EUSTIS – Business owners in Lake County have a new resource after UCF’s Business Incubation Program opened its latest facility, this one located in Eustis.
The site, located in a small office in the MEGA Workspace on North Bay Street, will support entrepreneurs within the community with business services including coaching, mentoring and other services.
Area leaders said the facility’s debut could serve as a catalyst for growth in the community.
“We have not had the resources here to answer the question of, ‘How do I start my business?’” said Wendy Taylor, an online marketing expert who has helped lead a semi-resurgence of Lake County’s tech community. “This is a huge opportunity for local entrepreneurs, even those who just have an idea on a napkin. It’s an encouragement for business owners.”
The location becomes the incubation program’s ninth in Central Florida, and first in Lake County. The opening comes amid a concerted effort and commitment to revitalize Eustis.
That’s one reason Lake County officials bought in almost immediately, said Rob Panepinto, an adviser to incubator clients.
“If we can look back in 20 years and say, ‘We were the anchor that helped build economic diversity, what a great feeling that would be,” said Panepinto, the school’s director of innovation districts strategy and partnerships.
The UCF Business Incubation Program has graduated more than 400 businesses during the past 20 years.
The opening was done in partnership with the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF.
“We like to leverage our brand and be the catalyst to growth,” Panepinto said. “We know we can’t do it by ourselves.”
Mellisa McHaffie hopes the new location will help her build her candle-making business and accelerate her growth.
She said watching the region’s economic engine grow has been a source of pride for her.
“There are good things happening here,” she said. “It takes Eustis to a new level. I always say, don’t sleep on Eustis. There is value here.”
Officials expect the facility to trigger a growth in the business community, which can often happen when an incubator and business resources arrive.
It’s a natural result of seeing an energized business sector, said Carol Ann Dykes Logue, the incubator program’s director.
“When a community realizes that the future of their economy lies in nurturing businesses starting and growing there, it has an interesting effect,” she said. “It unifies a community and creates a different level of relationship. It could trigger a vision for the future that folks haven’t thought about before.”
Amy Beaird has a duty to build community in Central Florida’s technology sector. So she said she expects MetaCenter Global Week in mid-October to be a catalyst for just that.
“We are bringing together and showcasing what is in the region,” said Beaird, Florida High Tech Corridor’s chief strategy officer. “There is an emphasis and energy to really engage corporate companies more with startups. We are starting to see momentum and I hope we see more of that.”
To foster an environment where that happens, she said, means to get all tech sectors to push toward the same goal.
“Growth comes from cross-cluster collaboration,” she said. “So many companies and industries have their own way of working and developing innovative solutions but then you apply innovation from energy, modeling and simulation or start applying VR tech into life sciences, that’s where a lot of really rapid innovation and creativity can come out.”
Beaird is just the latest community leader to share their thoughts about how MetaCenter Global Week will benefit the city of Orlando.
As the event approaches quickly – it kicks off on Oct. 17 – we thought we’d round up all of the comments we have heard in the leadup to the week.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer:
“We have a thriving tech ecosystem here with both big companies and small ones but I don’t know that the world is necessarily aware of it.”
“It gives our companies and entities the opportunity to meet with people they might eventually collaborate with, perhaps. It lets the outside world know about the educational and various industries and how well we have parlayed our industry clusters.”
Blue Wave Resource Partners, CEO and Innovate Orlando board member Charlie Lewis:
“It’s bringing in an element of global attention to our city. But to do that, you need buy-in from the city and county so we can execute and show the highlights as they want them to be shown.”
Simone Babb, chief innovation and emerging technologies officer, Orange County
“I value the synergistic energy and passion in our community around technology. Together, we can shape the direction and footprint toward being a recognized and respected tech and innovation hub.”
Orlando entrepreneur Angela Alban, CEO, Simetri
“We have continued to evolve and that growth justified revising our message. That eventually improved our ability to attract talent and notoriety across the globe as a high-tech region.”
“We’ve made it. We are delivering on what was promised.”
Tim Hill, director of Central Florida operations, Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation
“This notion of coalescing all of these factions is a really big thing. When you start to get a central branding campaign, that’s a big deal.”
Kris Kolo, global executive director, VRAR Association
“Our members from Orlando deserve this. Orlando has already proven itself to be the metacenter for spatial computing and the opening of the Metacenter, and this event will showcase Orlando and Central Florida talent and innovations to the world.”
