The Innovation Center had created several programs over the past decade that served technology-based startups at critical junctures in their journey, such as Digital Sandbox KC, KCInvestEd and Whiteboard2Boardroom. The Technology Venture Studio was created to house these efforts and offer continuity to those individuals creating and scaling innovative technologies.
“Innovative ideas can turn into marketplace realities with the right cultivating,” said Maria Meyers, executive director of the UMKC Innovation Center. “Connecting early-stage concepts to the people, resources and capital that can help them move from commercialization to market is an important part of connecting and growing Kansas City’s tech sector.”
The studio is a space where innovation and investment meet. The centralized approach drives more efficient use of capital and resources, which is better for the tech startups, better for investors and better for the local economy. Here’s a look at each of the programs housed in the studio:
- Whiteboard2Boardroom connects entrepreneurs and established businesses to technologies available for licensing at institutions of higher education, hospitals and corporations in the bi-state region to stimulate applied research, leverage innovation in the marketplace and accelerate the commercialization of technology.
- Digital Sandbox KC provides critical proof-of-concept funding, mentoring and connections to help founders build viable innovations ready for follow-on funding.
- KCInvestED connects investors in the Kansas City area with resources, events and tools to learn more about investing in early-stage companies.
The potential impact of the Technology Venture Studio is enormous. Digital Sandbox KC has already funded 188 proof-of-concept projects that have gone on to raise a collective $244 million in follow-on funding and earned $194 million in sales. Whiteboard2Boardroom is supporting 44 active technologies going from lab to market; six of those technologies have been elevated into the Technology Assistance Program where subject matter experts are recruited to offer insights at critical junctures for the inventors.