Orlando Business Journal's April 29-May 5, 2022, weekly edition showcases Orlando Inno’s inaugural Fire Awards.
These awards celebrate Central Florida innovators, companies and nonprofits making the biggest impact on the local entrepreneurial ecosystems. The winners represent the best of what metro Orlando’s technology industry has to offer. They include companies that landed substantial funding in the past year, created jobs and developed innovative solutions to solving problems that hampered the business world at large.
- Fresh Faces, companies with less than 5 years in business
- On the Come-Up, working for 5-6 years
- Not Just Lucky, 7 years in action
- Established Players, 8-10 years under their belts
- Ecosystem Veterans, longtime entrepreneurs 11-plus years of experience
After scoring the 25 winners on factors such as revenue growth, job creation and more, the highest scorers in their respective categories were named this year’s “Blazers” — and presented with special blazers during our awards celebration on April 28.
To give you a preview of the highlights you can read about in the weekly edition of OBJ consider some of these accomplishments by the 2022 honorees:
- Apopka-based Everest Ice & Water Systems, which manufactures patented ice and water vending machines offering higher efficiency and less maintenance, in the past year doubled its staff, tripled its office space and was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. And in 2022, the company expects to again double its workforce.
- Maitland-based cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker Inc. last April closed on a $20 million Series B fundraising round and leveraged the funding for its global expansion. The fast-growing firm also opened a European Union headquarters in Ireland and surpassed the 100-employee mark.
- Last-mile delivery technology company OneRail closed a $9 million Series A investment round, surpassed the 100-employee mark and grew its revenue by 484% in the past year.
- Orlando-based Limbitless Solutions, which makes personalized bionic limbs for children, soon will provide the next generation of bionic arms to patients, including adults.
- Lake Mary-based Accel Research Sites — which partners with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies on human clinical trials across the Southeast — is at the forefront of U.S. and global efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic by testing and developing cutting-edge vaccines and treatments.
And these are just five of the 25 honorees being recognized. More information on all of the 2022 Fire Awards honorees can be found online in the following days. I encourage you to read about the honorees and the cutting-edge work they are doing across myriad industries in the global economy. These businesses averaged 106% year-over-year growth, so the local evolving tech industry’s future has never looked brighter.
Don’t be surprised to hear about these companies in the coming years. With continued expansion, job creation, fundraising rounds and more, the 2022 honoree companies truly are on fire.
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