There's a new way to connect with people, businesses and resources in Orlando's tech ecosystem.
The Orlando Economic Partnership on Nov. 17 officially launched Orlando Tech Hub, which is powered by a startup ecosystem platform developed by Ramen Life. Like business networking site LinkedIn, Orlando Tech Hub lets users create free profiles, connect with other users and find business opportunities. Unlike LinkedIn, Orlando Tech Hub focuses on Central Florida’s tech community.
Here’s a closer look at what the site offers:
- Grow your network: Orlando Tech Hub lets users find other user profiles with a variety of filters. Users can search by industry, company stage, capital raised and more. Other users can easily be contacted via direct message. In addition, users who are registered as mentors offer a way to book meetings through their profiles.
- Find businesses (or help others find yours): In addition to a network of people, the site features a business and startup directory. Again, these directories are searchable by industry, stage and size. The startup list can even be searched based on what the user is looking for, with options such as “advisors,” “funding” and “employees” available.
- Seek out help: Orlando Tech Hub doesn’t just offer connections; there are learning opportunities as well. Articles and guides for startup formation, fundraising, sales help and more are available and organized by category. Plus, support organizations like investment groups, accelerators and coworking spaces have their own searchable directories.
Orlando Tech Hub plugs a “critical gap” in the local tech community and will serve as a “direct point of connection between early-stage companies and leaders within our community who possess the business expertise, industry connections and available funding to help them grow, scale and succeed,” David Adelson, executive director of innovation and technology at OEP, said in a prepared statement.
There have been multiple initiatives in Orlando in recent years to connect early-stage companies with more established businesses and provide entrepreneurs connections. For example, the OEP last year launched Orlando Tech Connect to forge partnerships between companies in search of innovative and tech-driven solutions and startups in need of customers.
Orlando Tech Connect was an evolution of a similar program called Tech Match, organized annually by Echo Interaction Group CEO Carlos Carbonell.
Similarly, Orange County and the National Entrepreneur Center earlier this month launched BizLink Orange, an online tool offering help and resources for Central Florida entrepreneurs in all industries.
Connecting the region’s startups with resources that can help improve the foundational elements of those companies can go a long way in making more local firms investable, said Black Orlando Tech Executive Director Rose LeJiste during a previous Orlando Inno roundtable. “There's a lot of great talent. There are a lot of smart people, a lot of great tech startups that have potential. They just don't have the checklist items that they need.”
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