UMKC, Digital Sandbox KC partnership to maximize resources, create jobs
June 4, 2015 | Abby Tillman
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s E-Scholars program has partnered with a business incubator program to provide resources and capital to student entrepreneurs.
The program has partnered with Digital Sandbox KC to offer inroads to students to further develop their business projects with additional funding.
“The UMKC Entrepreneurship Scholars program has a very specific goal – to grow businesses and create jobs,” Jeff Hornsby, UMKC Regnier Institute director, said in a release. “Digital Sandbox’s goal is to help create new businesses and jobs in Kansas City. By partnering together, we can maximize our resources and results.”
The new joint program — made possible through a partnership with Digital Sandbox, a proof-of-concept program that expedites businesses’ projects, will allow both programs to maximize their resources and results, Hornsby said.
Specifically, E-Scholar participants will have the opportunity to be measured against only their E-Scholar peers to secure project funding up to $10,000. Additionally, if benchmarks are met, those participants will be able to apply to the current Digital Sandbox program to secure up to an additional $15,000 in project funding.
“This partnership really focuses on helping those entrepreneurs at the early, early stage of taking an idea and moving it to a proven concept,” Hornsby said. “It’s vital to our community to continue to help move as many early stage entrepreneurs down the path to commercialization so we continue to grow new businesses.”
Since launching in February 2014, Digital Sandbox has provided project development funding for 46 companies that have collectively raised more than $17 million and created more than 180 new jobs in the Kansas City area.
E-Scholars has helped to launch more than 160 ventures since its first graduating class in 2011, such as enterprise software, health care services and consumer products.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Night Without Borders’ opens coffee house doors to honor heritage through harmony
Culture transcends borders, said Danny Soriano, surrounded Friday night in a popular Crossroads coffee shop by music, dance, art, food, and drinks that all shared a common link: Latino flavor. “Whether it’s Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina, we all come together as Latinos, as Hispanics, and celebrate our heritage,” said Soriano, who organized a…
KC GIFT orders a full meal with $100K Wah Gwan grant: Job creation (with a side of inspiration)
Young people on Kansas City’s east side need to see examples of what can be achieved when someone who looks like them works hard — and wins, said Tanyech Yarbrough, pledging to use her recent grant funding from KC G.I.F.T. to mirror entrepreneurship to her community, as well as expand her Troost eatery. Yarbrough’s Wah…
GEWKC returning to familiar venue (but its new destinations might surprise ticket holders)
When Global Entrepreneurship Week pulls into the station later this fall, Kansas City participants can expect a fresh experience inside one of the region’s most iconic landmarks, said Callie England, noting an intentional effort behind the scenes should help reroute the “best of the best” events onto custom agendas. “While you’ll see a few familiar…
Wichita program drives highway of resources to more KC startups; founders tout who they met along the way
Opening its doors to Midwest companies outside Kansas for the first time, a Wichita-based program that connects startups with the tools to better engage enterprise partners offered an added benefit to Kansas City entrepreneurs: a new ecosystem of support just a few hours from home. “The program’s Wichita location inspired us to broaden our outreach…