Happy holidays: Three startups receive Digital Sandbox funds
December 20, 2017 | Bobby Burch
They might not be wrapped with a bow, but Digital Sandbox KC has delivered three gifts to area startups ahead of the holidays.
The proof-of-concept incubator program is dishing grants to TradeLanes, Hungry? and MusicSpoke — three startups that aim to revamp their respective industries with innovative technologies, said Jeff Shackelford, director of Digital Sandbox.
“We know that the more connected early-stage entrepreneurs are — to each other and to the resources — the higher their probability of success,” Jeff Shackelford said in a release. “The Sandbox is helping startups in KC make those connections. We’ve now funded 96 projects and worked with more than 500 entrepreneurs in the metro.”
Launched in 2013, Digital Sandbox offers up to $25,000 in grants to startups with a focus of bringing a product from idea to commercialization.
Both TradeLanes and MusicSpoke were named 2017 Under the Radar startups by Startland News. Here’s a bit more on the three Digital Sandbox companies:
Hungry? is a mobile app with an algorithm to simplify the decision of what and where to eat, helping users find dining options.
MusicSpoke is a global marketplace that allows musicians and educators to purchase sheet music directly from composers. Check out Startland’s profile on MusicSpoke here.
TradeLanes automates trade management for U.S. exporters that uses an online platform to lower costs and make their supply chain more efficient. Check out Startland’s profile on TradeLanes here.
Digital Sandbox established a partnership with the City of Independence and the Independence Economic Development Council in 2016. With similar programs operating in Olathe, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri, the Independence program aims to expand Digital Sandbox resources to the greater Kansas City metro area, Shackelford said.
Since its launch about five years ago, Digital Sandbox issued $1.8 million in project funding for more than 90 early-state firms that have created 536 new jobs with more than $14 million in payroll, according to the organization.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Meet the 12 KC companies pledging to buy from diverse vendors; Join them in the CEO-to-CEO Challenge
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity. A dozen high-profile Kansas City companies are at the vanguard of a new regional effort to boost supplier diversity programs…
Earworms to the Oscars: They’ve redefined jingle writing, now composing music for motion (pictures)
Notes of passion are composed throughout every piece of Sam Billen’s entrepreneurial melody. But it’s the most recent crescendo in his career that has him thanking the Academy. “It sounds cheesy, but it’s actually pretty cool,” said Billen, composer and founding partner of Primary Color Music, detailing the experience of guests who step foot inside…
Innovators can’t do it alone; C3KC conference calls for cross-sector attack on wealth gap, KC’s biggest pain points
Editor’s note: Startland News is a media sponsor for the Junior League of Kansas City’s C3KC conference. Click here for tickets to the event, which features a keynote address by best-selling author Adam Grant. Challenges abound in Kansas City, Kimberlee Ried acknowledged, but opportunities for innovation to push change are even more plentiful. An in-person conference…
Roll over, Wordle: Tabletop golf, cocktail bar tee’d up as KC’s next big game experience with Power and Light opening
Sinkers Lounge is reinventing mini golf in the same way Top Golf reinvented the driving range, said Matt Baysinger. “With all the ideas we have in our heads about what mini golf is, I think Sinkers Lounge will far surpass that. Tabletop golf is this combination of shuffleboard, mini golf and pool that doesn’t quite…