Digital Sandbox KC
Rewriting the playbook: Team Cura positions Gen-Z student-athletes for ‘college of their dreams’
For student-athletes playing the long game with their academic and athletic careers, Team Cura enhances scholarship odds and increases college readiness, said Rob Hughey, detailing an online training program that exercises professionalism like a muscle. “We want to make the process really streamlined,” said Hughey, who co-founded the Kansas City-based startup alongside his mother, Karen…
Missouri startup support funding gutted amid COVID; Advocates hope reversing course could fuel recovery
It’s official: the 2021 budget for a popular public-private partnership that once infused millions into the Missouri tech and startup communities has been wholly defunded by the state as Gov. Mike Parson grapples with COVID-19’s continued economic fallout. But supporters of the Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC) hope Parson’s move — withholding all of the program’s…
‘Beacon of light’ — Meet four new Digital Sandbox startups that could reshape KC tech
Digital Sandbox KC’s latest quartet of funded companies will help Kansas City build a better, more inclusive startup ecosystem, said Jill Meyer. “We’ve always been keenly aware of the inequities in the tech ecosystem, especially for entrepreneurs of color,” said Meyer, who leads Digital Sandbox and is senior director of the Technology Ventures Studio at…
Guy Experience founder spins Sandbox cash into opportunity for teen coding students
A new opportunity to build key, startup assets for The Guy Experience has Kansas City kids compiling their futures. “We really believe in giving them a project and believing in them,” Jerren Thornhill, founder of The Guy Experience, said of the startup’s new partnership with We Code KC. As part of the collaboration, We Code…
Already slashed to $1M, MTC funding for startups, innovation centers could hinge on COVID-19
Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop. A years-long effort to scale back Missouri’s funding for startup investment — coupled…
