Digital Sandbox expands to St. Joseph, partners with animal health incubator

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.