It appears the world’s most famous Mouse has its eyes on a Central Florida tech company.
The Walt Disney Company announced that Limbitless Solutions has landed one of 19 grants handed out Monday to companies in the region that are “making a difference.”
The grants totaled $1.5 million, with organizations like Children’s Home Society of Florida, Orlando Science Center and Zebra Coalition also landing on that list.
The monetary awards were meant for those “doing amazing work for our community,” according to a Disney blog post.
Limbitless Solutions specializes in designing, manufacturing and distributing prosthetic arms for children with limb differences.
The company has had some major wins since its 2014 launch, including a high-profile visit from Robert “Iron Man” Downey Jr. that went viral.
In the blog post, Disney leaders said the grants were an effort to support its hometown businesses.
“These are all initiatives we’re proud to support as a company. Our cast members also spend time personally volunteering with many of these organizations and others across the state through our Disney VoluntEARS program. So far this year, cast have spent more than 115,000 hours giving back to the place where we live, work and play!”
Here is a list of the grantees:
Bok Tower Gardens
Central Florida Community Arts
Children’s Home Society of Florida
Christian Service Center
Conductive Education Center of Orlando
Conservation Florida
ELEVATE Orlando
Foundation for Foster Children
Habitat for Humanity — Lake & Sumter Counties and Seminole County & Greater Apopka
Hope Partnership
IDignity
Limbitless Solutions at the University of Central Florida
OVEIDO, Fla. – It was something of a surreal experience for Doug Guidish.
On the one hand, his company Guard Dog Valves had just landed its first major order from a prominent hotel chain.
However, a shipping error sent a pallet of 3,000 toilet water valves to an electric bike company in Phoenix instead of his 2,000-square-foot production facility and warehouse in Oviedo.
“We were trying to meet an aggressive schedule,” said Guidish.
It turns out the logistics company handling the order just reprinted its previous customer’s address on the label.
Still, the experience of their first major sale served as validation, of sorts, for the small business.
“You can believe in a product all you want,” said Ryan Wilhelm, the company’s head engineer. “But when you’re new, especially for a product that is like no other, it’s hard to get people on board. So it’s a great thing when you have that leap of faith.”
Guard Dog Valves in the last year has sold more than 12,000 valves, which regulate toilet water tanks to conserve water – and, thus, save money – for businesses and homeowners.
The sales growth puts an exclamation point on the company’s best year since its 2014 launch.
Not bad for a company now run by a duo who met at UCF’s Society of Automotive Engineers club in 2008.
Business Incubation Program the latest UCF tie
Guidish’s connection to University of Central Florida has been a family affair.
His father, Guard Dog Valves CEO Jerry Guidish, enrolled all three of his children to the school.
It was Jerry, a Naples entrepreneur who had previously spent 20-plus years in the RV/mobile home park industry, who initially came up with Guard Dog’s product.
Once enrolled, Doug and his father discovered UCF’s Business Incubation Program and became involved almost immediately.
“They needed help in the basic areas that most startups need,” said Jim Bowie, associate director and site manager of the incubation program’s Kissimmee location at the time. “They needed help establishing their brand with a good logo, pricing, sales sheets and some doors open to get the product installed for proof of concept.”
In addition, the program connected Guard Dog with patent attorneys to protect their intellectual property.
At the time, Guard Dog Valves was transitioning from being a wired version operated by a bathroom lights’ on and off switch.
Instead, they were creating a battery operated version.
That’s what they installed at Lake Nona’s living laboratory, the WHIT House, again, thanks to connections from the Business Incubation Program.
Doug Guidish said UCF’s guidance was crucial to the company in the early going.
His father “assumed there are things he wasn’t aware of and thought he could jump through some hurdles more quickly (by connecting with the incubation program),” said the younger Guidish, who was once a logistics engineer with Lockheed Martin and interned at Siemens. “You don’t know what you don’t know but when you’ve been in a field for a long time, you have some knowledge. However, a Ph.D. in Physics isn’t going to answer questions about macroeconomics.”
Solving an addressable problem
The Orlando Utilities Commission estimates that leaky toilets and faucets amount to hundreds of gallons of wasted water each day in a household. Apply that same formula to hotels and the number grows exponentially. The company’s big break came when Guard Dog Valves landed an order from a major hotel chain.
