Issue 13- January 2014
Some highlights from last year include:
- Fourteen new companies received funding through the Institute’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program. To see a complete list of funded companies to date, please click here.
- Funded companies have leveraged Institute funding to raise nearly $25 million in private investment capital;
- Nine partner organizations joined the Institute’s Leadership Circle;
- 5 Institute-assisted companies won business plan pitch competitions:
- Constellation Research, Southeast BIO (SEBIO), Richmond, VA
- Nanophotonica, Cade Museum Prize, Gainesville, FL
- Paracosm, GAIN Shootout, Gainesville, FL
- TapShield, Venture Pitch Orlando, Orlando, FL
- TruVitals, Harvard Business School Regional Business Plan Competition, Boston, MA
Institute Funds Two Companies
Funding agreements were finalized with TruVitals, a Gainesville-based company developing a non-contact, continuous heartbeat and respiratory monitor for humans and animals, and Tapshield, developers of enterprise-grade safety solutions that enhance personal security to individuals and organizations, based in Orlando.
Unlike traditional sensors that need to be attached to the body, the TruVitals VitalOne device, based on technology developed by Dr. Jenshan Lin at the University of Florida, measures vital signs touch free using micro Doppler radar to remotely sense cardiopulmonary activity.
Tapshield, also based on technology developed at the University of Florida, provides a mobile personal security system for higher education, K-12, corporations, and municipalities that enables rapid, detailed emergency reporting and two-way communication directly from a user’s smartphone. Consisting of a mobile application and cloud-based incident response platform, TapShield leverages advancements in global positioning technology to instantly transmit an individual’s real-time location and profile information in the event of an emergency.
KeriCure Featured on CBS 10 News
Tampa-based KeriCure CEO Dr. Kerriann Greenhalgh discussed the company’s novel wound-healing products and collaboration with University of South Florida. Click here for the complete interview.
Dawson James Securities, Inc. (“Dawson James”) and the Institute have formed an alliance to formalize and increase financing assistance for innovation-based companies, from early stage through Initial Public Offering (IPO). Florida-based Dawson James Securities has become a leader in bringing investment capital to emerging growth science and technology companies and through the Alliance, will coordinate company financing from angel investors, venture capitalists, private equity and public markets.
The primary objective of the Institute and Dawson James in this Alliance is to expand Florida’s innovation platform by identifying and assisting qualified startup companies, expanding Florida’s angel investor base, increasing early- stage funding to companies, and preparing them for long term capital attraction and growth.
Startup Quest is an exciting economic development program being implemented in eight regions across the state of Florida. This innovative 10-week entrepreneurial training program teaches unemployed and underemployed professionals about entrepreneurship, advanced technologies, emerging industries, and more. This month, the program will launch in Tallahassee and Hillsborough county. For more information on how to participate, please contact
5th Annual $50,000 Cade Museum Prize Seeks Applicants
Only annual statewide competition encourages entrepreneurs and inventors
The Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention invites applications for the 5thAnnual $50,000 Cade Museum Prize competition. The Cade Museum Prize, open to all Florida residents and Florida-based companies, rewards innovation and invention from entrepreneurs, innovators and inventors. The Cade Museum Prize awards both cash and in-kind incentives to academics, entrepreneurs and proof-of-concept or early-stage companies for advancing creative ideas into the marketplace. Judges will look at how creative and innovative the idea is, what demonstrable change the invention will have, and how far away the invention is from being a commercially viable product or service.
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 launching in 2013. For more information, visit www.florida-institute.com.