South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
17
Sep, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

CIC Miami is elevating the future of BioTech and Life Sciences in South Florida

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Seven BioTech and Life Sciences startups were welcomed into CIC’s International Soft Landing Program. 

CIC’s international Soft Landing just ended 22 hours of master classes led by 10 well-connected facilitators with 7 Startups as part of the BIG in BIO program from The Ganesha Lab, a global accelerator for Latin American science and technology-based startups.

Cambridge Innovation Center, or “CIC,” is a global leader in building and operating innovation campuses that support the growth of entrepreneurs and startups. Founded in 1999 with a single location in Kendall Square, the company now operates more than 1 million square feet of shared workspace, wet labs, and event space in the US, Europe, and Asia. Its collaborative work environments support thousands of individuals in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors who are focused on innovating solutions to local and global problems.

In partnership with The Ganesha Lab, the recent cohort attracted startups from diverse origins and six different countries including Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom and the United States representing a “global melting pot of talent.”

“International Soft Landing has changed the trajectory of dozens of entrepreneurs by giving them the skills and unique tools needed for an international organization to grow and make a splash in the U.S. economy,” said Alejandra Winter, Director of CIC’s International Soft Landing.

Established in 2016, International Soft Landing is a CIC platform program designed to support entrepreneurs with mid-sized companies who desire to expand their operations into the U.S. It’s an opportunity for entrepreneurs to gain cultural and practical understanding of business in the U.S. through an immersive experience.

The cohort provides unique programming developed specifically to help applicants gain the skills and knowledge needed to expand in the U.S., develop a broader business network, and meet potential investors and U.S.-based mentors. This program is especially equipped to support startups in tech industries, such as fintech, biotech, and edtech, given CIC’s deep roots and connections in the innovation economy.

This cohort included startups from The Ganesha Lab on a mission to redefine healthcare and sustainability through innovative solutions addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time in the fields of BioTech, Diagnostics, Healthcare Access, and FoodTech. Having had success in securing funding in Latin America, these startups demonstrate the real potential for growth in the U.S. market and their readiness for global expansion.

The Ganesha Lab is a global biotech scaleup for science and technology-based startups in Latin America with the aim of “better understanding culture and responsiveness of evolving humans, connecting the worlds of science, biotech, entrepreneurs and people.”

“We are confident that the knowledge gained from exceptional mentors during this experience will play a pivotal role in their internationalization journey,” The Ganesha Lab wrote in a recent social media post.

Meet the startups and their leadership here:

  1. AQUIT | Improve natural immunity in fish with an innovative and non-invasive treatment to prevent infections during production.
  2. Biogea | Promotion of an environmentally friendly organic agriculture through a groundbreaking safe and sustainable liquid solution.
  3. DELEE | A state-of-the-art technology that isolates and analyzes circulating tumor cells from the blood, allowing the effective detection of early-stage cancer.
  4. Hedonix | A breakthrough method of producing ingredients for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets, through unconventional microorganisms and CRISPR.
  5. innovai | Delay of microbiological spoilage in salmon fillets through a product that prolongs the preservation and freshness of salmon fillets.
  6. TREARS Biomarkers | Detection of chronic diseases, such as depression and diabetes, among others, through the study of earwax.
  7. Synergic Bio Solutions | Francisco Rivera, José Luis Flores – Fighting osteoporosis through ionic calcium and microencapsulated vitamin D, ensuring the delivery of these minerals directly to the bones.

But the collaboration with The Ganesha Lab goes beyond the cohort, for the second year in a row we are working together to bring the BIOHUNT Summit Miami 2023. Where early-stage biotech startups will meet with key industry players and investors, from the US, Europe and Latam. On November 7th and 8th, The Ganesha Lab and CIC will bring Biohunt Summit 2023 to Miami.

The 2022 summit brought out over 250 people. The event sought to make the potential of Latin American biotech startups visible in the U.S. market and generate connections to transform science into a good business. The venue served as a perfect place for attendees to connect and build the initial bonds during the brunch that kicked off the event, to then be followed by the presentations of the startups in the dolphin tanks.

The first day, which will take place at the Rubell Museum, will be focused on investors and the potential relationships they can create with the founders of the startups. This engagement will unfold through two sessions of dolphin tanks with stellar presentations and the participation of extraordinary speakers.

On the second day, the activities will move to the Mana Tech Auditorium, and the activities aim to give startups the opportunity to surround themselves with industry experts to better understand the dynamics of setting up in the United States. Stay tuned for more info and registration opening soon!

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06
Sep, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

GOVO Venture Partners Co-Leads $5M Seed Round in Climate-Tech Startup Kind Designs

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GOVO Venture Partners, along with M4 Investing and the Florida Opportunity Fund, is co-leading a $5M seed investment round in Miami-based Kind Designs.

This is the third portfolio company investment GOVO has made since announcing the launch of its venture fund, GOVO Fund I, in January.

It’s estimated that by the year 2100, Miami will be completely submerged by water by 6 – 10 feet “resulting in mass migration,$217 Billion in lost homes and Miami being submerged,” according to the Kind Designs. Empowering nature with technology, Kind Designs is a climate-tech startup that’s addressing rising sea-levels by revolutionizing the outdated and traditionally toxic seawall construction industry.

Through its use of innovative,  patent-pending 3D printing technology, and eco-friendly materials, Kind Designs is producing the world’s first 3D-printed Living Seawalls™️. The Living Seawalls™️ mimic coral reefs and mangroves which protect coastal communities from floods and storm surges, while creating marine habitats that host biodiversity and improve the quality of the water, The Living Seawalls sequester carbon and collect essential water quality data through embedded sensors.

Anya Freeman, Kind Design’s founder and CEO shared, ”we are thrilled to have a Florida-based firm with deep roots in the community and government expertise lead our round, enabling us to protect all coastal cities with Kind’s Living Seawalls and grow far beyond our home state of Florida.”

In a recent social media post, Anya also shared this sentiment, “Your team of investors knows how to get stuff done. It’s GO TIME in Miami!!”

Rob Panepinto, GOVO’s managing general partner, said of the investment, “In response to sea level rise, government agencies throughout the world will seek to adopt policy and guidance for ecologically responsible sea walls. By applying its proprietary and innovative technology, Kind Designs is setting the standard and solving a global problem. We look forward to collaborating with our co-investors and the Kind Designs team as they work to become the market leader in the space.”

 

GOVO Venture Partners is a Winter Park, Florida based company. GOVO Fund I is a venture fund that invests, seed round through series A, in early stage companies for which doing business with government or navigating government regulations is an important success factor.

4 Investing is a Florida based family office that owns and operates a diverse portfolio of companies. The firm also invests in real estate, private equity funds, and direct venture capital.

Earlier this summer, The Florida Venture Forum and co-host, Space Florida, hosted the 2023 Aerospace + EmergingTech Forum awarding over $200,000 in cash and VC investment and Kind Designs took home $40,000. In addition to the cash prizes awarded, DeepWork Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Orlando, is announced they will also invest in Kind Designs.

Read more here.

