Orlando Tech News - Page 32 of 36

Orlando-area seed investment group finalizes founders, seeks to invest in local startups

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September 15, 2020

Orlando-area seed investment group finalizes founders, seeks to invest in local startups

An investment fund that has put money into a handful of Florida tech companies – including one in Orlando – has its initial founding group.

The 14 founding members of SeedFundersOrlando include several entrepreneurs with early stage business experience.

They have invested a total of $400,000 in the group.

The money will go toward investments into young companies, while the founding group will also provide mentorship where needed.

SeedFundersOrlando is one of three in Florida, with partner organizations also operating in St. Petersburg and Miami.

SeedFundersOrlando will help young companies seeking investments beyond “friends and family,” CEO and cofounder Dennis Pape said.

“There is a gap there,” Pape said. “Oftentimes, you either have rich friends or you turn to organizations like SeedFundersOrlando. This has been a major problem in Florida.”

Access to capital a challenge

Access to capital has been one of the major challenges for young tech companies across the U.S.

SeedFundersOrlando will seek investments in companies that have gained traction with their minimum viable product

That means potential customers who indicate they would support the idea and pay for it.

Pape has been a longtime advocate for Orlando’s tech scene, having run a coworking space downtown for several years.

He also ran an accelerator program that supported and mentored young tech companies downtown.

So he has seen his share of companies fizzle out in Central Florida.

“There have been a lot of startups that get funded by friends and family and then die,” he said. “They can’t get through the gap.”

The group has invested in five companies – ViewStub and Blue Halo BioMedical of Orlando, along with Rx Live, Intelligent Observation, and Safe Zone – since its first meeting in November.

Its stated mission is to “provide investment capital, mentoring, and connections to” tech companies.

“To build investment grade businesses here we need to get promising startups the early capital they need to begin scaling. It has been gratifying to see the progress SeedFundersOrlando has made in contributing to our mission,” said Richard Milam, a SeedFundersOrlando member and chairman of the board at Entrepreneurs Alliance of Orlando.

The stage of business beyond friends and family represents one of the more-crucial for startups. That’s because it’s a time to prove that people beyond your own circle want to use or buy your product or service, Pape said.

“You can develop the greatest thing in the world, ” he said. “But if nobody buys it, it’s irrelevant.

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Orlando storage startup led by Marriott, House of Blues veteran relaunches after pandemic-driven delay

Marco Santana

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September 14, 2020

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Orlando storage startup led by Marriott, House of Blues veteran relaunches after pandemic-driven delay

Dustin Gimbel says he has some “startup idea skeletons” in his closet.

Many entrepreneurs do.

But he says ideas that do not pan out often contribute to the next idea.

“You say, ‘Why didn’t this work?’” Gimbel said. “Then you take its lessons and apply it to the next project.”

His current project is Packed Up, a moving startup that incorporates technology into helping people store property between moves.

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Orlando-built device would enhance privacy, security in smart devices

Marco Santana

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September 10, 2020

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Orlando-built device would enhance privacy, security in smart devices

Electric Chateau with BuzzOff, the smart home device's snooze button.

Adam Bellas paid close attention to the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal around the collection and use of people’s private data.

As a systems architect for multiple businesses including, at one point, Full Sail University, privacy has become something of a trade for him.

So he took notice when the scandal started to receive mainstream media coverage.

“Cambridge Analytica really brought it home to people,” Bellas said. “It brought home how much privacy we had given up and how it could be used against us.”

The 42-year-old Orlando resident has helped launch an effort he hopes will counter that and give consumers a way to reclaim some of that privacy.

The Kickstarter launch

On Sept. 1, he and two partners launched a Kickstarter for a device that can shut off smart speakers and other devices that might be capturing conversations.

Users can set several variables of a BuzzOff device.

They can set how long an interruption will last or maybe customize the interruption for specific devices.

An initial Kickstarter push raised more than $2,000 but the campaign remains about $10,000 shy of its goal.

Bellas expects to measure the Kickstarter’s success in more ways than just funding.

“It helps us showcase to other investors that people are putting their money where their mouth is,” Bellas said.

Electric Chateau launches in March

The company Electric Chateau, which includes BuzzOff as a product, launched in March.