A pilot program allowed them to test their hardware in five locations. After a successful test, they expanded that to 33 facilities.
The result for the chain was a savings of more than 55 million gallons of water in one year.
That amounted to more than $550,000 in water bill savings.
An advocate for Guard Dog within the hotel company who understood the product and the problem certainly helped.
“He had a good understanding of the value we brought to the company,” Wilhelm said.
The company installed the valves into the last building of that pivotal partnership in May.
The growth has come quickly since Guard Dog Valves launched the product on the market.
In 2021, the company sold 300 units.
That climbed to 3,000 last year and, so far in 2023, the company has sold more than 12,000 units.
The company has used a jigsaw puzzle of distribution methods, including Google ads, working with distributors and direct-to-consumer strategies.
“Entrepreneurs sometimes get caught up in ‘majoring in the minors,’” Bowie said. “The UCF management staff helps keep them focused on where they should be spending their time, energy and priorities.”
How it works
Guard Dog Valve’s premise comes from a simple plan to save money by conserving water.
But the mechanics around how it does that can become complicated, involving a series of motion sensors, automated actions and valves that are released at the right time.
Once the smart-sensor equipped valve detects motion, it opens and then closes after a certain period of time.
The idea behind Guard Dog Valves was first explored by Guidish’s father, himself an entrepreneur who still serves as company CEO.
By tracking data on a test device, he found that just a rudimentary version saved 25 percent. That number remains consistent today.
Doug Guidish grew up with a small business mindset.
His father, after all, ran a business that managed a cluster of RV parks.
In addition, he was also handy with a tool belt.
A leaky toilet flooded his own father’s home, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage.
That’s when he started to explore solving the problem.
“He always had that entrepreneurial bug,” Doug Guidish said. “It provided a unique lifestyle.”
Guard Dog’s Future
The operations in Oviedo is relatively bare-boned.
A team of four designs, creates and assembles the valves day in, day out.
The company’s initial concept started with a comparatively rudimentary device.
The installation often involved a hard-wired device that would necessitate cutting holes through a customer’s cabinetry.
“It was a mess,” Guidish said.
Today, however, the device comes in a single package, embedded with motion sensors and batteries.
In addition, Guidish and Bluth have been developing a small, water-wheel-like contraption that produces its own hydroelectric energy, which should increase battery life.
Essentially, when you flush the toilet, the water wheel mobilizes and conducts electricity to recharge the battery.
The idea is to provide an even longer life so that replacements are needed less frequently.
It’s yet another example of a company evolving to build a sustainable business.
“It really is a rollercoaster of highs and lows,” Doug Guidish said.
When Mason Mincey launched Soarce, he likely never dreamed it would lead to the world-renowned Fashion Week in Milan.
But there he was recently, in the fashion capital of the world, testing clothing materials and meeting with businesses that might be future partners for his team’s renewable clothing company.
The path to Milan started at the University of Central Florida. On Wednesday, Mincey was back on his old stomping grounds, at UCF Startup Fest.
This time, however, he had some success under his belt.
“We all start at different times but everybody is the same and goes through similar paths,” he said. “We wouldn’t be at this point without the people we met here.”
The festival brought together several businesses with resource providers, school-run organizations and others interested in the startup community.
The chance for entrepreneurs to meet with like-minded people creates a symbiotic learning environment.
That’s exactly the point behind events like the Startup Fest, LaunchPad Executive Director Cameron Ford said.
“They can meet other students who, perhaps, have already been through it and can help them understand what’s possible,” he said.
The event also introduced those who attended to several Orlando-based organizations that support or promote Orlando’s tech scene.
Lined up along the walls were representatives from groups like Starter Studio, Orlandopreneur and Startup Weekend.
It offered these organizations a chance to not only build their membership groups but also impart wisdom as experienced entrepreneurs.
“The number one thing is persistence,” said Rajiv Menon, an Orlando entrepreneur who was at the event representing the upcoming Startup Weekend. “Even if you have innovative technology to deal with a problem, you’ll still have a situation where you take a punch in the face.”
He said a soft landing into the Orlando tech community is a benefit of the festival, too.
“It’s great that they are getting that exposure in a sandbox,” he said.
Samara Taxil’s jewelry business Lorzeus has been a work in progress.
However, by working through UCF’s program and attending the festival, her confidence in the enterprise grew.
“It really finalized what I wanted to do,” said Taxil, whose company recently launched. “It drove me to have more passion because I can talk about the business with more confidence.”