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04
Sep, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Miami agtech startup Envonics acquired by world leader RussKap

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Miami-based agtech startup Envonics announces their recent acquisition by world leader RussKap.

Founded in 2019, Envonics has become a leading provider of precision agriculture solutions that enable farmers to achieve optimal crop yields through real-time monitoring, optimization, and data-driven insights. By combining cutting-edge AI-powered technology with a deep understanding of agriculture, Envonics empowers farmers to make informed decisions that enhance productivity, sustainability, and resource efficiency.

This acquisition brings together two major industry players with a shared commitment to revolutionizing sustainable solutions with cutting-edge innovation. Diversifying into agricultural solutions is also a new milestone in RussKap Water’s business and product strategy, bringing new revenue opportunities to the company.

RussKap Water is the world leader in Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG) technology developing advanced AWG systems to produce clean water from the moisture in the air. With a strong focus on quality, sustainability, and efficiency, RussKap Water has become a trusted provider of Atmospheric Water Generation solutions across various sectors, including military, commercial, and residential applications.

The current market base of RussKap consists mainly of industrial, commercial, military, and residential clients in over 40 countries. By integrating Envonics’ product offering with Atmospheric Water Generation, RussKap Water will be able to better develop and serve its agricultural market.

RussKap Water and Envonics bring together top-tier research and development teams and diverse experience in their respective fields. With this acquisition, RussKap Water will expand its market base, providing clients with advanced water solutions for controlled environment agriculture. Envonics will dramatically accelerate its growth trajectory and improve its product offering with new capabilities while continuing to deliver on its commitment to small and enterprise farms.

“Envonics is at the forefront of data-driven agricultural solutions with an exceptional product offering. Integrating our innovative AWG systems with their technology stack will make a tremendous impact in advancing sustainable farming practices” said Ed Russo, CEO at RussKap Water.

Widely recognized as a premier developer in AWG technology, RussKap Water serves as the largest supplier of AWGs to the US military and Department of Defense. With a proven track record in providing high-quality atmospheric water solutions, RussKap Water has transformed the landscape of water sourcing by harnessing the fully-renewable supply of water in air to generate clean and healthy drinking water at the point of need. The company’s revolutionary AWG systems utilize an internal ozone water treatment system to produce drinking water that exceeds global health standards all while greatly simplifying the process of accessing clean drinking water.

“We are thrilled to welcome Envonics into the RussKap Water family,” said Yehuda Kaploun, President at RussKap Water. “Envonics is transforming controlled environment agriculture and by combining our advanced water generation technology with their precision agriculture solutions, we can provide farmers with a comprehensive toolkit to improve their water and crop management needs on all fronts.”

Since its inception, Envonics has been dedicated to supporting farmers worldwide with state-of-the-art precision agriculture solutions. Its primary offering – Envonics Vertical Ecosystem (eVE) – is a plug and play solution that collects real-time crop data and utilizes an AI cloud ecosystem to automatically optimize irrigation and crop environments. By monitoring and optimizing crop conditions in real time, Envonics empowers farmers with actionable insights that maximize yields, enhance sustainability, and improve overall efficiency.

In recognition of the company’s important progress, Envonics was recently awarded a competitive research grant from the National Science Foundation. Their innovative system has set a new standard for precision agriculture, ushering in a new era of data-driven farming practices.

Customers can expect to see this system integrated with RussKap Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) which will allow growers to determine and maintain the best minerals, water content, and soil composition to make crops grow as quickly and as healthy as possible. RussKap customers can expect to see this included in RussKap’s product offering as they integrate their water from air technology into comprehensive water solutions for agricultural clients.

Lior Barhai, Co-Founder and CEO at Envonics said, “Our mission has always been to enable farmers to maximize the quality, sustainability, and efficiency of their agricultural operations, and we are delighted to join forces with the team at RussKap Water, who share that passion. This deal will enable Envonics to leverage RussKap Water’s scale and expertise to further develop our technology and deliver value to our clients at a faster pace. We look forward to continuing our advancements in data-driven agricultural solutions and are ready to hit the ground running.”

RussKap’s resources will allow Envonics to advance their goals much more rapidly than possible alone. The acquisition has given the Envonics team increased bandwidth that will allow them to expand R&D, improve product offering, and ultimately reach more customers. The joint efforts of RussKap Water and Envonics will lead to the development of innovative solutions that optimize water usage, increase crop yield, and reduce environmental impact. This collaboration will greatly contribute to achieving global goals of improving food security, water access, and sustainability, ensuring more efficient agricultural solutions for future generations.

Lior shared that he realize this was the right opportunity for Envonics when he thought about how RussKap’s mission was so very aligned with their own and how “our combined efforts will lead to better innovations in providing healthy food and healthy water for the world. Additionally, RussKap is a company with global reach and recognition, and is always innovating and looking to integrate emerging technologies. Their world leading AWG systems were the missing link in stabilizing water minerals content for our solutions.”

RussKap Water will become the sole shareholder of Envonics, which will continue to operate as an independent brand and business unit led by Co-Founder and CEO Lior Barhai. Some members of the Envonics team will stay on and RussKap will be bringing new members to the team as well. RussKap is currently a privately held company; no financial information was shared.

“The emerging tech environment in South Florida has been a great aid,” stated Lior. “There is a loud community here and a lot of public interest which has greatly assisted in our growth. The ability to grow year round in South Florida has also been a great help.”

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23
Aug, 2023

By Adam Elitzur

Modern Trials and InterSystems Collaborate to Transform Clinical Trial Recruitment

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Modern Trials®, a startup aiming to transform clinical trial-patient matching, is now collaborating with leading healthcare technology provider InterSystems®.

Currently, clinical trial recruitment is accomplished by either relying on doctors to refer the patients they think will meet trial eligibility criteria or by patients responding to a trial advertisement. Neither of these methods are very effective, as there are over 50,000 active clinical trials that each have very specific eligibility criteria. The collaboration between Modern Trials and InterSystems aims to solve this issue.

 

The Birth of Modern Trials

Founded in 2019 by Dr. Christopher Ochner and Dr. Alexander Logsdon, Modern Trials aims to match patients with clinical trials that could potentially save their life by connecting patients in need of advanced treatment options through democratizing access to clinical trials.”

Dr. Logsden, a practicing clinician often experienced his patients desperately seeking, but unable to find, appropriate clinical trial opportunities. Dr. Ochner had been working in research administration, running clinical trials and noticed companies spending tons of money trying to promote these trials and desperate to find patients. The two parties were continuously missing each other.

Dr. Ochner had the unfortunate experience of his own mother, Mae, being diagnosed with stage IV cancer. After frantically searching for clinical trials that were both clinically relevant and immediately available, he continuously come up empty handed. Dr. Ochner had to find her a clinical trial fast and rightfully assumed it would be easy because he works in the field. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“I spent a month and I couldn’t get it done for my own mother,” Dr. Ochner told South Florida Tech Hub. “And that’s having been in the industry 20 years. I said to my Co-Founder Logsdon, “You were right, this system is broken and we need to fix it.”

That was the birth of the Miami-based Modern Trials.

