Building Sandbox: Redefining Social Media for Startups, Students & Investors

When I entered the Figma Makeathon, I knew I wanted to do more than just build a prototype. I wanted to solve a real-world problem that I’ve experienced firsthand — how difficult it is for startups, students, and investors to find each other in the chaos of today’s social media platforms.

That’s where Sandbox was born.

The Problem with Existing Platforms

• LinkedIn is professional, but it’s crowded with noise, generic updates, and recruiting spam. Startups easily get lost in the flood of content.

• Instagram is great for visuals but lacks meaningful networking tools. Posts disappear in feeds and are rarely designed for long-term startup visibility.

• Investors struggle to track early-stage startups, while students looking for projects or collaboration opportunities don’t have a dedicated space.

I realized there was no focused platform designed exclusively for the startup journey — from idea stage to collaboration to funding.

Enter Sandbox

Sandbox is a dedicated social platform built to provide startups, students, and investors with a noise-free, focused space to connect, collaborate, and grow.

Think of it as a hybrid of social media + collaboration hub + discovery engine.

Key Features of Sandbox

1. Three Account Types

   • Startups: Document progress, share updates, showcase projects, and find student collaborators.

   • Students: Discover projects, join hackathons, and collaborate with startups for real-world experience.

   • Investors: Track startup journeys over time and discover early opportunities.

2. Watchlist Instead of Follow

   • No vanity metrics. Instead, users add startups or people to their watchlist and track their updates meaningfully.

3. Upraises Instead of Likes

   • Support isn’t shallow hearts — it’s upraises (⬆️). A more meaningful way to back ideas.

4. AI-Assisted Onboarding

   • A chatbot guides new users during signup to set up their profile. It asks key questions (account type, goals, bio, optional links, etc.) in a conversational way.

5. Core Pages

   • Home: Stories + feed of watchlisted updates and trending posts.

   • Explore: AI-powered search to find posts, accounts, projects, and events.

   • Events & Projects:

     • Events: Host hackathons, pitch nights, or meetups.

     • Projects: Startups post openings; students apply; investors track.

   • Leaderboards: Weekly top startups and students based on upraises.

   • Profile: A professional showcase with posts, projects, and about section.

6. Event & Project Management

   • Host events with simple forms or AI chat assistance.

   • Projects have application workflows (students apply, startups accept/reject, notifications sent automatically).

7. Investor Pipeline

   • Investors can track progress on watchlisted startups and step in when they’re confident.

Why Sandbox Stands Out

Unlike LinkedIn or Instagram, Sandbox doesn’t drown you in irrelevant content.

• Startups stay visible long-term, not lost in feeds.

• Students gain a real platform to apply skills and join exciting projects.

• Investors see early traction and growth directly from the source.

In short: Sandbox creates meaningful connections where mainstream social media creates clutter.

My Vision

With Sandbox, I’m not just building another app. I’m trying to rebuild the value of social media — shifting it from vanity-driven feeds to purposeful collaboration.

The dream is simple:
🚀 A world where a student finds their first startup project.
💡 A world where a startup gets discovered early.
💰 A world where investors can spot tomorrow’s unicorns before anyone else.

That’s what Sandbox is about.

Reflections from the Makeathon

Working with Figma Make allowed me to quickly design, prototype, and bring Sandbox’s concept to life. I used its flexibility to build UI flows, experiment with layouts, and visualize how different account types interact.

And while this is just a prototype, it’s the seed of something bigger — a platform I hope can grow into a real tool for the startup ecosystem.

✨ This was my second submission for the Contra x Figma Makeathon, and it’s one I’m truly proud of. Sandbox isn’t just a concept — it’s a vision for how we can make social media work for builders, dreamers, and doers.