FAQs

When representing your participation in Stanford Rebuild, be sure to follow the Name Use Guidelines (PDF).  Not following these guidelines will disqualify you from the Stanford Rebuild program.  

No.  However, we recommend that you do work through each of the 7 activities in Embark to take full advantage of the Startup Canvas model.  To be considered for mentoring and inclusion in the Stanford Rebuild Showcase, you will need to complete the Stanford Embark Executive Summary.  The easiest and most thorough way to build your Executive Summary is to work through activities 1-7.  

Once you are on the Embark platform, you’ll have the opportunity to post information about your project to the community and use the discussion forum to connect with others on the platform. We do not have the capacity to connect teams or share other teams’ projects outside of this tool.

All Stanford Rebuild programs, resources and events will happen virtually.

Yes, you are eligible for consideration as long as you submit your completed Executive Summary and video by August 22nd.  

No.  While there is no certificate associated with Stanford Rebuild, you build your own Executive Summary based on our Startup Canvas model.  You can use your Executive Summary to apply to incubators, talk with angel and other early stage investors, recruit team members or employees, and more.  

The deadline to register for Stanford Rebuild was July 1st, 2020 11:59PM Pacific Standard Time (PST).    If you missed the deadline, you can still sign-up to watch upcoming events and view recordings of previous events on our Events page. 

Anyone over 13 years old, anywhere in the world is eligible to apply for Stanford Rebuild. Stanford affiliation and prior entrepreneurial experience are not required. All aspects of Stanford Rebuild are available at no charge.

No. We highly recommend forming a team to participate in Stanford Rebuild bringing together people with different backgrounds, expertise, and life experiences can expand the team’s ability to creatively solve problems but it is not required. You may register for Stanford Rebuild as an individual or a team of any size and composition. There is no requirement about team size, team member background, or education.

The team member who signed up for Stanford Rebuild will serve as the primary contact for Stanford Embark.  Communications and login credentials for your team will be sent to this person who can then share this information with other team members. 

While we recommend that the primary contact be responsible for entering information and uploading templates into Stanford Embark, the entire team should work on the Embark activities together.  For example, the primary contact should involve other teammates to brainstorm customer interview questions, discuss and create your personas, develop and test your prototype, and identify value propositions. The whole team can also watch the Founder Stories together to discuss and decide what is relevant to you.

No.  Stanford is hosting this event to spark and encourage creative solutions. Participation in Stanford Rebuild on its own does not result in any IP claims except if any Stanford resources such as labs, equipment or other tools were used to develop the tech or IP.

If you would like to be considered for mentoring and inclusion in the Stanford Rebuild Virtual Showcase, you will need to complete the Executive Summary by working through Stanford Embark and record a 2-3 minute video presentation.  We will provide instructions to Stanford Rebuild members on how to submit their Executive Summary and video presentation for consideration. There are no other required deliverables.

If you are starting with a new idea and wish to take full advantage of the Stanford Embark platform, you can expect to spend an average of 6 hours per week as an individual or team. The time commitment can be adjusted up or down depending on how you want to pace yourself and how many members are on your team. There is no minimum required time commitment in Stanford Rebuild.

Teams will be invited to participate in an eight-week online experience designed to help them refine their ideas, evaluate solutions, and propose a plan to execute and scale for the broadest impact.  Teams will be invited to participate in:

• Get Inspired – 

• 8-week sprint – 

• Periodic online reviews of two to three teams’ progress to help other teams learn from their work

• Access to workshops and talks on various topics

• A finale event where teams who have proposed promising ideas will present to a panel of experts who will provide feedback and insights about how to move forward.

No. While Stanford is hosting the innovation sprint and providing some of the resources to support teams, we are opening the program to anyone interested in participating.

We hope to bring together creative problem solvers, bright minds, and entrepreneurial energies from around the world to help tackle some of the challenges and opportunities we think will need to be solved as we collectively recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.  We hope the sprint helps us move more quickly to better outcomes. 

We recognize that COVID-19 has impacted people and organizations all over the world, in small and large ways.  If your idea helps people or organizations respond to the challenges (and opportunities) due to COVID-19, then we consider it related.  

No.  Some teams and individuals, however, will be selected for personalized mentoring and inclusion in the Stanford Rebuild Virtual Showcase open to the broader entrepreneurial community, including investors, mentors, incubators and accelerators.

Project deliverables will be reviewed by Stanford Rebuild organizers and a small number of projects will be selected for additional mentoring and featured in the Stanford Rebuild Virtual Showcase in September.  Selection will be based on several factors, including potential impact, unique approach, and the educational value of showcasing the project to other participants. 

No problem.  We are recording all events so that you can watch (or re-watch) them at your convenience.  You will be able to access these in the Stanford Embark platform.

No, Stanford Rebuild will not collect any credit card information.  When you complete the sign up form in full, you will be given free access to Stanford Embark for 3 months.  Once the 3 months has passed, your access will automatically expire.  If you want to continue working in Stanford Embark after the 3 months, you can purchase a Stanford Embark membership here.  Provide the same e-mail you used for Stanford Rebuild to access your same account.  

You do.  We’ve identified four suggested innovation themes where we see the challenges and opportunities of recovery as particularly acute. You may learn more about them and view specific need statements in this resource guide. Your team may select an idea or need from this list and in our specific areas or outside of it. We recommend selecting an idea or area that sparks your interest and energy and where you think your skills may have the best impact.  The only requirement is that your challenge or project has to relate to recovery from the pandemic.

There is no charge to participate in Stanford Rebuild.  Teams and individuals will receive three months of free access to the Stanford Embark, an online entrepreneurial program. 

Stanford Rebuild will be administered in English, including events, talks, and the Stanford Embark platform.   Submissions from participants will be reviewed in English.