Modern Trials sits at the intersection of health care and life science, partnering with healthcare organizations who have the patients in need of additional treatment options. They ingest the healthcare organization’s patient data and then make it searchable for their life science customers, clinical trial managers, in a private and secure manner.

 

How can InterSystems help?

InterSystems delivers high performance, cloud- first data platforms that solve data interoperability, speed, and scalability problems for large organizations globally through unifying disparate data into a single, complete view to enable better business outcomes. InterSystems’s IRIS for Health – Community Edition enables interoperability between EHRs and health applications, which enables utilization of data across distributed systems. This product arguably makes InterSystems the mac daddy of EHR data integration. What is EHR data integration you ask?

Modern Trials needs to search for patients who meet specific trial eligibility criteria (sometimes 50 or more) from EHR data. This data comes from many different healthcare organizations which means it comes in different formats and structures, and uses different standards, units, conventions and terms. However, for that data to be useful, it must be all made completely uniform. This monumental task is a major challenge when trying to utilize health records from different sources, particularly at scale with millions of records.

It’s incredibly complex and the reason that getting your medical records where and when you or your provider need them seems impossible. InterSystems IRIS for Health – Community Edition is built to do exactly this. Modern Trials will use it to ingest very large amounts of data from different sources (and therefore in disparate formats, structures, etc.) so that it winds up neatly and uniformly formatted on their database. This enables their customers to search that data and get accurate results. Ochner states; “For Modern Trials, this is key; it makes it possible to query this data so the right patients can be found and presented with potentially life-saving opportunities.”

InterSystems, a provider of next-generation data solutions that support mission-critical applications and drive digital transformation, has been the information engine powering some of the world’s most important applications in business, government and healthcare since the 1970’s. Some of their largest healthcare customers are Epic and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Their products have received global industry recognition from Forrester, Gartner and KLAS Research and they have a 45-year history in the digital health sector working with the largest and most successful providers, payers, health networks, and health IT companies in the world. In fact, InterSystems is the world’s most popular data platform for healthcare, with more patient records managed on its technology than any other company. Of particular relevance to Modern Trials, InterSystems has an expansive network of EHR data and numerous healthcare organization clients that could benefit from clinical trial matching services.

The collaboration between Modern Trials and InterSystems aims to solve the previously insurmountable issue of bringing the right patients together with the right trial opportunities, largely facilitated by the EHR data integration enabled by InterSystems. “When we go through all the EHR data, we can pre-screen people without having to bother them,” Ochner explained. “This way we go directly to the individual and we already know that they’re very likely to meet criteria. About 96% of patients want to hear about it. They really appreciate having relevant opportunities brought right to them.”

The collaboration provides benefits for both companies. “InterSystems has a huge footprint in the healthcare space and a sizable but smaller footprint in the life science space,” Ochner stated. “Modern Trials sits right at the intersection of health care and life science and this collaboration illustrates the utility of InterSystems technology for life science customers. Their technology enables us to do what we do so this collaboration will also showcase how Modern Trials enables healthcare organizations to provide advanced treatment options to their patients. We are grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate to InterSystems the value in providing trial recruitment services to their clients through Modern Trials.”

An innovation like Modern Trials, paired with a trusted player in healthcare informatics like InterSystems, could revolutionize the trial recruitment process, potentially solving the most expensive pain point in the therapeutic approval process. This would increase access to new medications and medical devices for patients in need, and reduce the time and cost associated with bringing new therapeutics to market. Ultimately, Modern Trials and InterSystems hope to accomplish the mission of providing the opportunity for a better and longer life to every patient in need.

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22
Aug, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Finalists Announced for the 13th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch

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GrowFL just announced the Finalists for the 13th Annual Florida Companies to Watch Awards and nine South Florida and Treasure Coast companies made the list!

A prestigious recognition program celebrating high-performing second-stage companies that demonstrate innovative business strategies and excellent potential for future growth, the 13th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch is brought to you by Duke Energy and Nperspective CFO & Strategic Services, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Companies to Watch is a unique way to acknowledge the remarkable achievements of second-stage companies that contribute significantly to the state’s economic vitality. These companies have successfully navigated through challenges and exhibited outstanding entrepreneurial leadership and innovation, creating a positive impact on their communities and industries. Since 2011, GrowFL has recognized 600 companies with this prestigious award. Many of the past honorees have now grown their companies to stage 3 and stage 4 businesses employing more than 500.

More than 150,000 high-growth second stage companies headquartered in Florida represent nearly 4 Million jobs. That’s almost 30% of the jobs from less than 5% of the state. Second stage companies are no longer worried about failing, but focused on growth and job creation bringing real economic impact to their geographic regions.

To qualify for the award, companies must have between 6 and 150 employees and revenue between $750,000 and $100 million in 2022. The finalists were selected from more than 550 nominations from throughout Florida and represent a diverse group of growing companies representing a variety of industries. Together, they reported a total of more than 2,770 jobs and generated close to $813 million in revenue in 2022. These companies anticipate growth of 29 percent in revenue and 21 percent in employment by the end of 2023.

“The companies selected as Finalists are a testament to the resilience and creativity of Florida’s entrepreneurs. They are thriving in an ever-changing business landscape, and their accomplishments inspire others to strive for excellence,” said Jennifer Taylor, president and CEO of GrowFL.

“Each finalist has demonstrated outstanding growth and innovation, positioning them as leaders within their industries. We are honored, year after year, to celebrate the outstanding success of the entrepreneurs in our state.”

One of the second-stage company Finalists in the running is Streann Media, a content-creation and streaming company, disrupting the content landscape. The company has built the most complete OTT platform in the world with a powerful Content Management System, Content App Editor and 150 tools to distribute, engage and monetize live and on demand content. Streann’s innovations include proprietary integration with Artificial Intelligence and Patent Technologies for Monetization. The Miami-based company has won multiple industry awards, has millions of active users and has been deployed in 141 countries.

Founder and CEO of Streann Media, Gio Punzo, told South Florida Tech Hub, “We are thrilled to be selected as a Finalist for the GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Awards. This reconfirms the dedication and expertise of our talented team who consistently strive to provide innovative solutions and exceptional service to our clients.”

He continued, “We are delighted to be a part of Florida’s thriving business community and look forward to continuing our growth trajectory. We have grown to 70 million unique viewers in 141 countries around the world thanks to our breakthrough technology made in Florida.”

Finalists undergo a second round of judging before the top 50 companies are selected and emerge as Honorees. Honorees will be announced in early October and will be recognized at the awards ceremony on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at the Hard Rock Live, Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Florida. Tickets will go on sale in September.

GrowFL is driven by one goal – to cultivate second-stage growth companies across the state. Second-stage companies are the backbone of Florida’s economy and the definition of economic success and prosperity. Through our diverse programs and services, GrowFL provides proven methods to help overcome unique challenges facing second-stage companies as they grow.

Congratulations to the 12th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Finalists from South Florida & Treasure Coast:

  • Flexxbuy (St. Lucie)
  • HelixVM (Palm Beach)
  • Hollywood Woodwork, Inc. (Broward)
  • Loupe Tech, Inc (Miami-Dade)
  • Pointer Construction Group LLC. (Broward)
  • PUR-FORM (Palm Beach)
  • Spot Pet Insurance, LLC. (Miami-Dade)
  • Streann Media (Miami-Dade)
  • Weedoo Greenboat, Inc. (Palm Beach)

To view the full list of Finalists, click here.

