Tag : Gio Punzo

By Nikki Cabus

GrowFL celebrates top 50 second-stage companies in Florida at 13th annual awards

The 13th GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Awards Celebration honored 50 outstanding second-stage companies from throughout the state for their innovation, growth, and communit impact. 

The annual event was held February 15th, 2024 at the Hard Rock Live, Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Florida with Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy Corporation, as this year’s presenting sponsor.

GrowFL, through diverse programs and services, provides proven methods to help overcome unique challenges facing second-stage companies as they grow. The organization is Florida’s only organization focused exclusively on supporting second-stage businesses. The awards program honors impressive second-stage companies from throughout the state for developing valuable products and services, creating quality jobs, enriching communities, and broadening new industries throughout Florida.

Second-stage growth companies have at least 6 employees and $750,000 in revenue and possess the intent and desire to grow beyond second-stage. This small but mighty group of companies make up only 12% of the businesses in Florida yet create 34% of the jobs in our state. In fact, from 2019 to 2022, the 13^th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Honorees generated close to 2 billion dollars in revenue and created more than 870 jobs. These businesses, beyond their startup phase, play a significant role in boosting regional economies.

50 honorees were selected after a final round of judging by a panel comprised of past honorees, economic development leaders and corporate partners of GrowFL. Companies were judged on a number of criteria including growth in number of employees; impact of the business in the job market; increase in sales and/or unit volume; current and past financial reports; innovativeness of the product or service; response to adversity; and contributions to aid community-oriented projects.

“GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch was designed to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and to shine a spotlight on the most deserving companies,” said Jennifer Taylor, president, and CEO of GrowFL.

“Second-stage businesses are the lifeblood of our state’s economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and fueling prosperity. This year’s Honorees span 20 different counties, represent 18 different industries and 32% of them are woman, veteran, or minority owned. This diverse group of honorees can only mean one thing – Florida is the place where entrepreneurs thrive!”

Of the 50 honorees, there were five companies from South Florida represented. Those companies are:

• Hollywood Woodwork (Broward) – manuafacturing
• Pointer Construction Group (Broward) – construction
• Spot Pet Insurance (Miami-Dade) – finance & insurance
• Streann Media (Miami-Dade) – information technology
• Weedoo Greenboat, Inc. (Palm Beach) – manuafacturing

South Florida Tech Hub member company, Streann Media, took home an award. Their Founder and CEO, Gio Punzo, made a ststement on social media, “We are super excited about the award that we received. Thank you, GrowFL, for giving us the award and having us attend the wonderful event.”

“What’s amazing about the reward is not just about the products that we have created that are touching millions of users. It’s about the jobs that our technology has created. Millions of people around the world are using our technology, but there’s thousands of people that are working thanks to the technology that we built. We are very blessed that through our technologies, our company is helping communities around the world create new jobs. We are forever grateful.”

“As Chair of GrowFL’s Advisory Board, I am honored to witness the remarkable growth and ongoing success of Florida’s businesses year after year,” said Pete Previte.

“These companies truly embody the true spirit of entrepreneurship and resilience. Like the 600 Honorees before them, they have overcome challenges, continued to innovate, and successfully lead their team. Their inspiring stories of triumph stand as a testament to the exceptional business environment that thrives here in Florida. It is our privilege to celebrate them and their remarkable achievements.”

As an annual awards celebration since 2011, GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch celebrates growing second-stage companies headquartered in Florida. Companies to Watch was developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation as a unique way to recognize and honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace with innovative strategies and processes, making them “worth watching.” To date, 650 companies across the state have been recognized as Honorees. Many of the past honorees have now grown their companies to stage 3 and stage 4 businesses employing more than 500.

In his congratulatory letter to the 13th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Honorees, Dan Wyant, President and Chairman of the Edward Lowe Foundation, highlighted how second-stage companies are truly our most valuable players.

“Historically, this group has been underserved in economic-development circles where the majority of effort and investment is spent on recruiting large companies from other regions or states. Yet when it comes to job creation, second-stagers punch above their weight, generating more than double their market share. Case in point: In 2022 second-stage companies represented 16% of all business establishments in the United States, but they generated 38.5% of all jobs, according to YourEconomy.org. This is even more pronounced in Florida, where second-stagers made up only 11.9% of the state’s companies in 2022 but represented 34% of all jobs.” You can read the full letter here.

The Edward Lowe Foundation was established in 1985 by Ed and Darlene Lowe to leverage entrepreneurship as a strategy for economic growth and community development. The foundation’s entrepreneurship initiatives focus on second-stage companies, which are growth-oriented firms that have moved beyond startup but have not yet reached maturity. Its peer learning, leadership education, and strategic information programs are geared to help these companies continue growing.