As he met with students who were building their businesses, Mincey recalled how he faced some of the same obstacles they had been facing.
“We were in the same position that some of these students are in right now,” Mincey said. “It’s sometimes hard to appreciate where you come from but it does come full circle.”
The Startup Fest can help students see what they could never learn in a classroom, Ford said.
“I want students to understand the resources that are available in the community and on campus to support entrepreneurial education to serve their aspirations,” he said. “Startups have that purity.”
It was quite the homecoming Friday night for Magic Gaming’s first All-Star, Joshua “unguardable” Hunter.
The 21-year-old guard pulled off an impressive double dip, being named MVP of both the 3v3 and 5v5 All-Star games of the NBA 2K League.
The New York native led his 3v3 team to sweeps of two others in his hometown and then scored 32 points, five assists and three steals in the 5v5 matchup between conferences.
“I came into the night with the goal of winning at least one of the MVP awards, and I ended up with two,” Hunter said. “I’m definitely blessed for that one. I did it in front of my family, so that was even better.”
Hunter said previously that his parents, brother and nephew would be in attendance on Friday.
Hunter scored 12 points and dished out three assists in the first 3v3 series against Team ANT.
Then, in the second 3v3 series, he scored 14 points and had 2.5 assists per game.
The performance earned him the MVP award in that tournament.
“I feel like I’m the best player in the world,” he said after the event in a press release. “While we haven’t had the success to go along with it yet, I believe eventually we’ll get to prove it. Being with all the stars of the league and then showing that I was the best here, it felt great.”
Joshua Hunter started practicing his video game skills as a kid for the same reason many other younger brothers do.
He wanted to beat his older brother in games like NBA 2K as a way to silence trash talk.
Now, however, the Magic Gaming guard clearly has the upper hand.
Hunter became the first Orlando player to earn a nod in the NBA 2K League All-Star Game, which tips off Friday night in New York.
“He won’t even play me anymore,” Hunter said of his older brother with a laugh. “He is super proud of me but he does like to take some credit for me being so good.”
Hunter, whose gamer tag is “unguardable,” has proven to be so this season, scoring 25.6 points and dishing out 11.9 assists per game in the team’s 5v5 lineup.
It should be a family affair in New York for Hunter, as he expects his brother, his parents and his nephew to be in attendance.
It’s a far cry from the days when his parents would ask him to stop playing video games so much.
“They love it now,” he said. “Now, here I am, one of the best in the world, making money doing what I enjoy. It’s a great feeling.”
Trade changed his career path
Last year, Magic Gaming traded for Hunter and almost immediately made him the focal point of its offense.
The move paid off, with Hunter finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2022.
It’s the first time a Magic Gaming player has reached an All-Star game since the league launched in 2017 with the franchise as one of the original 17 teams.
“He brings a level of play that is unmatched by others across the league,” Magic Gaming GM and Head Coach Jonah Edwards said in a news release. “We are blessed to have him.”
The feeling is mutual from Hunter, who credits the team with helping him earn some recognition by making him a focal point of the offense.
“I love the organization,” he said. “I think being on the Magic has helped start to get some recognition.”
The 21-year-old planned to spend some time roaming New York, where his family is from, before Friday’s game.
He said he has had to sacrifice some vacations and family time so it will be good to spend a few days with them in the Big Apple.
In fact, the All-Star game will be the first time his family will be in attendance at one of his games.
The whole experience, he said, has been surreal.
“Before, I wanted to be a top YouTuber,” he said. “I wanted to beat the top players in the league. Now I’m considered a top player and people want to beat me. That’s pretty cool.”
Howard Herbert has experience on both sides of military contract work. While with the U.S. Air Force, Herbert occasionally became involved in procurement.
Now, as part of Scottsdale, Ariz.,-based Polaris Aero, he can take his experience into meetings while seeking work for the company’s cloud-based intelligence platform.
“When we brief the Air Force on our products, we can say that we have been in their shoes,” he said. “We know what they need as they make a pre-flight check. Basically, we know what they need before they know what they need.”
Perhaps that gave Herbert an advantage at Central Florida Tech Grove’s inaugural Innovation Marketplace.
The new event gives potential contractors face time with military brass in the region.
