Digital Sandbox expands to St. Joseph, partners with animal health incubator
June 21, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Digital Sandbox KC will expand its efforts northwest to reach entrepreneurs in St. Joseph, Mo.
The proof-of-concept program announced Wednesday that it has established a partnership with Innovation Stockyard, a St. Joseph-based animal science business incubator. Located inside the Christopher S. Kit Bond Incubator, Innovation Stockyard will offer grant recipients of Digital Sandbox office space in their new coworking facility, which is set to open this summer.
Since its launch in 2013, the Digital Sandbox has worked with more than 400 entrepreneurs and startups across the Kansas City metro. In addition to Kansas City and St. Joseph, the program previously established partnerships with the cities of Olathe, Kan. and Independence, Mo.
Jeff Shackelford, director of Digital Sandbox, said that the partnership will spur even more Missouri-based startup ventures.
“This is an opportunity to start to stretch the program further across Missouri,” Shackelford said in a release. “We’re excited to be working with St. Joseph and the northwest part of the state. There are a lot of creative folks in that area with promising business ideas that, with some help, can turn into rapidly growing companies that create many jobs for northwest Missouri.”
Digital Sandbox has created more than 480 jobs and 85 proof of concept projects for Kansas City area startups since its launch. Innovation Stockyard president Ronan Molloy is excited to see similar benefits in St. Joseph.
“By using our new planned coworking space inside the Kit Bond Incubator to house more early-stage St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri entrepreneurs, we will be filling an existing gap in the ecosystem,” Molloy said in a release. “(We will be) maximizing our existing resources and driving an increase in the quantity and quality of early-stage entrepreneurs in northwest Missouri.”
To kick-off the new program, a public celebration will take place on June 28 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Jack’s restaurant in St. Joseph.
The Christopher S. “Kit” Bond Incubator is located on the Missouri Western State University campus. More information on the Innovation Stockyard incubator can be found here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC team developing tool to get low-income entrepreneurs online (and it just got a $240K boost)
A collaborative project to “bridge the gap” in Kansas City’s digital divide secured one of the 2022 Heartland Challenge grants from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. PCs for People Kansas City (formerly Connecting for Good), in partnership with The Usher Garage and No-Where Consultants, will receive $240,000 in funding to be used over two years…
How this KC trucking platform is helping drivers achieve the ‘American Dream’ amid high industry demands, burnout
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of truck drivers in the American economy, said Jeff Dema; and Foxpoint is targeting its efforts to ensure that drivers succeed and stay in the demanding industry. “Being a truck driver is a hard job. They’re gone 250 plus nights a year from their home. It requires lots of…
Google’s $100K ‘stamp of approval’ for PlaBook reads like validation for KC-built edtech startup
Kansas City expatriate PlaBook is set to receive $100,000 from Google’s initiative to provide funding to Black-led startups. But for Philip Hickman, it’s not just about the funding, he said. It’s also a credibility boost. “We were happy to receive an investment from Google,” the edtech startup founder said. “It’s a stamp of approval to…
KC’s first Hispanic beer company craft-brews conversations beyond stereotypes
Defining his own cultural identity has been a lifelong struggle for Damon Arredondo, the longtime brewer said. Coming from a mixed-cultural background, Arredondo often felt as if there was “a checklist” that decided whether or not he was able to identify with his heritage, he shared. “Only recently in the last five year have I…