Every life-changing, economy-building business began as a startup. Orlando Inno is scouring the region for the early-stage companies that stand out so we can recognize them now, before they become household names.
On Nov. 2, our 2024 Startups to Watch nomination form went live, giving you the opportunity to nominate your company or another Central Florida business you believe will go the distance and become one of the greats. In the 28 days that follow, Inno wants your help unearthing hidden gems, startups in every industry. Nominations close out on Nov. 30.
Businesses that that fall within these parameters will be considered:
- Employs fewer than 100 people
- Has not raised $100 million yet
- Is 5 years old or less — or has made a significant change to the business in the last five years that has made it a new business
- Is headquartered in Central Florida (Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole, Volusia or Brevard counties)
Many of the past years’ honorees have been nurtured by the local ecosystem of entrepreneurial support organizations like Groundswell, StarterStudio, UCF Business Incubation Program and Cenfluence, to name a few.
CEO Rajiv Menon of Orlando-based Informulate LLC has his hand in several of these entrepreneurial support groups — Orlando Devs, Rally and Startup Weekend. Menon said that to have a thriving startup scene, a strong pipeline is essential.
“In the past, there was criticism that there were one-off successes but not a real pipeline, but things are different now. All stages of the pipeline are healthy and well populated,” he said.
The stages Menon referenced are these:
- "First step" events and organizations such as Startup Weekend Orlando and StarterStudio’s “Idea stage” program that help founders focus their ideas and launch
- Entrepreneurial communities Black Orlando Tech, Orlando Tech Community, Orlando Innovation League, TechGrove and OMG Labs
- Accelerators like leAD, Rally, StarterStudio and now Plug & Play
- Clusters forming around industries such as simulation, fintech and software as a service (SaaS)
- Government support for entrepreneurial support organizations in the form of city and county grants
- Enterprise-level engagement such as the Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge
- Funding sources like Deep Work Capital, Arsenal, SeedFunders, VenVelo, Entrepreneurs in Action, Waterfall Ventures and other angel groups.
Central Florida also may be getting smarter about attracting and keeping the kind of talent that's the lifeblood for startups. The first-ever MetaCenter Global Week in downtown Orlando from Oct.17-19 brought together entrepreneurs, tech companies and multinational businesses for three days of education and networking.
CEO Kyle Morrand of 302 Interactive said he saw Metacenter Global Week as a “step forward on the global stage.”
Local government officials like Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando have come out strong on the subject of the region’s potential for industry leadership — leadership that wouldn’t rise without local talent that feeds startups: “With our density of talent in areas like modeling and simulation, gaming and AR/VR, Orlando is Ground Zero for the next generation of the digital experience,” said Dyer in a recent public address.
Given the talent pool and pipeline, Orlando Inno hopes to see a flood of entries for 2024 Startups to Watch. To nominate a business, click here.
For more stories like this one, sign up here for Orlando Inno newsletters from the Orlando Business Journal and the American Inno network. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter).
