Digital Sandbox welcomes four new startups led by emerging, veteran KC founders
December 20, 2019 | Startland News Staff
The latest round of founders joining Digital Sandbox KC includes relative newcomers to the startup scene alongside a Fountain City Fintech alum and a key player behind one of Kansas City’s biggest exits.

Digital Sandbox KC is a proof-of-concept program that significantly and rapidly moves early-stage entrepreneurs from concept to commercialization. It is a unique collaboration among private, public, university/research and philanthropic organizations.
The proof-of-concept program announced Friday the addition of four new companies for its fourth quarter: TripleBlind, led by Riddhiman Das, who made headlines as product architect for EyeVerify when the Kansas City startup sold to Ant Financial for more than $100 million before being renamed Zoloz; Particle Space, founded by David Biga, whose work has spanned from software engineering at EyeVerify to CitySmart and Griffin Technologies; Destiny, led by c, who guided the company through the inaugural cohort of Fountain City Fintech in 2018; and B!TLab Innovations, founded by Hasan Ali.
“This group showcases the wide spectrum of businesses assisted by the Sandbox,” said Jill Meyer, senior director of technology ventures at the UMKC Innovation Center who oversees the program.
More about the companies selected for support:
- TripleBlind is a marketplace that enables entities to safely provide and consume sensitive data and algorithms in encrypted space, without compromising privacy or security. Further, our platform will allow all participants to differentially control access to their data and to be paid accordingly for their respective content.
- Particle Space is a building and property management platform that completes the gap for total collaboration and communication through automated workflows. It enables a building’s pre-existing sensors to be added into our platform with no hardware purchases necessary, providing critical building analytics and cost savings using its “Intelligent Space Management” platform.
- Destiny is a debt management platform that helps financial institutions increase customer retention and uncover unforeseen opportunities with banking’s most crucial demographic; young and debt-laden customers.
- B!TLab Innovations’ Smart Resume allows job seekers to optimize their resume automatically for each specific job in one click. It analyzes resumes, compares them to a job description, gives you a score, and then tailors the resume.
Since its inception in 2013, Digital Sandbox KC has provided project development funding for 125 area startups, which has spurred more than $80 million in follow on funding.
“Momentum in Kansas City’s startup ecosystem continues to grow and we’re excited to contribute to that growth,” said Meyer. “We’re geared up for 2020 and are ready to continue to create opportunities for entrepreneurs in our region.”
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
How KC transformed entrepreneurship from counterculture into a model for the mainstream
Veteran ecosystem builders returned to the Heartland this week, urging a new generation of entrepreneur advocates to embrace Kansas City’s style of experimentation and its uniquely collaborative startup culture. “Entrepreneurship is not spreadsheets and business plans,” said Jonathan Ortmans, who founded the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) — the nonprofit parent of Global Entrepreneurship Week —…
They didn’t want to go corporate; how AI gave brothers the tools to forge their own path, together
Tyler and Garrett Amundsen are using AI to help insurance brokers spend more time on relationships and less time on data, the duo shared. Inspired by conversations around their family’s Kansas City dinner table, as well as the latest tech developments, the brothers launched LightDoc in early 2023 to automate and streamline repetitive tasks that…
He retired after an exit; now this govtech veteran is back in a CFO role for KC-scaled PayIt
As Kansas City-built PayIt scales across North America, a new financial leader is expected to help guide the company in its game-changing efforts to help government agencies modernize, serve their residents, and improve operating efficiency. Steve Kovzan, a nearly 30-year veteran of leadership across government technology and finance spaces, is now chief financial officer at…
KC Tech Council celebrates tax fix in Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that boosts growing businesses
A tax fix included in the recently signed “One Big Beautiful Bill” — sprawling legislation meant to overhaul taxes in the United States — marks a major win for Kansas City’s tech and innovation economy, said Kara Lowe. At issue: a long-awaited change to Section 174 research and development expensing that now allows businesses to…