“We are looking to get our foot in the door with the Department of Defense and this is a good first step,” said Herbert, who is based in Boca Raton. “That’s the hardest part in this industry because we could have the best product on the market but until we get in front of the person who needs it, it’s a struggle.”
That’s one reason the team at Tech Grove, bolstered by the Orlando-based military community, created the event.
Event will return
Grove director Carol Ann Dykes Logue said they had been hearing from business leaders asking how to get in front of decision-makers in government.
The goal is to do a marketplace at least three times a year, with an invite-only format that gives 24 businesses a chance to show off their wares.
“It is like when you go to a farmer’s market, you request a booth,” Logue said.
The benefit for the contractor is clear: getting in front of the government.
On the flip side, however, it also gives government a chance to see solutions the public sector has been building.
“It’s an easy way to dip into the marketplace and see what’s out there,” Logue said. “It makes it easier for them to find solutions.”
A familiar setting
Jose Neto of PC Warriors has become familiar with the Central Florida Tech Grove.
Earlier this month, he participated in a hackathon at the space.
He attended the Innovation Marketplace to help his company make inroads to both the military and potential partners.
“It’s about meeting the key players and getting a feel for what they are looking for,” said Neto, who was Air Force paramilitary. “Most of these companies build great products but when it’s time to sell to the military, it’s not easy without a liaison.”
Landing military contracts can sometimes be difficult for companies that have not done so in the past.
In fact, sometimes the only way to do so is to subcontract on a deal with an experienced company.
However, events like the Innovation Marketplace can make barriers less daunting because initial meetings happen in a casual setting.
Eduworks has already gone through certifications and other processes required to work with the government.
But before that, it had to serve as a subcontractor on military work with others.
“As a small business, it can be tough to get in front of everybody on a regional basis,” said Tim Welch, program manager for the Orlando-based firm. “This connects you to the government and other businesses in the space.”
An Orlando startup that provides Web and mobile communications software for teams has landed a spot in a public safety accelerator program organized by Amazon.
Intrepid Networks, which has its business office on Colonial Drive near Mills, will start the 4-week Justice and Public Safety GovTech Accelerator this month.
The company has in the past worked with Patrick Space Force Base, Las Vegas Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department, among others.
The program will be hosted by Amazon at its brand new HQ2 in Arlington, Va., a facility that opened its doors in May. Intrepid will be one of 13 companies at the accelerator.
According to a press release, the selected companies “develop innovative solutions enabling justice and public safety agencies to better serve their communities.”
First responders, emergency services, corrections and other public safety agencies were specified as target agencies being helped by the companies in the accelerator.
“911 call centers are facing unprecedented challenges, with high call volumes, legacy technology, and short staffing. Courts and other public safety organizations are being targeted by a rising number of cyber events,” said Kim Majerus, vice president of global education and US state and local government at AWS in the release. “The AWS GovTech Accelerator was created to support the development of technologies that can address these challenges.” The thirteen startups selected have demonstrated a technology solution that has real-world application, and we are excited to work with them.”
The startups and the problems they solve
10-8 Systems Mission Viejo, CA Advanced, cloud-native computer-aided dispatch and records management software (RMS) for law enforcement, emergency services, fire, and private security, created by first responders.
APDS New York, NY A career readiness platform that features the Whole Learner Framework, which focuses on engagement and personalized learning. APDS equips learners with skills for rewarding careers while fostering societal strength by reducing recidivism rates.
Atlas One Austin, TX A crowdsourcing platform for anonymous tips, evidence, and information in local neighborhoods and communities that automates time-consuming back-office tasks. The platform can improve public safety by automating alerts, encouraging citizen reporting and enhancing operational efficiencies—ultimately saving law enforcement agencies time and resources.
eHawk Lees Summit, MO A criminal justice technology company driven by its RePath platform, which seeks to decrease recidivism, increase operational efficiency, improve participant outcomes, and reinforce adherence to conditions in both pre-trial and post-trial supervision, showcasing a commitment to accountable practices and economical solutions.
ForceMetrics Denver, CO This company streamlines data exploration and analytics across systems and provides rapid access to vital information, empowering public safety professionals to make data-driven decisions for the benefit of the community.
Intrepid Networks LLC Orlando, FL An intuitive web and mobile software platform that empowers teams to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate over a shared operational picture for both day-to-day operations and emergency/incident response.
MedEx Forensics Madison, WI Develops and deploys digital forensic technology for public safety that can be used to identify abusive content and its origins, fight digital crime, and combat disinformation.