Bellas and his cofounders – Doug Classe and Darren Humphrey – went after it fulltime after a couple of years of the business being a side project.

Humphrey, a retired business owner, said he wanted a way to use technology for good when he stumbled upon the idea.

“I was working on building Alexa-controlled technology when I realized no one was looking at the elephant in the room: who controls Alexa?” he said.

That’s where the BuzzOff idea was born.

When Bellas moved to Florida from Maine in 1999, he did so as the Internet first started to flourish.

Full Sail grad makes good

After earning a degree from Full Sail University, the school hired him as a web developer.

He became one of the architects behind the college’s online presence.

A self-described “tinkerer and geek-culture enthusiast,” he

“I had been a tinkerer and geek culture enthusiast my whole life,” he said.

HIs immersion in the industry revealed some drawbacks, however.

“I know what’s possible and where it can go,” he said. “That’s what brought me onboard.”

If things work out the way Bellas and the team wants, this won’t be a one-time deal.

They plan to turn Electric Chateau into a product company that focuses on privacy.

As the popularity of devices like Apple HomePod and or Google Assistant grow, it could lead to more interest in BuzzOff.

To Bellas, it’s another way to use the technology he has been practically raised on professionally.

“I have always loved using technology as a tool and the toolset gets bigger every year,” he said. “When you talk to a client or customer, it’s important to know which tool to reach out and grab for. That is where expertise grows.”

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Startup U: What to show potential investors in a pitch

Marco Santana

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September 9, 2020

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Startup U: What to show potential investors in a pitch

Startup U. is an ongoing series that asks entrepreneurs and subject matter experts in the community to share their best business tips. The intent is to create a resource for new entrepreneurs, as well as those who might need a refresher. To contribute, email me at [email protected].

Lilian Myers, Starter Studio executive director, will lead her organization into a partnership with several others to host a pitch night. These events help young companies practice their pitch in front of actual audiences – though coronavirus might have something to say about that. She offered tips for businesses on what entrepreneurs should include in their pitches.

1. SIZE AND DYNAMICS OF YOUR MARKET

Your prospective investors want to know why they should care about the market you are after.

Is it big? Is it growing?

Are there dynamic changes that make THIS the moment to seize (think coronavirus)?

2. YOUR TARGET — USER AND WHY THEY CARE

Paint a quick picture of who your target customer is, why they aren’t being satisfied with the alternatives out there today, and what they are saying about what you do.

It’s all a never-ending customer discovery process you should start before you even get past the idea stage.

3. YOUR TEAM AND WHY YOU/THEY WILL PULL IT OFF

Use your history and credentials to establish yourselves as the ones to beat.

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Startups to head downtown for unorthodox drive-in pitch night

Marco Santana

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September 7, 2020

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Startups to head downtown for unorthodox drive-in pitch night

It’s going to be unfamiliar.

It’s going to be a challenge.

But at least it’s going to be a pitch night, an event that helps young companies gain much-needed exposure.

Starter Studio has partnered with Project Orlando, the Orlando Economic Partnership and Spectrum for the first-ever drive-in pitch night.

“We racked our brains trying to figure out a creative way to do this,” Starter Studio executive director Lilian Myers said.

A pitch night is born

The pitch night will start in downtown Orlando at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 18, at The Vanguard, 578 N. Orange Ave. REGISTER HERE

The event will feature prerecorded pitches on a movie screen in the parking lot. It will be broadcast on a dedicated FM band.

A q-and-a session will follow each of the pitches, with those who attend able to send questions via text message.

The creative approach, of course, is an effort to navigate the coronavirus pandemic.

Myers said several organizations in the community had been hoping to come up with a way to help startups in the pandemic.

That’s where the drive-in idea materialized.

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After all, Starter Studio has in the past hosted its own pitch nights for companies in the space’s accelerator program.

Why feedback matters to startups

The feedback at these events can often help a young company refine its pitch, Myers said.

“It’s invaluable,” she said. “It’s also virtually impossible to do one by one when you can’t gather.”

Project Orlando organizer Devan Deratany said restarting a community staple like pitch nights is all about the entrepreneurs.

