Orlando Tech News

A Silicon Valley-based accelerator program launched two Central Florida locations in the last week, indicating its belief in the region as a potential technology hub.

Plug and Play Tech Center, which operates dozens of accelerators around the world, announced on Tuesday that it would operate a cohort of smart cities-based companies from Orange County.

The announcement came six days after a similar announcement of a sensor-based cohort in Kissimmee.

Plug and Play CEO Saeed Amidi on Tuesday put it bluntly as he addressed the crowd of educators, business owners and political leaders at University of Central Florida.

“There are a lot of rich, retired people in Florida,” he said. “I want to mobilize all of them to help (the) startups we will be accelerating. Not only giving them advice but also giving them money and mentoring them to be successful.”

Plug and Play’s arrival

Plug and Play Tech Center has been connecting large corporations with startups through industry-specific programming since 2006.

Among its high-profile successful investments are PayPal, Honey, Soundhound and Dropbox.

Amidi estimated that the three-month accelerator program in Orange County could boost up to 50 companies a year.

University of Central Florida President Alexander Cartwright said building strength in an ecosystem sometimes comes down to a numbers game.

Plug and Play is expected to take a look at as many as 250 businesses over five years.

“This makes it easier for them to know the strategies they should follow to get the resources they need,” he said. “It’s not just about teaching them how to do it but it’s also about finding the funding. That is huge.”

Anecdotally, small businesses in this region that are built around funding tend to struggle in the important period just after initial funding rounds. The result is many companies don’t have the chance to grow.

The Plug and Play program aims to address that funding gap.

However, beyond that, it’s a matter of exposing young companies to networks that Amidi and others have built up through decades of investments.

Osceola County’s sensor play

In Osceola County, the arrival of Plug and Play pushes forward a momentum that has been growing in recent years as local leaders advocate for diversification of its economy beyond tourism and agriculture.

Early this year, for example, the National Science Foundation awarded the region $16 million as one of 10 innovation engines in the country. The grant program could eventually reach $160 million if the region meets certain benchmarks.

Osceola County Manager Don Fisher said Thursday the next step in what is becoming an ever-evolving gameplan for the growth of the 500-acre NeoCity campus is outside funds.

“Plug and Play is the world-class leader when it comes to startups and venture capitalists,” he said. “That’s what they are going to bring to NeoCity to bring it to the next level and into the future.”

The NeoCity campus’ Master Plan revolves around strategies for innovation that focuses on sustainable development, economic growth and job creation in the region.

Plug and Play now becomes part of that, Fisher said.

“You need to start on what’s next,” he said. “And what’s next is private investment. (That means) working with Plug and Play and Saeed to get an expansion to the fabrication facility outside of these doors with private sector investment, not public.”

A growing Orlando presence

In Orlando, Amidi said Plug and Play’s presence will grow over time.

“We want to become part of the fabric of the community,” he said. “We want to help the younger and older entrepreneur build their dream and connect them to funding and corporations. And not only U.S. corporations but corporations all over the world to offer their products and services.”

“He’s committed to how to bring investment in from other places,” Cartwright said. “How do you get venture capital into Florida? When you have someone that is so connected who can vouch for us and say, ‘You need to come to Florida and invest in those companies,’ there is so much credibility to that.”

“He’s done it, he’s lived it and people are going to believe it.”

Roger Warren understands firsthand that entrepreneurship rarely goes smoothly.

By its nature, obstacles will arise.

But on those rainy days that inevitably come from starting a business, it is helpful that groups and meetups like Orlandopreneur exist.

“Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely road,” said Warren, who recently launched Huvi Gaming Center in Oviedo. “Many times it’s hard to get help because most friends are not in their own business and do not understand what we go though daily.”

“Orlandopreneur is crucial to keep the network of entrepreneurs together to help each other.”

That was kind of the point when Rupert Meghnot helped start the group in late 2022.

Ever since, it has grown to become one of the largest meetup groups in Central Florida, boasting an online following of more than 2,000 users.

The group routinely receives between 180 and 200 RSVPs online for its monthly meetup events.

“They’re hungry for personal interactions,” Meghnot said of his group’s membership. “They want new business opportunities and want to meet like-minded people.”

The model for Orlandopreneur is not a new one, nor is it the only meetup group in Orlando that brings together sectors of the business community.

The Orlando Devs meetup has more than 7,000 programmers that meet each month.

But Orlandopreneur has seen its growth come quickly primarily because of its focus on supporting startups.

“Everyone who supposedly controls the purse strings and the policies that affect us focuses almost solely on the big score,” Meghnot said. “Nobody considers that every ‘big score’ firm they try to attract (to Orlando) was once a startup.”

Instead, Meghnot said, the ecosystem should consider growing from within the city’s already existing business community.

“Attracting these larger firms to the area is important,” he said. “Creating them here is more so. This is the message that’s resonating with our members.”

The group grew out of Meghnot’s frustration with what he called a “lack of progress” in the city’s startup community.

That’s despite the city’s glowing rankings in areas like startup-friendliness, workforce availability and the cluster of entrepreneurial service organizations that already exist here.

“I wanted to create an organization that sets an example for what collaboration and innovation really means,” he said.

At each meetup, Rupert includes an educational component, usually focused on a topic that startups can benefit from.

“We made it a priority to include teaching because we want to encourage them to ask questions, develop the right mindset and plan sufficiently for their success,” he said

As he tries to build Huvi, Warren has found potential partners in as-yet-announced projects through Orlandopreneur.

He has been attending the meetup for more than a year and says he frequently walks away with some valuable contacts.

Earlier this month, the meetup showed off some of his hardware at The Vanguard, a downtown venue usually reserved for concerts and musical acts.

“I am in a much better place as an entrepreneur because of Orlandopreneur,” he said. “We find support in each other and that support leads us to many victories.”