Multitude Insights Cambridge, MA This startup analyzes, matches, and suggests collaborative opportunities between law enforcement agencies and public safety stakeholders. The company’s BULLETIN (BLTN) tool generates summaries of information and uses machine learning tools to aggregate relevant, disparate information to improve the accuracy of investigations.
R3 Score Technologies, Inc. Baltimore, MD The company’s data-driven scoring algorithm uses 11 key factors to assess character, capacity, and current choice, to help employers hire candidates with arrest or conviction records in a compliant fashion.
Revir Technologies, Inc. Austin, TX Software-as-a-service solution for Intelligent Digital Evidence Management Systems. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and public defenders can use the company’s AI-powered Scout PD platform to improve evidence management and accelerate discovery of truth.
School Guardian Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil A school safety platform designed to improve security, agility, and communication with school communities through a combination of AI, geolocation, QR codes and more.
Wi-Fiber Bethesda, MD A SMART Network infrastructure provider that leverages hardware, software, services, and applications to connect and protect communities.
Zero Eyes Conshohocken, PA ZeroEyes is a human-verified AI weapons detection platform that identifies threats at first sight, helping detect and identify potential dangers.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has watched the city’s economy undergo multiple transformations since his first election in 2003.
Sometimes, it’s a matter of necessity.
As the coronavirus battered Orlando’s tourism industry the previous three years, he turned his attention to economic diversification.
At the same time, he noticed the tech industry thriving, even as COVID-19 completely hamstrung the city’s 500-plus hotels.
So, among other things, he leaned into the Orlando tech industry.
He famously held his 2022 State of Downtown address in virtual reality in December.
Then, in May, he threw his support in early to announceMetaCenter Global Week during his annual State of the City.
As that weeklong celebration and showcase of Orlando’s tech community approaches – as the major tech event in Orlando next month – Orlando Tech News caught up with him to get his thoughts on the industry and the upcoming event.
What is it about MetaCenter Global Week that has you excited?
It’s a great opportunity to raise the profile of Orlando’s reputation as a tech community. We have a thriving tech ecosystem here with both big companies and small ones but I don’t know that the world is necessarily aware of it. The whole notion of the MetaCenter (Global Week is) having all the people come to Orlando and expose them to what we have to offer.
What could it mean to Orlando’s tech community?
It gives our companies and entities the opportunity to meet with people they might eventually collaborate with, perhaps. It lets the outside world know about the educational and various industries and how well we have parlayed our industry clusters. These include military, simulation and training, Creative Village, Lake Nona and some of these tech-focused businesses at incubators like Starter Studio.
Can you talk about the significance of Innovate Orlando becoming its own thing recently?
The whole notion of having an entity like Innovate Orlando break out of the Orlando Economic Partnership and stand on its own is certainly significant in terms of demonstrating where we stand as a tech community. We have gained notoriety around the country in terms of what we have to offer here. That’s continuing to get exposure by having a week focused on Orlando’s innovation and tech offerings.
The industry we are known for is actually one of the original tech industries.
If you think about this in terms of our tourism industry, some of the high-tech aspects of the theme parks absolutely go hand-in-hand. These are some of the forebearers of these technology innovations. Modeling, simulation and training and the live experiences offered at theme parks go hand-in-hand in terms of the type of people that would have that expertise and it’s transferable between industries.
Global Week is a combo of offerings. What could the future of the event bring?
Combining Synapse and the summit into one week was a big deal. What we need to do is look around us. I think this will grow. It might be reminiscent of South by Southwest, which didn’t really know what they would become in the early days. I am hoping in 2043 we can say, ‘Gosh, remember what this was like in 2023?’
Can you talk a little more about Innovate Orlando’s presence now?
I think it’s a big deal that it happened. It’s not unlike the fact that Visit Orlando was once a part of the chamber a long time ago and then came out to stand on its own. In some sense, this is a similar move. It’s cool to see. Visit Orlando was there to help a growing economy and has since become a huge part of our economy. I believe Innovate Orlando could serve that same purpose.
How big was it that Orlando had a thriving tech community during the pandemic while COVID hammered tourism?
The growth in our tech community continued during the pandemic as if it weren’t a pandemic. We always talk about diversifying the economy and having a segment that can continue to grow and thrive while other pieces are impacted. Having that is important to the overall health of the community.
