Jacksonville Business Journal
Written by Carole Hawkins
Rick Scott signs bill to boost Florida tech startups
Gov. Rick Scott today signed into law HB705, a bill that will help attract more seed funding for technology startups in Florida.
David Day, director of the University of Florida’s Office of Technology Licensing, said the measure will help the state’s 22 research institutions to create technology startups and grow them here.
“Our graduates and the technology we develop at our universities have been leaving Florida for places like Boston or Silicon Valley,” he said. “Now we’re reversing that trend, so we can retain our graduates and technology and build Florida’s tech economy.”
The measure adds a $4.5 million cash infusion to the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research.
The Institute provides matching loans to Florida startups that commercialize technology developed at state universities, colleges and research organizations. In order to use the fund, startups must secure a one-to-one match by attracting private-sector third-party investors.
About 20 tech startups have used the program since is was created in 2010, Day said. The companies have attracted on average four dollars of private sector investment for every public dollar loaned.
“It’s really a private-investment driven program,” Day said. “If you don’t find a private investor, you don’t get the public funding. It’s brought private investment dollars out of the woodwork.”
HB705 will also give startups the options of issuing stock to the Institute in exchange for funding.
“We think that will help attract other investors, because it gives companies flexibility,” Day said.
Some investors want equity shares, others want loan repayments. Their interest can be affected by commitments the startup has made to other investors.