Technology Venture Studio
Nurture, support and grow our region’s founders and their early-stage innovations.
The Technology Venture Studio helps move early-stage innovations from concept to reality—all to create jobs and economic impact, attract more equity funding to our region and establish Kansas City as a tech hub.
Featured Programs
Speed to Market
Whiteboard 2 Boardroom
Through the Whiteboard 2 Boardroom® program, the Studio accelerates innovation by connecting entrepreneurs and established businesses to technologies at research universities, hospitals and corporations across the bi-state region.
View available technologies
Funding for Growth
Digital Sandbox KC
Through Digital Sandbox KC, the Studio provides critical proof-of-concept funding, mentoring and connections to help founders build viable innovations ready for follow-on funding.
Get to know the 100+ Sandbox companies
Primed for Investment
KCInvestEd
KCInvestED connects investors in the Kansas City area with resources, events and tools to learn more about investing in early-stage companies.
Learn about investing in early-stage companies
“Supporting high-potential, early-stage companies is critical, and Digital Sandbox KC creates a pipeline for the type of companies we want to work with.”
– Maggie Kenefake, Managing Director, Fountain Innovation Fund
Building a pipeline of innovation and investment
Successful innovators need access to resources, teams, investors and expertise to help them move their ideas to market.
Technology Venture Studio at the UMKC Innovation Center creates that pipeline for early-stage innovation, equipping innovators and investors with the connections and knowledge they need to build community, vet ideas, scale innovations, create business and jobs and energize our regional economy.
Access to support
At its core, the Studio helps tech entrepreneurs build momentum to grow and scale their businesses. Through access to innovations, early-stage funding, and connections to investors, the Studio provides innovators with key resources to build their networks and move to market faster.
Access to capital
Early-stage grant programs and equity investments pressurize the pipeline for later investment. The Technology Venture Studio and the entire UMKC Innovation Center team works in this space to monitor the capital continuum, improve access to capital, garner community and corporate support and help companies survive the “valley of death” to achieve ultimate economic impact.
View the KC Capital Dashboard
Access to investors
We build bridges and connections between entrepreneurs and investors to help accelerate regional innovations—from the proof-of-concept funding of Digital Sandbox KC to the investor education and network of KCInvestED and through CapitalMatch, a matching tool that helps educate investors and entrepreneurs about early-stage capital.
Access to innovation
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or investor, the Studio gives you early access to homegrown innovations. Entrepreneurs and business owners can tap into technologies that are ready for licensing through Whiteboard 2 Boardroom. Investors and corporate leaders can get an early-line of sight to tech and innovative startups through Digital Sandbox KC portfolio companies.
Access to community
Powerful collaborations grow powerful business. Through Studio programs like Startup Boards 101, Summer in the Sand, Talent Match, Board Match, Capital Conversations and Technology Roundtables, we’re helping invigorate our region’s tech culture and make Kansas City a hub for entrepreneurial talent and innovation.
Subscribe to tech events
Access to expertise
The Studio provides wrap-around support to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, training and connections they need to navigate each phase of early-stage innovation. We help them test their ideas and build their go-to-market strategy, build their network of fellow tech entrepreneurs and mentors, prepare to pitch to investors, create and recruit their startup board and prepare for SBIR/STTR funding.
View classes and training available for tech startups.
“We are extremely grateful to have been awarded the Digital Sandbox KC grant. While the grant itself will help us get to market much faster, we are even more excited to just be a part of the Sandbox family, with all of the other companies that are actively improving the startup community in KC.”
– Max Schanker, Founder of SWOT
Contact the Technology Venture Studio
Interested in learning more about our companies and how you can launch or accelerate regional innovations?
