Before students prototype, pitch, or invest heavily in building, the Ashesi Center for Entrepreneurship is asking them to do something more fundamental: test whether the idea is worth pursuing through the Idea Sandbox.
Facilitated by Center advisors and industry experts, the Idea Sandbox helps participants interrogate early assumptions, clarify what they are trying to solve, and identify the evidence they need before committing further time and resources to build. 

Each session moves through three stations: 

• Problem Claim and Scope Discipline: participants define the problem they are solving, for whom, and why it matters, leaving with a problem statement that is specific and defensible
• Critical Belief and Risk Exposure: teams identify the one assumption their idea depends on to succeed and determine what evidence would confirm or invalidate it 
• Belief Testing and Evidence Design: participants design a simple, executable 7-day experiment focused entirely on learning, not building

Students whose ideas show early promise can access Demand Validation Grants of up to $500, giving them the resources to fund those experiments and gather stronger evidence before committing to execution. 

For Jesse Gyau Kusi M ’27, the most clarifying part was confronting the gap between a concept’s appeal and its actual purpose. “The session challenged me to dig deeper, ask the right questions, and really test the intent of my idea,” he said. “I now plan to interrogate my assumptions, gather solid data, and use it to refine my idea before taking it to the next level.”

Shadrack Atta Kesse M ’28, left the Ideas Sandbox with a clearer understanding that technical ingenuity alone is not enough. “The session helped me think about innovation not only as a technical solution but also as a business opportunity,” Kesse shared. “I now understand the importance of gathering tangible data to support my ideas, so that when they reach the market, people will buy into them.”

For Hubert Andoh Morrison M ’27, the session challenged his assumption that demand for his idea would come naturally and gave him the tools to test it. “It’s not just about creating a product that works,” Morrison said, “but about understanding how people experience it, what form they prefer, what challenges they might face, and how it fits into their daily lives.”

He is now planning customer interviews and surveys before making any further decisions about the concept’s direction. The Idea Sandbox runs twice a month as part of the Center’s idea-to-project support pipeline.