Digital Sandbox taps K-State Olathe for office space
April 18, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
The partnership between Digital Sandbox KC and the City of Olathe, Kan. is now a bit stronger.
Companies funded out of the Olathe program will now have access to an office and coworking space via the Kansas State University Olathe campus, located at 22201 W. Innovation Dr., Olathe, Kansas.
“We’re constantly working to break down the barriers that are impacting startups. For Olathe-based startups, co-working space was an issue,” said Digital Sandbox KC executive director Jeff Shackelford in a release. “Teaming up with K-State’s Olathe campus is the perfect solution.”
In 2016, four Olathe-based companies received funding from the proof-of-concept program — MovinHouz, PreScreend, PerfectCube and Windsor Trucking Solutions. But prior to the support from K-State Olathe, there was no dedicated space available for the Olathe-based startups that participate in the Digital Sandbox program.
Digital Sandbox invests up to $25,000 in area businesses for specific projects that help the firms secure additional funding. The organization has now supported a total of 85 proof-of-concept projects which have gone on to raise almost $30 million in follow-on investment capital.
In 2015, Digital Sandbox expanded its reach and partnered with the city, which is in the southern part of the Kansas City metro area. Olathe city manager Michael Wilkes said he’s pleased with the impact the program has had on Olathe-based early-stage entrepreneurs.
“The first round with Digital Sandbox KC was all that we’d hoped it would be,” Wilkes said in a release. “We’re excited to bring K-State Olathe in on this partnership and do more to support early-stage entrepreneurs in our city.”
In March, Digital Sandbox welcomed a new cohort of six area startups. It welcomed 17° 73° Innovation Co, Anticipate Ventures, FEWDM, Homegrown & Happy, Live-K and TicketRx to the program.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Topeka recruited dozens of Filipino teachers for local classrooms; at year’s end, the district hopes they’ll stay
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. TOPEKA — Although international educators are not new to the state’s capital city, Topeka welcomed about 50 teachers from the Philippines this past school year to address shortages within the…
Startup ideas are here, but does Kansas have the risk capital to get them to the next level?
Eight early-stage Kansas entrepreneurs sat across from Midwest-based investors this week at Aspiria NOW in Overland Park, engaging in rapid-fire, “speed dating” style meetings aimed at moving their ventures closer to real investment. “We’re seeing just a great inflow of companies, especially at the early stage, come in just high levels of sophistication and awareness…
‘Buy, buy, buy while we can’: This KC toy store is stockpiling Christmas gifts now as tariff reality unwraps
Brett Goodwin and Alan Tipton are feeling even more thankful right now for the large, dry basement at The Learning Tree — the independent toy store they own in Prairie Village — amid worries over tariffs on Chinese imports and how they’ll impact prices from toy manufacturers. The best they can do to prepare: stockpile…
KC’s pro pickleball team getting new $6.5M home near Arrowhead, Kauffman Stadium
A long-awaited redevelopment project in Kansas City’s stadium corridor is transforming the former CoCo Key Water resort into a vibrant destination pickleball facility with eight indoor courts, a full-service bar and restaurant, a coffee shop, and event spaces. It also will be home to the Kansas City Stingers, a professional team in the National Pickleball…