Sandbox Industries
IndustryVenture capital
Founded2003
FounderRobert B. Shapiro
Nick Rosa
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, United States
Key people
Managing directors:
Matt Bell
Steve Engleberg
Anna Haghooie
Tom [1]
Websitewww.sandboxindustries.com

Sandbox Industries is a venture capital firm located in Chicago. The firm focuses on connecting established corporations with disruptive startups via strategic corporate investment funds.

History

Sandbox was founded in Chicago in 2003 by Bob Shapiro and Nick Rosa.[2]

At its outset, Sandbox ran a startup Foundry that employed entrepreneurs and tasked them with researching and testing the viability of a startup concept. These companies were provided with seed funding, mentorship, and office space in exchange for equity.[3] Portfolio companies include Lab42,[4] FeeFighters[5] and Marbles: The Brain Store.[6] The firm has since ceased the internal founding of its own startups to focus on connecting corporate partners with entrepreneurs outside its own walls.

Sandbox Industries also founded two new business accelerators, Healthbox and Excelerate.

Healthbox, founded in 2011 and a strategic partner of BCBSVP, began as a three-month startup accelerator program that provides seed capital, mentorship, office space, and advisors to healthcare-related companies.[7] Healthbox also launched Healthbox Solutions, which expedited market entry for early-stage healthcare companies; the Healthbox Foundry, an evaluation and commercialization process designed to help organizations advance internal innovation; and Healthbox Collaborative Innovation Funds, which Healthbox developed alongside healthcare organizations to meet their individual needs.[8] In November 2014, Healthbox announced a partnership with Intermountain Healthcare to work with its Intermountain Foundry, where hospital employees with entrepreneurial ideas can work to make them a reality.[9]

Excelerate, founded in 2010 and based in Chicago, was a three-month startup accelerator program for tech-enabled startups.[10] It has since become a part of the TechStars accelerator network as TechStars Chicago.[11] Excelerate was named one of Tech Cocktail's Top 15 USA Startup Accelerators in 2012.[12]

Funds

Sandbox Industries manages four Funds: Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners I, L.P., Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners II, L.P., Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners III, L.P., and Cultivian Sandbox Food and Agriculture Fund II.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners Funds I, II, and III

Sandbox has an exclusive partnership with BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners to manage and invest BCBSVP Funds I, II, and III.[13][14] This group sources healthcare-related startups which, if invested in or partnered with, could further BlueCross and BlueShield's own goals or provide it with insight into industry trends, and makes recommendations to the venture partners.[15]

Sandbox Industries is the Fund manager for BCBSVP Funds I, II and III, which invest in healthcare-related startups of strategic relevance to BlueCross BlueShield. BCBSVP has made investments in Bloom Health,[16] Nexidia,[17] and Patientco,[18] among others.

Cultivian Sandbox Food and Agriculture Fund II

Cultivian Sandbox is a partnership between Cultivian Ventures and Sandbox Industries which invests in food and agriculture technology companies.[19] Fund II has made investments in Conservis,[20] Vestaron,[21] and EnEvolv,[22] among others.

References

  1. ↑ "Meet our Team". Sandbox Industries. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  2. ↑ "Best places to start a business in Illinois, according to NerdWallet". Chicago Tribune. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  3. ↑ Become an Entrepreneur--No Idea Required, Inc., April 2012
  4. ↑ Who Will Social Media Users Vote For? (INFOGRAPHIC), Mashable, October 2012
  5. ↑ Chicago's FeeFighters raises $1.6 mil, Crain's Chicago Business. 2011-01-13. Retrieved 2019-10-07
  6. ↑ Lost Your Marbles? Consider Them Found!, ChicagoNow, January 2012
  7. ↑ Thinking Outside the Box About Healthcare Archived 2013-06-21 at the Wayback Machine, World Business Chicago, November 2011
  8. ↑ Healthbox Raises $7M from Intermountain, HCSC, its first since founding MobiHealthNews, April 2014
  9. ↑ Healthbox to help entrepreneurs inside and outside Intermountain get to “yes” MedCity News, November 2014
  10. ↑ 150 Resources for Tech Startups, DailyTekk, April 2012
  11. ↑ Excelerate Labs To Become TechStars Chicago, Technori, September 2012
  12. ↑ Top 15 US Startup Accelerators Ranked; Y Combinator and TechStars on Top, Tech Cocktail, August 2012
  13. ↑ BlueCross BlueShield, BMW, Best Buy, And De Beers Venture Into New Investments, Fast Company, February 2012
  14. ↑ BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners Fund History, CB Insights, May 2017
  15. ↑ Startup Fever Grips Chicago Companies, From Blues To Law Firms, Crain's Chicago Business, October 2012
  16. ↑ Startup Bloom Health raised $5M, Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, January 2010
  17. ↑ Nexidia Secures over $23 Million in New Equity Funding, BusinessWire, October 2010
  18. ↑ Healthcare Expense Management Leader Patientco Receives $3.75M in funding led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Sandbox Industries, PR Newswire, August 2012
  19. ↑ Why Cultivian Ventures, Sandbox Industries invest in food production, Chicago Tribune, September 2014
  20. ↑ Conservis Corporation Announces Initial Close on $10 Million Series A Financing, Businesswire, September 2014
  21. ↑ Vestaron Corporation Closes on $10M Series C Preferred Stock Financing, Yahoo! Finance, August 2014
  22. ↑ EnEvolv, A Genome Engineering Company, Completes Series A Financing PR Newswire, March 2014
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