ORLANDO, FL – May 19, 2017 – The Florida Venture Forum and Space Florida are pleased to announce the three top winners of the 10th Annual 2017 Florida Early Stage Capital Conference and Space Florida’s Accelerating Innovation prize, held at the Omni ChampionsGate in Orlando on May 19, 2017. A total of 22 Florida-based companies from across the state and a variety of industry sectors were selected to present before an audience of investors, deal professionals and entrepreneurs.
A panel of judges reviewed each selected company’s presentation and supporting materials. The top three cash prize winners were:
First Place $75,000 – SiteZeus, Tampa (www.sitezeus.com) the new evolution in location intelligence, driven by exceptionally engineered big data systems and unparalleled data visualization technology.
Second Place $50,000 – Auxadyne, Keystone Heights (www.auxadyne.com) has an exclusive licensing agreement with FSU for the design, manufacture and distribution of the first commercially available auxetic foam in a variety of medical device and protective equipment applications.
Third Place $25,000 – Admiral, Gainesville (www.getadmiral.com) offers an advanced adblock analytics and automatic revenue recovery. They provide a multi-faceted platform that enables publishers to size and solve the unique adblock problem presented by their unique userbase.
The 22 presenting companies were selected from a statewide pool of more than 130 applicants by a committee of active Florida venture capitalists and other investors. Space Florida provided the Accelerating Innovation prize money totaling $150,000. Past early stage presenters have attracted more than $56.5 million in funding and investments.
“In its 10th year, the Early Stage Capital Conference has become a mainstay in the venture capital arena in Florida, and Space Florida is pleased to continue its involvement with the Florida Venture Forum’s efforts in promoting Florida-grown companies,” said Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello. “Congratulations to not only the winners of the Accelerating Innovation prize, but to all the presenting companies on a job well done.”
“The Forum’s Early Stage Capital Conference set a few important records in 2017: our largest-ever number of applicants, record overall attendance and the largest investor attendance in the event’s 10-year history,” said Kevin Burgoyne, President and CEO of the Florida Venture Forum. “We take these milestones as very positive indicators of an increasingly robust and well-rounded early stage ecosystem. We congratulate our winning companies, and thank Space Florida for their strong support.”
In conjunction with the 2017 Early Stage Capital Conference, The Florida Venture Forum is pleased to announce the three winners of the 7th Annual 2017 Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition, held at Omni ChampionsGate in Orlando on May 19, 2017. A total of 13 universities from a cross section of Florida brought their top students to compete for best in the state. The top three winners were:
Winner: Sensatek Propulsion Technologies, Reamonn Soto – Embry-Riddle University
First Runner Up: Logentix LLC, Randy Lopez – Florida Polytechnic University
Second Runner Up: Spared, Ryan Lockwood – University of Tampa
About Space Florida: Space Florida was created to strengthen Florida’s position as the global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration and commerce. As Florida’s aerospace and spaceport development authority, we are committed to attracting and expanding the next generation of space industry businesses. With its highly trained workforce, proven infrastructure and unparalleled record of achievement, Florida is the ideal location for aerospace businesses to thrive – and Space Florida is the perfect partner to help them succeed. www.spaceflorida.gov.
About The Florida Venture Forum: The Florida Venture Forum is Florida’s largest statewide support organization for investors and entrepreneurs, helping emerging Florida companies connect with sources of capital from across the country. The organization provides programs statewide throughout the year in addition to hosting the Florida Venture Capital Conference, the Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and the Early Stage Capital Conference. www.flventure.org.
