Florida Institute Provides Seed Funding to Gainesville-Based Ocoos
Seed-Stage Company Focused on Internet Marketing Platform
Boca Raton and Gainesville, FL – May 2, 2012 -The Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with Ocoos (www.ocoos.com), an early-stage technology company that has developed an internet marketing platform for small service providers. The Institute works with Florida’s research universities and institutions to support new company and job creation, and the goal of this program is to bridge funding gaps for early-stage companies and enable them to attract additional capital from angel investors and other sources.
Ocoos is in the process of incorporating technology licensed from the University of Florida into its product platform and has an ongoing partnership with the university. According to Rahul Razdan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, “this program provides much-needed support for early stage, high growth-potential companies, and will enable us to build our research and development capability and accelerate our sales efforts. We are pleased to be one of the first companies to participate in the program and look forward to its continued success.”
Featuring a specialized Internet platform technology, Ocoos is creating a seamless, information rich connection between consumers, service providers, and subject matter experts in a structured, relevant, and trusted manner. Ocoos facilitates the ease in which people can search for and buy "services" over the Internet and initially will target Florida’s online adventure tourism market. By highlighting and organizing this data, Ocoos offers providers the ability to market their services to a wider consumer audience, thus generating increased bookings and sales. Consumers, in turn, gain access to an expedient, targeted, and deep search of only those topics of interest.
“The Institute appreciates the opportunity to deliver on the vision of the Florida Legislature for a diversified economy in our state, said Jamie Grooms, Institute President and CEO. “Programs like this are an important component of Florida’s overall economic development strategy, and innovative companies like Ocoos are not only creating knowledge-based jobs in new industries, but also expanding workforce opportunities throughout Florida’s broader service-based economy.”