It’s important that these founders continue building relationships and showcasing their ideas, she said. “We wanted to offer a creative and safe environment to bring together the Orlando Tech community and honestly, just give everyone a break from the world of webinars.”

Coronavirus pandemic brought any gathering to a screeching halt in March.

Since then, startups have received feedback remotely, for the most part.

Myers said just hosting something like the Drive-In Pitch Night could be beneficial to the startups.

“The most important thing for them is to continue to tune the highest-level message to any ear,” she said. “We have to reimagine how this works.”

As Orlando’s tech ecosystem continues to assess how coronavirus will affect it long term, Myers said the core of the effort remains the same.

“We want to be more intentional about connections,” she said. “We are making these things happen in an entirely different way but it’s happening.”

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OTN Sunday Chats: CEO tells how Datanautix landed Red Lobster as a client

Marco Santana

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September 6, 2020

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DATANAUTIX CEO SANJAY PATEL

The Winter Springs data analytics company Datanautix’ website boldly asks business owners: “Ready to read your customers’ minds?”

Well, it doesn’t exactly work that way.

But the company’s AI product does give businesses data-based insight into customers that can help them optimize an experience.

The product has helped the company land clients like Red Lobster, University of Central Florida and Orlando International Airport.

In the first-ever OTN Sunday Chats, we spoke with Datanautix CEO Sanjay Patel. He shared how his company has been able to thrive in Orlando.

Q: How has Datanautix been able to land high-profile clients like Red Lobster and others?

We have been found large enterprise clients in the community to work with as we enhance our AI software. We are also focused on the solution we provide and the impact it has. This makes it easy for clients to do a pilot and determine business outcomes and potential return on investment. That ensures clients get more value than it costs them.

Q: Why has analytics seemed to be adopted in such a wide range of industries?

We are in the “customer experience” space. So virtually every industry struggles with how to keep on top of customer experience feedback. Companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook have trained consumers that reviews need to be 1: a rating on a 5 star scale and 2: an open-ended comment. This has led to a drop in response rates to the traditional 20-40 question surveys. Companies that care about customers experiences are also savvy enough to know that there are other sources of data and analytics that drive a deeper understanding of customer perceptions.

Q: Where does that leave analytics?

Analytics has become a “table stakes” dimension from a strategic perspective. Therefore, companies that can get a better understanding of their customers and do it faster have a huge advantage. We effectively enable that for clients and accomplish it at a relatively affordable price point.

Q: How has being in Central Florida helped Datanautix?

The Orlando area has been maturing over the last several years in terms of creating an environment in which tech entrepreneurs can succeed. The UCF Business Incubation program has helped us survive (and thrive) in spite of some of the economic challenges the region has gone through.

Q: UCF has helped you in other ways?

Our proximity to UCF has been valuable. We have informal advisors at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management that provide guidance and have also leveraged the internship programs to get some amazing computer science students.

Q: You recently landed your first international contract. Tell us about that.

The company is a global oil and gas firm in Paris with operations in over 20 countries that will use our AI technology. Eventually we will become their primary provider of stakeholder perception analytics on a global basis – the first round of pilots will be starting soon.

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EA’s Maitland team navigated pandemic challenges to build Madden NFL 21

Marco Santana

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September 5, 2020

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EA’s Maitland team navigated pandemic challenges to build Madden NFL 21

Madden NFL 21 was the first in the storied game’s history to be built mostly remote.

The challenge of building one of the biggest franchises in video games had an unexpected twist this year.

The coronavirus pandemic pushed the team behind this year’s Madden NFL game home during the annual cycle’s most-crucial months.

In response, leaders called an audible.

“You have to become very flexible, figure out what works for everybody,” said Brandy Ingels, the Maitland-based development director on Madden. “Once we figured that out, we could see what we could get from the team. It took us resetting everything.”

Madden NFL 21 released on all consoles Aug. 28 to mixed reviews.

Most complaints revolved around a lack of new features, despite the debut of “The Yard,” a backyard-style football mode that debuts this year.

However, in a press release Thursday, Electronic Arts reported that first-week sales of the game have outpaced last year’s title.

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Madden NFL 20 ended up as the most successful in franchise history, according to the release. Those numbers partially reflect a general increase in gaming as people stayed home more during the pandemic.

