MIT Sandbox is an incredible program that nurtures the entrepreneurial spirit of current MIT students by offering mentorship, guidance, and funding. It supports student innovation by providing seed funding for promising ideas and ventures. The journey of Zeeshan Shaikh with MIT Sandbox began in the fall of 2022 under the business idea name "RFI SpeedUP!"
Zeeshan was enrolled in the New Enterprise course (15.390, now called Entrepreneurship 101) at the time, and this course provided a solid foundation for his business idea. With the knowledge and skills acquired in the class, Zeeshan was able to prepare a compelling presentation for the Sandbox program. In the fall of 2022, he received approval for a $2,000 spend to advance his project.
For the first time, Zeeshan was paired with mentors through MIT Sandbox, marking the beginning of his deep dive into the world of entrepreneurship. The mentors provided invaluable lessons, helping Zeeshan navigate the complexities of starting a business. Step by step, his journey towards entrepreneurship gained momentum.
However, the process of spending the Sandbox funds presented its own set of challenges. Zeeshan found the bureaucracy around the spending process daunting, especially since it involved paperwork, receipts, policy reviews, and meticulous expense tracking. Having previously served as the head of payments at a global bank, Zeeshan was accustomed to delegating administrative tasks. As a student at MIT, however, he was treated just like any other freshman, thrilled to receive $2,000 in funding but not particularly eager to handle the minutiae of expense claims.
Despite these hurdles, Zeeshan appreciated the program immensely. He was particularly grateful to Jinane Abounadi, the head of MIT Sandbox, who provided empathetic guidance throughout his journey. Jinane’s humility, wisdom, and global perspective were inspiring, and Zeeshan often sought her advice on critical matters.
The first set of mentors assigned to Zeeshan in the fall of 2022 were knowledgeable but not entirely aligned with his industry, which was fintech and payments. Zeeshan felt somewhat out of place as the mentors seemed more suited to traditional MIT startups focused on hard-tech or biotech. By the spring of 2023, however, the Sandbox team had a better understanding of Zeeshan’s proposition, leading to a more suitable match with mentors who were more aligned with his field.
In March 2023, Zeeshan’s team, then named "Artorian," qualified to pitch to the Mock Funding Board (MFB) and was "pre-approved" for $10,000. Zeeshan, busy with banking discussions, delegated the presentation to a team member. The team took the MFB presentation seriously, with nearly all members, including their technology adviser Chuck Pickelhaupt, in attendance. This level of commitment showed the board that they were a serious team, and they successfully secured the $10,000 in funding.
The team name "Artorian" was used in March 2023, but by May 2023, Zeeshan rebranded the startup to "TitanPayAI" after receiving feedback from James Currier of NFX VC and input from his business adviser, Shahid Azim.
During this time, Zeeshan also participated in MIT startup events like Pitch2Match, where he pitched to hundreds of students in search of team members with specific skills. Although it wasn’t always easy to find the right connections, these experiences were invaluable in building his startup.
By the spring of 2023, Zeeshan’s startup TitanPayAI was gaining traction, and so was his other venture, TrustChain, which he initiated during the AI4Impact course at MIT Media Lab. With a focus on entrepreneurship, Zeeshan’s journey is a testament to the power of persistence, mentorship, and the right opportunities.
Comentarios