Exciting News From The Florida Institute

Newsletters
|
Building Companies, Changing Lives

Issue 16- April 2014

Institute Provides Seed Funding to Company Focused on Vascular Biotechnology

The Institute finalized a funding agreement with Integene, a Miami-based company that has developed platform technology for diabetes and related complications. The company was founded to capitalize on patented bio- technology designed to optimize stem cell treatments for cardiovascular disease. The company’s founder, Dr. Keith Webster and his team, in association with the University of Miami, have developed procedures for regulating human growth factors within stem cells or host tissues, and bio-engineering stem cells to provide an optimized therapy for ischemia related disease. The company will begin clinical trials during the second quarter of 2014.

Startup Quest™ Changes Lives! Get Involved Today!
 
Startup Quest™ is a 10-session entrepreneurial training program that advances a model for workforce development by growing self-employment through entrepreneurship, shifting the mindset from “find a job” to “create my job.” Trainees are unemployed and underemployed professionals and veterans with an interest in building a startup business. Trainees are guided by mentors — successful, often serial, entrepreneurs — in developing a business plan, marketing plan, and investor pitch. For more information on how to become a mentor, judge or participant, please contact Susan Scully.

 

“Celebration of Innovation” Showcase Provided Unique Opportunity to Preview University of Florida Startups
 
 Last month members of the entrepreneurial and investment communities gathered to attend the annual Celebration of Innovation in Gainesville. The event featured 14 presenting companies that have either licensed technology developed at the University of Florida or are located in one of the affiliated business incubators. Many of the presenting companies participated in the Institute’s company building and company funding programs, including Altavian, Comm-N-Sense, Cool Flow Dynamics, Paracosm, and Structured Monitoring Products. 

In addition to company presentations, the Showcase also included a panel discussion entitled “Alternative Sources of Funding for Startups,” moderated by Sharon Amezcus, Co-Founder of ESE Partners, LLC and ESE Fund Ltd. The panelists included Richard Allen, Xhale, James Talton, Nanotherapeutics, and John Engels, AxoGen, Inc. who each discussed their innovative approaches to raising capital.

Institute-supported Company Receives Follow-on Funding

The Institute finalized a follow-on funding agreement through the Florida Technology Seed Capital Fund, LLC with eTect, developers of the ID-Cap, a capsule that enables real time monitoring of medication compliance for patients in clinical trials or taking prescription medication.  ID-Cap is a capsule embedded with an ingestible self-powered sensor that emits a digital wireless message when it is ingested by a patient. It is filled with medications just like a normal capsule, and addresses the problem of poor medication compliance, costing the medical industry an estimated $290 billion per year according to the New England Healthcare Institute. The new capsule will also help to reduce costs associated with clinical trials of new drugs.


Calling Members of the Investment Community
 
The Florida Angel Nexus (FAN) is a statewide network of angel investors and investment groups with the mission to connect qualified companies to investors. FAN’s goal for its members is to achieve higher returns with less risk than typical angel investments by utilizing a model of combining the business acumen of FAN members with Florida’s community resources. For Accredited Investors interested in finding out more information, please sign up here.
 

 
Institute Chief Operating Officer Jane Teague presented to a group of incubator managers and executives at the Spring 2014 Florida Business Incubator Association Conference. The meeting was held at the Technology Business Incubator in the Research Park at FAU in Boca Raton, where over 25 attendees shared company updates and best practices. 
 

About Us

The Institute delivers company building and funding programs to facilitate new venture and job creation through commercially-viable technologies in major industries that are driving the global economy. In addition to providing company support services,  the Institute manages the Seed Capital Accelerator Program launched in 2011, and the Florida Technology Seed Capital Fund launched in 2013. For more information, visit www.florida-institute.com.