Sandbox Industries

Sandbox Industries, LLC, is a new business incubator and early-stage venture capital located in Chicago’s West Loop. Sandbox was founded in 2003 by Robert Shapiro and Nick Rosa. They are the current managing directors along with Steve Engelberg and Matt Downs. Sandbox launches new businesses and invests in seed stage software and tech-enabled businesses.
In the area of business development, Sandbox has launched six new companies to date:
<ul>
<li>Morgan Street Document Systems: a web-based software that organizes and manages documents and important information for high net-worth individuals</li>
<li>Orggit: a subsidiary of Morgan Street Documents, is a web-based platform designed for the mass market to manage their important information, credit cards, and documents. Orggit users can also access their information through an iPhone application. Orggit was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal article, Gathering Vitals of Your So-Called Scattered Life, by Walt Mossberg. The article compares Orggit to another information storage system. Mossberg emphasized that Orggit “allows you to store separate sets of information for up to 10 family members or other people, who can share some or all of their information with each other”. </li>
<li>: a retail store that sells products designed to exercise various brain functions and help adults maintain and develop their brain fitness. Marbles has four retail locations in the Chicago area, and plans to expand further. </li>
<li>A Fresh Squeeze: an online e-newsletter that provides information about green living and provides discounts at businesses localized to both Chicago and Seattle. A Fresh Squeeze was sold by Sandbox Industries in 2009. </li>
<li>Defy: a specially formulated, all-natural enhanced water that contains vitamins, antioxidants, and fruit extracts that promote healthy skin. </li>
<li>Embodi: a non-alcoholic health beverage that contains the nutritional benefits of two bottles of red wine in an 8 oz bottle. </li>
</ul>
Sandbox also invests in early, seed-stage companies. The first external deal Sandbox invested in is a company called Readeo, an online service that allows parents and grandparents to connect and read to their children and grandchildren online. Readeo was recently featured on CBS Chicago.
Sandbox also manages the BlueCross BlueShield $116 million corporate venture fund. The fund is sponsored by the BlueCross BlueShield Association, and invests in emerging companies of strategic relevance to the 11 Plans that have made voluntary capital contributions to the fund.
Sandbox is also one of the founders and investors in Excelerate, a summer-long boot camp helping entrepreneurs build their companies by providing them with mentors, customers, and investors. Sam Yagan, Executive Director of Excelerate and Founder of OkCupid, created Excelerate to bring deal flow to Chicago and make it "the Silicon Valley of the Midwest".

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu