Digital Sandbox, Innovation Stockyard offer funding, support for St. Joseph entrepreneurs
Digital Sandbox KC and the Innovation Stockyard are looking for early-stage entrepreneurs in St. Joseph who need a little help launching their products and services.
Applications are open now for the next round of Digital Sandbox’s St. Joseph program. It’s designed for companies with the potential to achieve big growth quickly.
Selected companies could secure up to $15,000 in funding for product development and proof-of-concept costs, along with three to six months of coworking space at the Innovation Stockyard in the Kit Bond Incubator.
“We find that the Sandbox draws people with ideas who may not have known where to go,” said Jeff Shackelford, Digital Sandbox KC’s director. “We’re creating a pipeline for early-stage, high-growth-potential companies in the St. Joseph area by utilizing all the local resources and all the resources associated with Digital Sandbox KC.”
Interested? Apply by Jan. 12. Seven companies will get the chance to make their case to a panel on Jan. 26 in St. Joseph.
Digital Sandbox KC started a few years ago in Kansas City, but it recently expanded north thanks to a Missouri Technology Corporation grant won by the Innovation Stockyard. The City of St. Joseph and Buchanan County provide matching funds.
“The partnership with Digital Sandbox KC has been terrific,” said Ronan Molloy, Innovation Stockyard’s president. “We’re working together to help fill an existing gap in the ecosystem, maximizing our existing resources and increasing the quantity and quality of early-stage entrepreneurs in northwest Missouri.”
Digital Sandbox recently approved its first St. Joseph company, Toss It Curbside, which carts away unwanted items to donation or recycle centers.
“The funding from Digital Sandbox KC and St. Joseph will help our business go further, faster,” said Aaron Brennan, Toss It Curbside’s co-founder.
This article originally appeared in Thinking Bigger Business on November 8, 2017.
https://ithinkbigger.com/digital-sandbox-innovation-stockyard-applications-open/
