Jeff Shackelford, Executive Director of the Digital Sandbox in Kansas City, recently announced that the unique proof-of-concept center will continue helping start-ups in the information technology space.
Launched in September 2012 with a U.S. Commerce Department i6 challenge grant, Digital Sandbox KC has worked with more than 200 entrepreneurs and early-stage companies across the metro area. Results to date include:
These companies represent a range of industries, including health care IT, data security, creative mobile apps, big data, consumer products, technology platforms and more. Digital Sandbox KC is a unique collaboration among public, academic, philanthropic and corporate partners. Kansas City corporate partners include Sprint, Hallmark, VML, UMB, Rarewire and others.
A new round of funding provided by the Missouri Technology Corporation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Business and other local corporations, confirms the value proposition of Kansas City’s Digital Sandbox. Entrepreneurs and early-stage companies are able to submit requests for project funding at Digitalsandboxkc.com and the review process started in mid-October.
“We’re pleased to announce Digital Sandbox KC 2.0,” said Jeff Shackelford, “We set out to fill a known gap in Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and prove that you can drive economic growth by helping early-stage entrepreneurs move their ideas into new business starts that create new jobs.”