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15
Aug, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Tech Hub Announces 2023 Golden Palm Award Honorees

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For the first time, the Golden Palm Gala & Awards, hosted by the South Florida Tech Hub, brought together a convergence of leaders, technologists, and organizations from across the region, all gathered to celebrate exceptional achievements and to acknowledge their collective impact on our vibrant tech ecosystem.T he event unfolded on August 3rd at the iconic Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in downtown West Palm Beach. It was an evening that marked a significant milestone in the South Florida technology landscape.

With the event’s presenting sponsor, 35 Mules, an Innovation Hub powered by Florida Power & Light, the evening held the promise of honoring the remarkable talent that South Florida nurtures within its technology community. Tech Hub received almost nominations in its first year which is a testament to the innovation and dedication that define this thriving tech hub. Each nomination was a story of determination, creativity, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of possibility.

As the doors of the Kravis Center opened with a VIP reception with passed hors devours and open bar, a palpable sense of excitement filled the air. The attendees, representing a diverse spectrum of expertise and backgrounds, were met with an elegant ambiance that set the stage for an evening of recognition, connection, and inspiration. The atmosphere was charged with enthusiasm, as conversations flowed and new connections were forged.

Special guest Miss Florida 2023, Juliette Valle, made her way around the room interviewing attendees and honorees for the well-known #minimicminute segments usually held by Tech Hub’s own Nadia Volkova. The guests were also captured by Miss Valle’s opera serenade as she welcomed guests into the main dining hall.

The core essence of the evening was to acknowledge the transformative contributions of individuals, companies, and organizations that have played pivotal roles in shaping the South Florida tech landscape. CEOs who have steered companies to unprecedented heights, startup founders who have dared to dream differently, and community leaders who have tirelessly advocated for progress were all in the spotlight.

The emcee and our Mistress of Ceremonies was Founder and CEO of Entreprenista, Stephanie Cartin. She guided us through an evening that will remain etched in the memories of those who attended, not just as an evening of recognition, but as a testament to what can be achieved when visionaries, leaders, and technologists unite. As the lights dimmed and the attendees dispersed, the echoes of inspiration continued to reverberate, a reminder that the journey of the South Florida tech community is one of limitless possibilities.

 

Golden Palm Award Honorees:

  • Collaboration of The Year | Owwll, Premier Virtual, TEDxBocaRaton, and FAU Adams Center Entrepreneurship – For their achievements and efforts to provide free valuable mentors and experts to the those in the field, and those new to it, to veterans and students, and to the ever-expanding tech community.
  • Social Responsibility | Virtual Intelligence Briefing (ViB) – Woven throughout the fabric of the organization are the core values of humanitarian, economic and philanthropic servant leadership. “Service over Self” is not just a TedTalk for this outstanding organization, but a mantra relected in the staff, the Board of Directors, volunteers, and all who support them. This honoree is a shining example who inspires to provide technology and talent to those in need.
  • Innovator of The Year | BiFarm Tech – For their efforts to not only increase crop yields in state where Agriculture is a significant factor in our economy but they did so while reducing the environmental footprint AND adapted their technology for small indoor and home-based farms.
  • Community Connector | Venture Mentoring Team (VMT) – For their tremendous efforts to develop and connect mentors and startup entrepreneurs to provide in-valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of the startup world.
  • Inclusion Champion | Urban League Palm Beach County – This Honoree works to prepare young adults who are unemployed and underemployed for career-readiness to address socio-economic challenges and advocate for diversity in the tech sector to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for all.
  • EdTech Excellence | Code/Art – This Honoree Code Art has worked with 8,000 girls, trained 400 teachers, impacted 23 states, and can boast that 87% of their clients are motivated to continue coding in the future.
  • Leadership Excellence | Saif Ishoof, Founder, Lab22C – A true visionary, leading by example, and encouraging those around him to take the work seriously but never to take themselves too seriously, he injects a sense of joy into every conversation. Known as “Miami’s Connector-in-Chief”, he has had a significant impact on entrepreneurs and founders across the region by making meaningful connections, providing sound advice, and being a trusted ear or shoulder.

A special award, the Ethos Award, was given at the close of the ceremony. This award was not a category open for nomination, but one that Tech Hub CEO Nikki Cabus felt was a hugely important one. The award was presented to the entire Florida Power & Light team there that night from senior execuitives to entry-level developers. They all make up the FPL fabric we all know.

“In todays world every company has the opportunity to be an innovator, to be a sustainability leader, to provide opportunity, and to put the larger community first. Few succeed at demonstrating each of these pillars, and even fewer at all four,” stated Cabus.

“Supporting 2000+ nonprofits, $3.8 Million donated by employees, 46,000+ hours by employees, 180+ nonprofit boards served by employees, awarding 5 makeover grants of $50,000 each to schools in our area, educating and protecting our natural resources, embracing future generations, delivering books to improve reading levels, developing curriculum for STEM, implementing Communications, and Leadership Development, working to lower costs to our nonprofit sector, and serving alongside our neighbors to make South Florida an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. I’m honored to present the Ethos Award to Florida Power & Light.”

The evening closed with robots, music and dancing with Digital Vibez. It was the perfect close to a perfect evening. Thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, media partners, production partners, The Kravis Center of Performing Arts, our event Chair, Cathy Miron, event organizing committee, Tech Hub Board of Directors, and a HUGE congratulations to all the nominees and honorees of the evening!

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14
Aug, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Endear Health announces $8M in new funding and additional strategic partners

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Endear Health announced it has successfully closed an $8M funding round from new and current investors including Optum Ventures, Blue Cross of Idaho, 8VC and additional strategic partners.

The funds will be used to accelerate the development and expansion of Endear Health’s proprietary platform, which improves the way value-based care organizations deliver digital experiences to their members.

Endear Health is the first digital engagement platform built for the rapidly evolving value-based landscape and on a mission to fundamentally improve the Medicare experience. Founded in 2021 and backed by Optum Ventures, 8VC and additional strategic partners, Endear Health is focused on reducing the hurdles older adults face while navigating an increasingly digital world through development of innovative consumer-centric engagement solutions. The company believes that seniors who are accustomed to receiving assistance and care across nearly all facets of their daily lives should receive that same high level of support when it comes to how they access healthcare.

According to recent studies, 61% of adults aged 65 and older own a smartphone, and 73% of them use the internet daily1. Endear Health recognizes the untapped potential of technology in improving the lives of older adults and aims to bridge the digital divide by offering user-friendly solutions that cater to their unique needs.

With Endear Health, organizations can offer members a personalized and intuitive digital platform, purposefully designed for seniors, which integrates educational resources, core benefits, and supplemental benefits into a single location. Additionally, through a marketplace of scalable integrations with third-party digital health vendors, Endear Health empowers payors to quickly deploy innovative programs in an efficient manner ultimately resulting in better member satisfaction and improved overall health outcomes.

