South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub

By Nikki Cabus

Verizon’s Community Partnership Chat with Palm Beach-Based Startup Imanyco

Read Time 2 Minutes

Verizon’s Director of Local Engagement, State & Local Government Affairs, Merdochey LaFrance, sat down with Saïda Florexil, founder of Imanyco, a company that created a real-time transcription technology called Comunify that assists deaf and hard-of-hearing people during in-person group conversations. Their conversation touches on Imanyco’s participation in Verizon’s Forward for Good Accelerator.

Verizon’s Forward for Good Accelerator is part of Citizen Verizon, their business plan for economic, environmental, and social advancement to help move the world forward for all. Verizon is on a mission to leave the world better than we found it by accelerating emerging solutions using 5G, MEC, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, & Extended Reality.

The current cohort’s focus is on Disability Innovation. Working with the disability community, Verizon is unlocking more than access, but advancing new technology to unlock opportunity for everyone. Verizon is working with startups who “authentically integrate people with disabilities into executive leadership roles, and have validated their solutions within the disability community” which is why Imanyco was a perfect fit for the current cohort as they work to support the deaf and hard of hearing community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26% or 61 million Americans live with with a disability. Just to be clear, that’s 1 in 4 people. Additionally, 5.9 percent of people with a disability are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing and the percentage of people living with disabilities is higher in the south.

As a deaf person herself, Saida understands what’s it’s like to not be able to fully be a part of a group conversation. Although she reads lips and body language very well, this is only helpful when communicating with a single person. Once in a group setting you can’t pay attention to multiple people, distinguish who is saying what and when, and often miss the majority of the conversation.

Comunify aims to be the most convenient live transcription app for the deaf and hard of hearing community that quickly and reliably identifies multiple speakers in a group conversation to allow each person to be better engaged and involved when others are speaking to them.

“While working with Verizon we were able to launch a testing program for our app and collect feedback from a diverse group of people. Verizon helped us to improve our product quality in terms of functionality, accessibility, and user experience and also helped us solidify a growth strategy,” said Saida. “As a company and as an entrepreneur, receiving support from a company such as Verizon opens up new opportunities.”

Check out the full conversation here to learn more about Verizon’s Forward for Good Accelerator and Communify by Imanyco.

By Nikki Cabus

Boca Raton startup Owwll officially launches connecting experts for instant 1:1 advice

Read Time 3 Minutes

As Elon Musk said “Instead of baby showers, let’s host business showers. When a friend starts a business, we all come together, celebrate them and bring resources for their business to start!” This was all Jason Hill, Founder of the Owwll app, needed to hear.

About 100 people attended the official community launch and business shower for the Owwll app held at the NSU Alan Levan Innovation Center in Davie, FL. As one of the first companies to go through the Incubate Program at the new center, the Owwll team felt is was only fitting to have the launch in the new space.

With a panel, drinks & hors d’oeuvres, a live interactive podcast booth, photo booth, and raffles and prizes, the event was full of energy. Panelists included those such as Olivia Gaudree, Partner and Core Analyst at Fuel Venture Capital and Steven Edwards, Founder & CEO of Premier Virtual, and other founders, lawyers, and investors.

“It’s so hard to launch a business so why not throw a shower. All these people that attended came with love, came with gifts, and celebrated the launch of Owwll,” said Jason Hill, as he said with a smile. “

Hill told Tech Hub that the idea for Owwll all started during his commutes to work. While we drive, we listen to podcasts and audio books, but you never get the chance to speak to these experts directly. Hill began reaching out to these experts on Instagram and LinkedIn to have no response 9 out of 10 times.  Even when they responded, getting a meeting set was a whole other issue.  Hill said he knew the world needed a platform where people could connect with one another on demand through audio calls at a moments notice and this was a gap that we had in the market that could be filled. Out of frustration and necessity, the idea for Owwll was born.

“From first hearing about the idea, giving feedback on different logo/mascot versions, and having Owwll pitch first the first time in front of a public audience at a Tech Hub pitch night during GEW 2021, it’s been so exciting t0o watch the growth of Owwll,” said South Florida Tech Hub CEO, Nikki Cabus. “Knowing that Owwll had the support of local organizations such as South Florida Tech Hub, OZ Digital Consulting, and the Alan Levan Innovation Center is even better.”

Jason has been working with Murray Izenwasser and his team at Fort Lauderdale-based OZ Digital Consulting over the past 18 months to build and perfect the app. As a local company, OZ appreciates being able to support local and help grow South Florida’s growing and successful tech community. OZ Digital Consulting is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

Before a full-scale launch, the application was tested using TestFlight, a software that implements real-time patchwork while getting direct feedback from Beta testers. After a couple of months, the interface between users, creators, and development had proven itself worthy of being downloaded by the masses.

“It was an incredible experience partnering with Jason on his entrepreneurial journey, from those initial conversations where the idea behind Owwll wasn’t even written down on a napkin,” Izenwasser told South Florida Tech Hub.

“Seeing his ideas come to shape and finally to the public launch has been one of the most rewarding projects of my career. And no client has done more or worked harder than Jason to drive his well-earned success. The entire OZ team is very excited to have been a part of bringing Owwll to flight.”

The app now has over 3000 users and growing with hot topics such as Startups, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Podcasting, Marketing and even some folks from Hollywood and different musicians. Anyone with a large audience on social tend to enjoy the benefits of being able to connect to their audience better.

Download the app from the Apple iTunes store, or the Google Playstore to gain access to one-on-one sessions.

By Nikki Cabus

Apply to Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year Competition!

Read Time 2 Minutes

 

Attention startups! Tech.Co is accepting application for their 5th annual Startup of the Year Competition. This annual event attracts tech leaders, influencers and investors to early-stage startup companies.  Deadline is May 31st, 2017! Apply now!

 

What is Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year Program?

Each year, thousands of startups vie for a chance to compete at the annual Startup of the Year competition hosted at the Innovate! and Celebrate conference. Produced in partnership with Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the producers of CES, the 3-day event will happen in San Francisco in October 2017. Startups selected to participate will have the opportunity to win the title of Startup of the Year, as well as prizes, potential investment, and more.

 

What makes this competition different?

Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year program encourages women and minority founders to apply and connects them to a vast network of resources looking to help such entrepreneurs thrive. We strive to have startups from all 50 states represented at our competition as well, and recognize local ecosystems that the mainstream media often overlooks.  

Application Deadline: May 31, 2017-  CLICK HERE TO APPLY NOW!

 

What types of startups are eligible to participate in the competition?

Tech.Co seeks the most innovative early-stage companies out there from a variety of verticals.

Startup Qualifications:

  • Startups must have less than $4 MM USD in funding
  • Startups must be less than 4 years old
  • Startups must have a live, operating product or service
  • Startups must be INNOVATIVE!
Verizon’s Community Partnership Chat with Palm Beach-Based Startup Imanyco
Boca Raton startup Owwll officially launches connecting experts for instant 1:1 advice
Apply to Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year Competition!