As they built the game, managers quickly learned how to work with their teams in a new setting, Engels said.

“It wasn’t everyone working 9 to 6, like usual,” Ingels said. “Some might get up and work from 4 to 10. We just had to learn how to work in this environment, figure out the new norm, then work around it.”

Madden’s historic run

Every year, gamers have high expectations of Madden.

The franchise debuted in 1988 as John Madden Football and has released an annual video game every years since 1990.

Madden NFL 21 trailer.

In 1993, it changed its name to Madden NFL, a moniker it has stuck with since then.

The Madden series has sold more than 130 million copies.

In 2016, the game was nominated for induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s second class.

Two years later, it joined Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII as members of the 2018 class of the Rochester, N.Y.,-based facility.

“It’s one of the first game I ever bought with my own money,” said Producer JP Kellams, who led development of this year’s “The Yard” mode. “It’s surreal.”

“The Yard” is a create-a-player mode that allows gamers to customize a player, run them through pickup games and build their statistics up.

As he helped develop the mode, Kellams said a major challenge was tracking what his team was working on.

Instead of being able to pop his head over a partition in the Maitland office, for instance, he had to stay organized enough to receive constant updates from his team.

“The infrastructure that you had always relied on is no longer accessible,” he said. “So how do you build that new infrastructure and keep everyone safe while doing that?”

Pandemic’s effect on gaming

The pandemic was actually a blessing and a curse for video game companies like Electronic Arts.

While it forced teams to figure out how to work with a 100-percent remote team, it also forced more people to stay home, leading to record-setting sales numbers for both consoles and video games.

For Ingels, it meant more time at home, more time walking around the neighborhood, more time explaining to them what she did for a living.

“I never knew the amount of nerdy and geeky neighbors I had,” she said. “The amount of people buying their first console upgrade in a while has been crazy. It has opened up a lot of people to the idea of socializing through games.”

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Lake Nona biotech lab will help expand cancer-treatment research, trials

Marco Santana

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September 2, 2020

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Lake Nona biotech lab will help expand cancer-treatment research, trials

A new medical lab in Lake Nona will help in the effort to expand treatment and trials for cancer research.

The biotech company behind the lab, Protean BioDiagnostics, moved there in January.

The company will hire between 12 and 15 people in the next two years. It already employs about a dozen in multiple sites, including one in Canada.

Protean chose Lake Nona because of its strong presence in biotech, CEO Dr. Anthony Magliocco said in a news release.

“We looked around the state, and this was by far the best space to grow. Lake Nona’s medical city aligns with what we want to do now and into the future,” he said.

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Dr. Anthony Magliocco

They include medical lab techs, scientists and artificial intelligence experts.

“This is a company that will be on the forefront of Central Florida’s biosciences industry for years to come,” said Carol Ann Dykes Logue, a director of UCF’s business incubation program. “They have a great foundation with significant contracts to truly make a difference in people’s lives.”

Protean works with biotech and pharma companies on diagnostics and cancer screening tests.

The company hopes its tech will increase the availability of precision oncology treatments, or treatments specifically designed for a patient.

Presently, about 5-10 percent of cancer patients can access it, Magliocco said.

“Furthermore, managing all the new information about therapies and trials today is overwhelming for most oncologists, so we take that pressure off them to make recommendations for their patients.”

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Video game leader sets sights on teaching with new board game

Marco Santana

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September 1, 2020

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Video game leader sets sights on teaching with new board game

Chad Hoover of 8-bit Agile Consulting — Chad Hoover of Orlando Gamespace has developed a board game to teach project management using video game-related lessons. (Orlando Tech News)

If you have ever wanted to learn how to build a video game, Chad Hoover might have something for you.

Hoover, one of the driving forces behind the indie-game group Indienomicon, will soon launch a Kickstarter campaign for “Game Dev: The Board Game.”

The traditional board and dice-style game runs teams through collaborative projects with the end goal of building a video game.

For early access to the board game, visit Hoover’s company’s website.

Contributors to the campaign will be able to provide valuable feedback and, eventually, perhaps could see themselves make a cameo in the game as a character card.

Early access to the game is available at his company’s website.