“Blue Cross of Idaho remains at the forefront of closing gaps in care for Idahoans, and we are constantly seeking innovative, frictionless ways to improve the health and wellness of our members. We are excited to invest in Endear Health’s member-centric, digital solutions that connect seniors with plan benefits, programs, and even reminders for a check-up or screening.” Drew Hobby, Chief Revenue Officer for Blue Cross of Idaho.

The latest funding round represents a significant milestone for Endear Health, reflecting the growing recognition of the company’s promising impact on the healthcare industry, particularly for older adults. With the new capital injection, Endear Health is well-positioned to scale its operations, expand its team, and continue innovating its platform to meet the evolving needs of Medicare Advantage plans and risk-bearing entities nationwide.

“Everyone deserves access to the highest levels of healthcare and support, and at Endear Health, we’re dedicated to making that a reality. Enormously grateful to our exceptional team, advisors, investors and early partners for all their support. More to come!,” wrote Co-Founder & COO, Michael Chappelear, in a recent social media post.
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14
Aug, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Palm Beach-based HotelPlanner acquires leading travel platform Lucid Travel

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Downtown West Palm Beach-based, HotelPlanner, a leading travel technology platform and hotel booking engine, announced the the acquisition of Lucid Travel.

Lucid Travel is a leading sports travel technology company that serves universities, sports teams, and event directors. These market segments are core business segment and growth areas for HotelPlanner and areas in which the two companies share deep expertise plus operational synergies. Lucid believes that travel can be better for teams and that the real innovation needed in sports travel will come from automating the end-to-end booking & management process and focusing on great user experience, notification design, and software automation.

Lucid Travel was co-Founded in 2018 by CEO Ben Knosby and CTO Nick Karagiannis. The company’s software is currently used by more than 150 universities and 10,000+ teams. Under Ben and Nick’s leadership, Lucid Travel has experienced triple-digit growth year-over-year, which is a testament to their strategic vision and managerial talents.

The company currently serves 10,000+ teams, 1000+ events, and over 150 universities in the USA and Canada. Whether you’re a youth soccer club or a university with 40,000 students – booking, tracking and saving money should be easier. Lucid Travel offers a one-stop solution that allows teams to access the entire market of travel vendors in one place while making it easier to book & manage travel services.

“We’re proud to join the HotelPlanner team to supercharge growth across the sports, events, and university markets. With HotelPlanner’s vast network in sports and world-class technology, we’re perfectly positioned to expand our reach and continue making sports team travel better.” says Ben Knosby & Nick Karagiannis, Co-founders, Lucid Travel.

What makes this a smart acquisition for HotelPlanner? 

  • The strongest synergy is with Sports Tournaments & Team Travel, a very successful side of Lucid. HotelPlanner will work with Lucid Travel to drive more business from this segment.
  • Lucid has a very robust suite of software products designed to increase conversion and automate manual tasks. HotelPlanner will implement this software at a broader scale.
  • Lucid helps thousands of Event Directors source and book hotels using group room blocks and hotel contracts. HotelPlanner is integrating Lucid’s existing book of business to the HotelPlanner platform, to increase bookings and operational efficiencies.
  • Lucid provides a one-stop shop for universities and colleges to manage their travel. Adding the Lucid Travel brand to our university partnerships will help us grow this vertical.

Founded in 2003, HotelPlanner has enduring partnerships with the world’s largest online travel agencies, well-known hotel chains, individual hotels, online wedding providers, ancillary lodging providers, corporations, professional and youth sports teams and franchises, universities and government agencies.

HotelPlanner combines proprietary artificial intelligence capabilities, and a 24/7 global gig-based reservations and customer service network. Travel agents can customize all traveler hotel and accommodation needs from a single platform while providing localized advice. HotelPlanner is one of the world’s leading providers of individual, group and corporate travel bookings, specializing in unique “Closed User Group” discount rates offered in unpublished private sale environments.

“Partnering with Lucid Travel is very smart for our business and well-timed with the return of group and sports travel. This partnership plays to our mutual strengths, and it provides a runway for future growth. A Win-Win!” says Tim Hentschel, Co-founder & CEO, HotelPlanner.

Learn more at www.HotelPlanner.com

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24
Jul, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Tech Hub Announces 2023 Golden Palm Award Nominees

Read Time 2 Minutes

South Florida Tech Hub has announced the nominees for the 2023 Golden Palm Gala & Awards! 

The event will honor the companies, organizations and individuals who have greatly contributed to building South Florida’s technology community. The recipients range from successful CEOs, startup founders, and community leaders all recognized for their many achievements and contributions. Tech Hub received almost 100 nomination submissions. The event’s Presenting Sponsor is 35 Mules, an Innovation Hub powered by Florida Power & Light. 

The Golden Palm Awards will be held at the gorgeous Kravis Center for The Performing Arts located in downtown West Palm Beach down the street from the Brightline West Palm Beach Station. The event will open at 5:30 PM and close at 9:00 PM. Click Here to Purchase Tickets

 

Golden Palm Award Nominees:

Collaboration of The Year

Social Responsibility

Innovator of The Year

Community Connector

Inclusion Champion

EdTech Excellence

Leadership Excellence

 

Winners announced at the event. Get your ticket today! Save $25 with code NOM2023

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17
Jul, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Autonomous vehicle company Guident receives funding through Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership

Read Time 3 Minutes

Boca Raton-based, Guident, a leading autonomous vehicle teleoperation company, has announced that it has been awarded funding for a groundbreaking project under the Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership program, together with its valued Israeli partner, NOVELSAT.

Guident commercializes patented technology to enable safer autonomous vehicles and devices by providing industry-leading AV remote monitor, control, assistance, and passenger support services. Guident and NOVELSAT, a global leader in content connectivity, partnered earlier this year to develop an innovative always-on, ubiquitous remote monitor and control solution for autonomous vehicles and devices.

NOVELSAT is a leading provider of next-generation content connectivity solutions. Powered by innovative technologies, our broadcast and broadband solutions are transforming networks’ capabilities to expand growth potential and to drive new experiences on any device, anytime, anywhere. Our high-performance products for satellite and terrestrial content connectivity include integrated video solutions and highly efficient broadband connectivity solutions, and best-in-industry content security solutions. Transforming data and video delivery with new levels of performance, efficiency, agility, and security, NOVELSAT empowers mission-critical and demanding applications for the mobile, media, entertainment, government, and mobility markets.

The solution combines space communications and augmented intelligence technologies to ensure optimal safety and security for autonomous vehicles and devices, enabling remote monitoring and operation at any time and place. This integration of NOVELSAT’s satellite-based space connectivity technologies and Guident’s human-in-the-loop AI technologies will provide reliable and high-speed bi-directional connectivity. This connectivity enables continuous, high-quality video streaming to monitor autonomous vehicles remotely and, when necessary, to allow remote control of the vehicles to resolve various edge cases. Additionally, the connectivity will provide real-time audio and video communication with passengers, pedestrians, or first responders, ensuring the highest level of safety for autonomous systems, which is a crucial factor in the deployment and management of such systems.

