Digital Sandbox KC funding three UMKC student-led startups
January 19, 2016 | Kat Hungerford
Kansas City business incubator Digital Sandbox KC selected three student-led companies for proof-of-concept funding support Tuesday.
The enterprises were selected from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s E-Scholar program and will join three other E-Scholar companies selected in June as part of Digital Sandbox’s partnership with UMKC. Each student startup will receive $10,000 in project development funding.
“The partnership between Digital Sandbox and UMKC E-Scholars program has been terrific,” Jeff Shackelford, director of Digital Sandbox KC, said in a release. “This was a great example of two Kansas City programs collaborating and together producing higher results.”
Here’s a bit more on each of the student-led companies:
Bulletyn digitizes traditional campus bulletin boards in real-time to increase student engagement with local events. Organizations using the platform also will be able to track and use analytics for event-planning purposes.
gr8box assists customers in finding foods free of the “Big 8 Allergens” of milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. Customers purchase a subscription to receive a monthly box of eight health snack and meal items, which they can then buy locally or in the company’s ecommerce store.
AddVenture creates online advertisements that are video games, incentivizing engagement. The advertisements, called GameAds, are short online video games branded to a business that aim to generate website traffic, boost brand recognition and leverage sales.
The UMKC E-Scholars program is an entrepreneurial development program offered through the university’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The program provides student entrepreneurs with the support and resources to launch scalable and sustainable ventures. Since its first graduating class in 2011, the program has helped launch more than 160 companies.
Digital Sandbox KC is a startup incubator that aims to move early-stage entrepreneurs from concept to commercialization. It provides proof-of-concept resources, including market validation, prototyping and beta testing support. Launching in 2013, the incubator has since worked with more than 300 entrepreneurs across the Kansas City metro area and spurred $22.7 million in follow-on funding. Digital Sandbox KC recently welcomed six other local startups into the program.
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
She wanted to bring her favorite foodie magazine to KC; her mother’s sudden death put this publisher’s plans on the back burner
Lauren Cook’s passion for Edible Communities magazine drove her appetite to revive it in Kansas City, she shared, but an unexpected life change has her hoping to hand the publisher’s apron to someone else. Cook purchased the license to publish the city-specific food magazine — each independently run by publishers in metros across the country…
Digital Sandbox alum earns new round of funding — this time for sports tech; Meet the latest batch of just-funded startups
From making the college admissions process easier for students to summarizing books and podcasts using artificial intelligence, the latest startups to join Digital Sandbox KC are a great example of the creativity of this region’s entrepreneurs, said Jill Meyer. The four newly selected companies are expected to receive up to $20,000 in project funding and…
Her red sauce is dynamite but Ragazza’s owner gives the chef title to her Italian heritage
Family is baked into the core of Laura Norris’ restaurants, she shared, from the Italian recipes served at Ragazza in Westport to the brother-sister duo running the new Enzo Wine Bar and Bistro together in the River Market. She opened Ragazza, which now sits at the corner of 43rd and Main streets, in 2013 and…
How a ‘City Hall Swiftie committee’ is bringing joy (and business) to NKC as concert tour hits Arrowhead
The street lights are pointing in an arrowhead, leading Taylor Swift fans to North Kansas City where they can walk the iconic “Cornelia Street.” In June, North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong announced that Swift Street in NKC was to be temporarily renamed Swift Street (Taylor’s Version) in honor of the artist coming July 7-8…