Hoover says he hopes the project helps companies walk through scenarios that might arise during projects.

It might even help families bond over fun exercises, he said.

“If Dad and Jimmy want to have friends over to learn what it means to be on a team, they can,” he said.

A little D&D inspiration

The initial version of the game will focus on Scrum, a popular management style that emphasizes flexibility and iteration.

Hoover’s vision for the game essentially began about 2½ years ago.

That was when the longtime gamer discovered the popular fantasy role-playing board game Dungeons & Dragons.

The game hooked him almost instantly.

“I loved the ability to tell a story in a creative way,” said Hoover, who gravitated toward the role of the story-driving dungeon master.

Watch: Chad Hoover’s elevator pitch for “Game Dev: The Board Game.”

Indie game advocacy

The 34-year-old developer has advocated for indie video game developers with the group Indienomicon since 2015.

He has served as executive director for about two years.

LATEST ORLANDO TECH NEWS

Hoover, an independent game developer 10 years, heads Orlando Gamespace, a coworking space for video game companies near Lake Eola. He runs his own consulting business, 8-bit Agile Consulting, out of there.

When he graduated from Full Sail in 2010, his goal was common: to work at a big-name video game studio, namely the AAA studio Insomniac Games.

“I’ve never worked for a big company but I’ve done the grind,” he said. “The situations and environments (in the board game) are influenced by realistic situations.”

Hoover has worked at a handful of small, independent game studios, building his skillset.

His work with Indienomicon helped him build Orlando’s budding video game community.

“I want to teach Full Sail grads and other students to understand that if you want to be in the industry, head to the independent route,” Hoover said. “Yes, it’s harder but not everyone gets that golden ticket.”

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COVID-19 causes a shift

Chad Hoover at work — Chad Hoover works in his Orlando Game Space office last month. He will soon launch a Kickstarter for a new board game. (Orlando Tech News)

Like most entrepreneurs, Hoover’s work took a hit when coronavirus struck early this year. But he managed to keep members of his coworking space involved as things quickly evolved.

The response impressed him.

“It blew me away,” he said. “We are hitting the reset button. COVID made us look at what we can fix. This thing is completely different from what was originally built.”

As he sets sail with his first Kickstarter campaign, Hoover said community buy-in will be important to get the project funded.

In addition, it will be a big part of making sure the game provides a dynamic experience for players.

“I’m going to need stories,” he said. “My experience can only take me so far.”

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Startup U: How to land a patent, from an Orlando patent owner

Marco Santana

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August 26, 2020

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Startup U: How to land a patent, from an Orlando patent owner

Startup U. is an ongoing series that asks entrepreneurs and subject matter experts in the community to share their best business tips. The intent is to create a resource for new entrepreneurs, as well as those who might need a refresher. To contribute, email me at [email protected].

Lydia Chicles, Bold! Technologies CEO, PockitApp developer, recently landed a patent for her product, which converts physical coins into digital currency at a point of sale during a cash transaction. That could be helpful in the coronavirus aftermath. She offered some tips for those seeking a patent.

1. BECOME AN EXPERT TO BECOME AN INVENTOR

The biggest mistake we see most startups make is they rush to try to patent an idea without really understanding what they are getting into, or to solve a problem in an industry they don’t know.

It is important to have passion. However, fully knowing all aspects to a new technology or invention is absolutely necessary.

A successful inventor will learn everything they can about each aspect of the field, from the technology, to the business process, to the competition.

2. A PATENT ISN’T YOUR ONLY GOAL

The goal is not to create technology or an invention that is unique.

The goal is not to simply get a patent.

Your goal should be almost always to monetize the invention.

The invention and patent are a means to an end.

Sometimes startup founders get so stuck on the creation aspect of inventing that they fail to stop and ask whether they should be investing the time, money and energy into the creation.

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3. LICENSE INVENTIONS, NOT IDEAS

You need a patent pending so that you may license your technology or invention.

When you seek to license an idea alone, you can easily scare companies.

In some cases, startups try to pitch their invention and listening to an idea without tangible boundaries as defined in at least a provisional patent application can scare companies.

They simply won’t want to do it.

The further you can develop your idea, the better and more valuable it will become.