The cooperation between the companies opens the door for new markets and revenue opportunities by offering a new level of autonomous systems safety for a wide range of applications: transportation, delivery, agriculture, hospitality, mining, logistics, and more.

The grant being awarded is for the purpose of developing a safer Remote Monitor and Control Center (RMCC) for the monitoring, management, and backup control of terrestrial autonomous vehicles, with the assistance of satellite communications. This innovative approach is aimed at providing redundant, continuous monitoring of autonomous vehicles. Additionally, space communications provide a mobile network connectivity alternative in areas with low signal or no terrestrial mobile wireless network coverage.

“Through this extraordinary collaborative partnership, Space Florida is at the forefront of welding cutting-edge innovation with the boundless knowledge derived from scientific exploration. It thereby forges a path that shapes the very essence of the future of autonomous mobility,” stated Tony Gannon, Vice President of Research & Innovation for Space Florida.

Space Florida is an aerospace and spaceport development authority in Florida that aims to promote and support the growth of the aerospace industry in the state. Space Florida offers various advantages to leading aerospace companies and has extensive experience and expertise in the aerospace industry, providing valuable knowledge and resources to companies. The organization offers financial tools such as grants, loans, and tax incentives to help aerospace companies with their new initiatives, encouraging economic growth and development.

Scheduled to commence in early July 2023, the joint project brings together the collective expertise, resources, and vision of Space Florida, Guident Corp, and NOVELSAT. Each organization’s unique strengths will synergistically contribute to developing pioneering safety solutions for ground-based autonomous vehicles using satellite communications.

“Guident is privileged to have the invaluable support and guidance of Space Florida with their unrivaled experience and strategic location for this new initiative,” stated Dr. Gabriel Castaneda, Guident’s Vice President for AI and Research.

“This generous funding will propel us forward as we embark on the development and scale of an effective Remote Monitor and Control Solution with enhanced vehicle safety, together with our Israeli Partner NOVELSAT.”

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17
Jul, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

New real estate tech platform DASH has launched in South Florida

Read Time 3 Minutes

DASH just announced the launch of its exclusive online platform created exclusively for licensed residential agents.

The platform gives agents access to verified and current development marketing materials, data and insights in a single user-friendly platform for a low monthly fee. DASH’s new platform provides a universally desired solution to the universally acknowledged problem of property discovery and identifying accurate developer content. Unlike other property platforms on the market, DASH is built specifically to help residential real estate agents find and share new development inventory data, so they can focus on what they do best — selling real estate.

The platform’s pilot market is launching in the South Florida tri-county area in July with plans to expand into the nation’s top 10 markets within the next 30 months. This user-friendly tool ensures reliable communication, transparency, and accuracy while helping agents focus on what matters most to them: Sales. DASH is destined to become the “go-to source” for new development updates and information. It provides perfectly formatted marketing materials (photos, renderings, floorplans, brochures, graphics) that can be efficiently accessed and shared anywhere, anytime, under the agents’ personal branding. DASH subscribers will have a competitive advantage by dramatically reducing research and discovery time, allowing them to realize greater sales at a faster pace.

DASH was created by industry veteran Len Dugow, who has over thirty years of experience in the real estate industry, leading branding and marketing strategies that have resulted in more than $40 billion in residential real estate sales for some of the most prominent developers and brokerage firms across the nation.

“In today’s rapidly changing markets, particularly in regions experiencing soaring demand like South Florida, it is more important than ever for agents to have access to reliable information,” said DASH Founder and CEO Len Dugow. “The current system is ‘old fashioned’ causing agents many hours of wasted time chasing information that’s inaccurate, along with compromising their professional reputations. With this innovative tool, sales teams can work more efficiently and effectively than ever before to communicate with developers and provide their prospects with information they can count on to close deals.”

DASH provides market-ready, developer-approved content at agents’ fingertips. It showcases a wealth of exclusive developer inventory, spanning pre-and new construction and all developer inventory of condos, hotel condos, penthouses, townhomes and single-family communities. Three years in development, DASH is the product of a true collaboration with a network of the nation’s top residential developers, brokerages and agents. Douglas Elliman, Compass, Corcoran, Related, BH3, One World Properties, BHS, ONE Sotheby’s Realty, Zeckendorf, Oak Capital and Swire Properties, among many others, came together to provide their insights and feedback.

Len Dugow’s innovative ideas have revolutionized how developers, brokerage, and agents collaborate in major markets such as New York City, South Florida, California and beyond, paving the way for a new era of efficiency and success. With DASH, his latest venture, the industry is about to experience a transformative shift towards a more future-forward approach to residential real estate sales.

DASH is a revolutionary PropTech platform that provides a one-stop solution for licensed residential real estate agents’ marketing needs. The dual revenue SaaS company has the most comprehensive database of developer-approved, project-specific content and inventory that is perfectly formatted to be efficiently shared on all channels — anywhere, anytime. Designed to streamline and maximize efficiency and day-to-day processes, DASH is a user-friendly platform that ensures effective communication, reliability and transparency between agents, developers and their on-site brokerage. The platform enhances the process of project research, discovery and information gathering to help produce more sales.

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11
Jul, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

World Fuel Services changes name to World Kinect; reflects company’s ongoing transformation into a diversified energy and solutions provider

Read Time 2 Minutes

World Fuel Services Corporation announced it has changed its corporate name to World Kinect Corporation.

The Company’s shareholders approved the name change during a June 15th Annual Meeting. The Miami-based company began trading under its new name and ticker symbol (NYSE: WKC) on June 16, 2023.

This change is intended to better reflect the Company’s ongoing transformation into a more resilient, diversified energy and solutions provider. As the energy transition unfolds, this name change reflects the company’s commitment to continue evolving alongside their customers. World Connect has vowed to support their customers core energy requirements, while also meeting their growing energy transition needs with an expanding portfolio of products and services, empowering them to navigate their sustainability journeys most successfully.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, World Kinect Corporation is a leading global energy management company, offering a broad suite of energy advisory, management and fulfillment services, digital and other technology solutions, as well as sustainability products and services across the energy product spectrum.

In addition to core energy offerings to customers in the transportation sector, World Kinect has expanded their product and service offerings to include energy advisory services, sustainability and renewable energy solutions, as well as supply fulfillment for natural gas and power. The company continues to focus on advancing the energy transition to lower carbon alternatives through expanding their portfolio of energy solutions and providing customers with greater access to sustainably sourced energy.

“For nearly 40 years we have been dedicated to providing a comprehensive and reliable supply of energy, logistics and finance solutions for aviation, marine and land-based customers worldwide,” said Michael J. Kasbar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“Through our relationships with more than 150,000 customers globally, we are uniquely positioned to understand their operational requirements and provide innovative products, services and digital solutions to meet their evolving needs. Our new name, World Kinect, represents our role as a bridge, connecting our customers to the resources, expertise and support they need to successfully navigate their energy transition journeys.”

Company executives will ring the New York Stock Exchange closing bell today to celebrate this occasion. The Company will discuss this name change and broader corporate strategy at a forthcoming Investor Day event. Further details will be provided shortly.

New name and a new ticker symbol — hear what World Kinect Corporation CEO Michael Kasbar has to say about this next step in the company’s journey and what he’s focused on for the future. See below.

