Digital Sandbox KC funding three UMKC student-led startups

Kansas City business incubator Digital Sandbox KC selected three student-led companies for proof-of-concept funding support Tuesday.

The enterprises were selected from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s E-Scholar program and will join three other E-Scholar companies selected in June as part of Digital Sandbox’s partnership with UMKC. Each student startup will receive $10,000 in project development funding.

“The partnership between Digital Sandbox and UMKC E-Scholars program has been terrific,” Jeff Shackelford, director of Digital Sandbox KC, said in a release. “This was a great example of two Kansas City programs collaborating and together producing higher results.”

Here’s a bit more on each of the student-led companies:

Bulletyn digitizes traditional campus bulletin boards in real-time to increase student engagement with local events. Organizations using the platform also will be able to track and use analytics for event-planning purposes.

gr8box assists customers in finding foods free of the “Big 8 Allergens” of milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. Customers purchase a subscription to receive a monthly box of eight health snack and meal items, which they can then buy locally or in the company’s ecommerce store.

AddVenture creates online advertisements that are video games, incentivizing engagement. The advertisements, called GameAds, are short online video games branded to a business that aim to generate website traffic, boost brand recognition and leverage sales.

The UMKC E-Scholars program is an entrepreneurial development program offered through the university’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The program provides student entrepreneurs with the support and resources to launch scalable and sustainable ventures. Since its first graduating class in 2011, the program has helped launch more than 160 companies.

Digital Sandbox KC is a startup incubator that aims to move early-stage entrepreneurs from concept to commercialization. It provides proof-of-concept resources, including market validation, prototyping and beta testing support. Launching in 2013, the incubator has since worked with more than 300 entrepreneurs across the Kansas City metro area and spurred $22.7 million in follow-on funding. Digital Sandbox KC recently welcomed six other local startups into the program.