ORLANDO, Fla. (September 1, 2023) – The push to increase dedicated news coverage of Orlando’s robust tech innovation community took a big step forward today as Orlando Tech News brought on the UCF Business Incubation Program as a key partner.
With this partnership, Orlando Tech News will be expanding its coverage of entrepreneurs and tech businesses who have roots in the region or who expand to Metro Orlando.
“When you look at competing markets for innovation and technology, they nearly all have a few key news outlets devoted to telling the stories of its entrepreneurs and its businesses,” Carol Ann Dykes Logue, director, programs & operations, Innovation Districts & Incubation Program, University of Central Florida said. “Orlando Tech News can make a key difference for entrepreneurs and innovators in Central Florida. We look forward to working with OTN to tell the story of our dynamic Incubator clients and graduates and their growth.”
The relationship with the Business Incubation Program will result in more consistent content related to the businesses the Program supports, as well as the entrepreneurs behind them as well as events it hosts.
Beyond that, it will allow Orlando Tech News to devote more time to telling other stories within the overall Central Florida tech community.
“I have become re-energized by the energy and growth in Central Florida’s tech community,” Marco Santana, Orlando Tech News’ publisher and creator. said. “Receiving support from such a prominent organization makes me feel like I’m pursuing what I am supposed to pursue, putting my skills to use in a way that helps the tech community.”
Santana arrived in Orlando in October 2014, spending nearly eight years as the technology reporter for the Orlando Sentinel. He launched Orlando Tech News in August 2020.
Ever since he arrived in Orlando, Santana has spoken with countless startup founders, along with numerous tech CEOs and high-profile tech figures like Tim Cook and Elon Musk.
While at the Sentinel, Santana became the go-to tech reporter in Orlando, netting him a series of scoops, including SpaceX’s desire to land rockets and an exclusive invitation to follow Cook during a visit to a local Apple store to award a student scholarship in person.
Orlando Tech News focuses on the people who drive Orlando’s tech and innovation ecosystem, using the skills honed during Santana’s 15-plus-year career in journalism.
To learn how to support Orlando Tech News, visit the website here.
About the UCF Business Incubation Program: The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has provided vital business development resources resulting in over 300 local startup companies reaching their potential faster and graduating into the community where they continue to grow and positively impact the local economy.
With eight facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. In 2022, current incubator clients supported over 1200 employees and generated over $120 million in revenue. Nineteen companies graduated from the program and remained in the local community. For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.