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11
Jul, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Ryder Unveils First Market Offering of Combined Electric Vehicle & Charging Capabilities

Read Time 3 Minutes

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) recently unveiled RyderElectric+TM as its new turnkey electric vehicle (EV) fleet solution. 

The new offering is the ultimate turnkey fleet solution that navigates the EV landscape for customers and provides electrification advisors, vehicles, charging, telematics, and maintenance all for one price, from one point of contact,  making it easier to navigate the complexity of deploying and operating light duty electric vehicles in their fleets.

Ryder System, Inc. is a leading logistics and transportation company providing supply chain, dedicated transportation, and fleet management solutions, including warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, last-mile delivery, managed transportation, professional drivers, freight brokerage, full-service leasing, maintenance, commercial truck rental, and used vehicle sales to some of the world’s most-recognized brands. Ryder provides services throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

In addition, Ryder manages nearly 260,000 commercial vehicles and operates approximately 300 warehouses encompassing more than 95 million square feet. Ryder is regularly recognized for its industry-leading practices in third-party logistics, technology-driven innovations, commercial vehicle maintenance, environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility, world-class safety and security programs, military veteran recruitment initiatives, and the hiring of a diverse workforce.

During the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, or “ACT Expo,” in Anaheim, Calif., Ryder introduced RyderElectric+ at its exhibit booth where attendees learned firsthand how the company is acting as an advocate for its customers and powering the future of transportation with a unique solution that simplifies adding EVs to any fleet. The expo is a 4- day fleet focused conference where companies discover the trends, infrastructure solutions, and technologies transforming clean commercial transportation.

“By combining our expertise, advisory services, and relationships with vehicle manufacturers and charging companies, as well as our integration with telematics providers, we help companies build and maintain an electric fleet that fits their needs,” says Karen Jones, Ryder CMO and head of new product innovation.“We aim to help make the integration of electric vehicles as seamless as possible by offering solutions that are streamlined through one provider at one cost.”

By partnering with customers throughout the full journey of fleet electrification, RyderElectric+ will serve as a centralized source for Ryder’s best-in-class fleet-management services in financing, facility infrastructure, charging, and maintenance for commercial EVs. This includes electrification advisors designed to help customers assess vehicle fit, estimate potential emission reduction and total cost impact, evaluate charging service requirements, provide guidance on availability of potential grants, and build out an EV transition roadmap.

The new solution also provides access to Ryder’s inventory of advanced vehicle technology that would include financing, warranty, and safety options, as well as the company’s national maintenance footprint, 24/7 emergency roadside assistance, on-the-road usage/telematics for fleet insights, and EV chargers at select Ryder locations.

“As demand and adoption of commercial EVs continues to accelerate across the transportation and logistics industries, this latest offering provides Ryder customers with an end-to-end solution for zero-emission commercial fleet management, deployment, fueling, and maintenance,” adds Carlo Rodriguez, Managing Director, Electric Vehicles at Ryder System, Inc. and group director for advanced vehicle technology for Ryder.

Ryder recently announced its plan to introduce 4,000 BrightDrop Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 electric vans to its lease and rental fleet through 2025. To date, Ryder’s current fleet and options of advance vehicle technology include Ford E-Transits, Navistar eMV, Lonestar EVs with Dana’s electric powertrain, and Freightliner MT50e, eM2, and eCascadia. Ryder also has Tesla Semi tractors reserved and continues to work with multiple OEM’s to provide new EV solutions to its customers.

As of December 1st, 2022, Ryder Supply Chain Solutions ranks No. 10 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America with a gross revenue of $6,500,000,000.

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11
Jul, 2023

By Adam Elitzur

The Shrimp Society: Harnessing Miami’s Startup Potential

Read Time 5 Minutes

The Shrimp Society is a community and startup accelerator for early-stage founders in Miami, founded by Chris Daniels.

“The goal of The Shrimp Society is to be the Y Combinator of Miami, an accelerator that serves South Florida entrepreneurs with strong local ties to the local universities, local large companies, the local founder community, local non-profits and the local government,” Daniels remarked.

The Shrimp Society runs weekly Tuesday hack nights, which are open to anyone who wants to come and cowork on Tuesday nights. It also runs the year-long Built in Miami Startup Program.

The Built in Miami Startup Program

The Shrimp Society and Venture Miami collaborated to start The Built in Miami Startup Program, an initiative designed to facilitate the growth and success of early-stage entrepreneurs in Miami. Their six-week Zero to One Sprint program recently culminated, where founders developed a viable prototype of their vision.

On Monday, June 26, they launched the second stage of their Built in Miami Startup Program. The five-week Builders Summer program is designed to promote collaboration between startup founders and technical talent in the Miami tech scene, ultimately shaping South Florida’s startup ecosystem.

The Builders Summer program

In the Builders Summer program, participants have one of two roles, either startup founders seeking technical talent, or builders who want to join early-stage startup teams. The program then helps match builders to startup founders.

“It’s just an awesome environment, the vibe here gives you a genuine feeling that strong ideas are actually going places because they are matching us up with the talent that can take a startup to that next level,” John Paul Zable, a founder in The Built in Miami program, remarked.

Over the course of the program, participants will gain hands-on experience in rapid product shipping, hiring strategies, and team leadership. With a focus on creating user-validated prototypes, Builders Summer will culminate in launching products on Product Hunt, a platform that offers exposure to attract investors and potential customers alike.

Founder Experience

Jeronimo Guijarro, a founder in The Built in Miami program, is building The Goose Financial, a fintech platform to help immigrants translate their credit and financial history, allowing them access to credit cards, renting an apartment or leasing a car. Currently, many immigrants lose their previous financial history, as credit scores today do not transfer from one country to the other.

Guijarro was involved in the Zero to One Sprint program, where he built the business model, financial projections and modeling and multiple prototypes, which he showed to his users, immigrants as well as financial institutions. He was able to validate and improve his idea with people from Mastercard, Visa, JPMorgan and a lot of the big financial institutions.

“The Shrimp Society is an amazing organization,” Guijarro remarked. “The community that they’ve been able to build is very unique. And because of that, people like myself are able to actually build something that they want to do. And even though I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, they have given me the structure to actually be successful.”

Builder Experience

Jimmy Nagles is a builder in The Built in Miami program. He is looking to join a startup and help build it on the technical side. “For The Shrimp Society to create a space for builders to just come and collaborate or founders to find talent, I think that’s huge for Miami,” Nagles said. “The tech space has been growing a lot. You need these types of events to help push it forward.”

Nagles has worked with startups in the past, and sees how valuable Built in Miami is. “The experience of being around people, building their own startup, all that knowledge is going to help. So for me, it’s a win-win.”

The History of The Shrimp Society

Daniels founded The Shrimp Society in 2017, in his senior year at University of Miami. When he was getting ready to graduate, he realized that all his friends were going into banking and accounting, but he wanted to go into venture capital and was talking about go to market strategies. He started The Shrimp Society as a dinner club for people with similar interests. They would gather around a whiteboard and talk about startup ideas. They then started a blog, where each person contributed articles about their own projects.

