab space available at the time of award, the value of the Golden Ticket will be extended while the company remains on the waitlist for a bench.
Lab space at LabCentral is allocated based on availability. Holders of Golden Tickets will be listed ahead of other companies waiting to get a bench at LabCentral. Therefore, Golden Ticket recipients should be ready to start at LabCentral upon receipt of the award. The value of the Golden Ticket award expires 13 months from the date a company is offered lab space to start at the facility.
Golden Tickets do not cover lab supplies or other startup fees associated with starting residency at LabCentral such as: security deposits, decontamination fees, insurance, etc.
Congratulations to our 2022 Golden Ticket Winners!
