The results were clear for Rajiv Menon and his tech group Orlando Innovation League.
After being a highlighted organization for Innovate Orlando’s TenX Tech June event, his organization saw more members and general inquiries.
Menon called it a “big bump” and said the hits keep on coming.
“The concept of it was really powerful,” said Menon, founder of Orlando Innovation League and CEO and founder of Orlando-based Informulate. “We need more of that and it’s great that we are getting on a regular cadence of events.”
TenX Tech was an in-person networking event created by Innovate Orlando and held in June. The group took over downtown Orlando’s Wall Street Plaza, an entertainment district ringed by several restaurants and bars.
The closed-off event, which returns to Wall Street Plaza on Thursday, created an environment for the community to network.
An organization showcase
However, it also highlighted four organizations, including Orlando Innovation League.
The groups had a chance to show off what they do for the community.
“Having this be a recruiting event that highlights the different aspects of Orlando is a wonderful way to showcase Orlando tech,” Menon said.
The inaugural event in June drew nearly 1,000 RSVPs and was generally packed throughout the event’s three hours.
Feedback has been positive, with a good number relaying to Innovate Orlando that collisions were important.
“It left a lasting impact, fostering meaningful connections and sparking insightful discussions,” Innovate Orlando CEO David Adelson said. “This demonstrates the need for unity within our tech ecosystem.”
Orlando tech has seen a relatively quick rebound from a pandemic-driven slowdown.
An interconnected effort has fueled that rebound.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS TO THIS WEEK’S TENX TECH EVENT
Connecting with community
Tyler Reinholt, a regional representative for the human resources and benefits giant TriNet, said he attended TenX to engage closely with the tech community.
“TenX has helped me meet and connect with a lot of amazing people in the Orlando tech region,” said Reinholt, who has been helping small and medium businesses for five years. “There is a collaborative atmosphere at TenX that is sometimes difficult to find in other networking groups.”
For this Thursday, Innovate Orlando recruited four different groups to showcase, in an effort to expand the community’s understanding of what we have in the tech ecosystem.
Showcasing will be Downtown Orlando Partnership, SIM Central Florida, Full Sail University and Women in Tech and Entrepreneurship.
As the event grows, leaders meet slivers of the community who perhaps would not have known about them.
“I created Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship to tear down barriers and fuel collaboration,” said Raechel Canipe, CEO of Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship. “Events like TenX Tech unite our diverse tech community, creating spaces where affinity groups of all kinds can work together to drive remarkable innovations and build a more equitable future in technology.”
For Menon, seeing events like TenX Tech represents momentum in the tech industry.
It’s a culmination of the work that has been done in the community for several years.
Each event and group comes together to create a thriving startup and business community.
“There are a lot of positive aspects of momentum now that are all pointing in the right direction,” Menon said. “We are continuing to make noise and bringing people together and making sure those collaborations happen, that is an important function (of TenX Tech), too.”
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