After working on this blog, Daniels noticed that Miami was focusing on bigger companies, and less on startups and founders. “No one is talking about the early-stage companies,” Daniels said. “All the companies that were moving here were already huge companies. And that’s such a key piece of the ecosystem. But I thought, there’s the “shrimp” that we are missing here. And if we don’t invest in supporting these founders, retaining them here, guiding the ones that are here and building a culture where it’s cool and fun to be a founder, then all the founder talent would leave.”

So, in January 2021, Daniels started a newsletter documenting news of startups and founders. It quickly grew to 3,000 subscribers. This led to the first happy hour, with 10 people. Then the second one, with 60 people, then 100 people, until it reached 500 people. Daniels realized he was on to something, people really wanted to be around other innovative founders at the early-stage.

This led to The Shrimp Society.

Why Get Involved?

In Daniels’ opinion, the biggest challenge founders face is finding a technical co-founder. Founders want co-founders who are local, with experience, as well as familiar with startups, which is hard to come by. The Shrimp Society brings the best builders in Miami into the same room as the best founders, and helps connect the two.

Future Plans

On July 28, The Shrimp Society is finishing Builders Summer with their Product Hunt launch champagne party, which is open to the public. The goal is for Miami to take over Product Hunt, a popular website to share and discover new products.

After Builders Summer, The Shrimp Society and Venture Miami are hosting an 8-week accelerator for 20-25 active early-stage startups that are post MVP with something to sell. The startups should be looking to raise either a pre-seed or seed round in the next six to twelve months, and the accelerator helps prepare startups.

You can apply at builtmiami.com.

Next year, The Shrimp Society is looking to raise a fund and be the first investor, which is currently challenging for startups to attract. It is also building a platform called the Reef, with resources, such as courses detailing how to work with investors or building a pitch deck, for founders.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

“Contribute in a permissionless way,” Daniels stated. “You don’t need any permission to write, to launch an app, to organize an event. You don’t need any permission to do a lot of things that can add value. And that’s how I started The Shrimp Society. I think if you’re interested in getting involved, the best way is to give to the community first. If you can create a resource, like a job board or co-founder matchmaking service, or something of value to the community, people will be really appreciative and it will help you have conversations and a reason to connect with people.”

“We want to be a light for people to come to when they land in Miami,” Daniels remarked. “We want our name to be the first thing that people say, you have to check out The Shrimp Society.”

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20
Jun, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Hi-tech production BrandStar Studios expands to Miami-Dade through new multi-year partnership

Read Time 4 Minutes

BrandStar Studios has inked a multi-year agreement to offer virtual production capabilities at GRUP MEDIAPRO’S facilities in Miami, Florida.

One of South Florida’s largest and most experienced production studios, BrandStar Studios has state-of-the-art cinematic technology and a dedicated team of artists and engineers that produce original content with stunning in-camera visual effects (ICVFX) rendered in real-time – allowing creatives to see their scenes unfold as they are captured and composed on set.

The venture will be called ‘BrandStar Studios at GRUP MEDIAPRO,’ and is BrandStar’s first studio facility in Miami-Dade County, complementing its existing Broward County location and Palm Beach County studio within Lynn University. BrandStar established itself in Miami-Dade in 2021 through a merger with Coral Gables-based KrepsPR & Marketing, who will be supporting the partnership through its integrated services.

With locations in Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and now Miami, BrandStar Studios offers five Virtual Production stages, feature state-of-the-art LED video walls capable of providing In-camera Virtual Production with immersive environments for producing TV shows, movies, commercials, music videos, podcasts, hybrid events and much more all powered by Unreal Engine software, the world’s most advanced real-time 3D creation tool.

Spain-based GRUP MEDIAPRO, a multimedia conglomerate with expansive experience in content creation, production and distribution for television and film, has had a presence in the U.S. for more than 25 years, and boasts a team of 200 broadcast professionals. They currently offer production services out of their studios in Miami for entities such as ESPN, CNN, beIN Sports, HolaTV, Hemisphere Media Group, CONCACAF and many others.

The agreement calls for BrandStar to design, build and install the largest LED Wall in South Florida in their new 9,900 sf studio, along with providing management and support services needed to operate fully the in-camera Virtual Production system. It also includes a revenue sharing component along with 2,000 square feet of office space to house BrandStar’s staff.

“We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement to further GRUP MEDIAPRO’S vast offerings,” said Irantzu Diez-Gamboa, CEO, MEDIAPRO North America. “BrandStar has a stellar reputation as an industry leader in- Production with a specialty in real time Virtual Production, and we’ve no doubts that this will be an extremely positive relationship.”

The fully operational studio includes a 1,000 panel LED wall that measures 100 feet long and 23 feet tall and is capable of providing immersive environments for filming movies, series, TV shows, commercials, music videos and hybrid events. The system will feature Unreal Engine software, the world’s most advanced real-time 3D creation tool, allowing real-time shooting while exponentially reducing editing and post-production work. The LED volume uses the latest technology allowing for state-of-the-art resolution.

“This state-of-the-art masterpiece is set to transform your creative visions into captivating realities. Get ready to step into immersive worlds and bring your visions to life like never before,” posted BrandStar Studios.

“The film industry is one of Miami-Dade’s most special economic drivers,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Expanding the footprint of Miami-Dade County’s film and production capabilities is one of our key strategic initiatives, and we are honored to see this new partnership bring a first-of-its-kind studio to our county. I look forward to seeing a new level of production coming into Miami-Dade thanks to this new partnership.”

“As Miami-Dade County emerges as a hub for innovation and creativity, the development of virtual reality redefines the boundaries of TV and film,” said Senator René Garcia, County Commissioner District 13. “Harnessing the power of technology paves the way for a future where imagination knows no bounds and offers unparalleled opportunities for our workforce.”

“Almost 80% of all of Florida’s TV and film production is realized in Miami-Dade County,” said Marco Giron, Film and Entertainment Commissioner, Miami-Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment. “The world of virtual production/reality offerings is changing literally by the day, so having this level of technology being offered within the County will only expand our region’s capabilities and reach.”

“BrandStar is absolutely thrilled to open a facility in Miami-Dade County, expanding our services to an entirely new audience,” said Mark Alfieri, Founder & CEO of BrandStar. “The ability to combine our expertise of producing over 300 episode of Television and over 1,000 commercial video projects per year with GRUP MEDIAPRO’s team of industry professionals is sure to create exponential opportunities for Miami-Dade’s TV and film industry. A true win/win for all.”

In a previous press release, Alfieri had stated that, “There’s a reason the technology leverages ‘Unreal. It allows us to create super high-end productions quickly, utilizing the same in-camera virtual environments that major studios are deploying to film their most technology-intensive programming. We will use this technology to produce music videos, virtual events, high-end commercials, television shows, feature films, basically anything anyone can dream up, we can produce it.”

BrandStar is using this advanced technology in production of their own shows, which include The Balancing Act and Military Makeover with Montel, airing on Lifetime and with some of their largest clients in the industry.

To learn more about BrandStar Studios, visit www.brandstarstudios.com

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