Christina Drake originally wanted Shari Dingle Costantini to join her company as a strategic adviser, but she quickly realized Costantini offered a lot more to Kismet Technologies LLC.
After the pair began working together four months ago, Costantini took up the title of president and co-founder of the 3-year-old startup.
The addition of Costantini, who scaled a health care staffing firm to $160 million in revenue before retiring the company in 2021, brings experienced entrepreneurial leadership to Orlando-based Kismet, which has developed a potentially groundbreaking disinfectant.
“I want Kismet to be the world leader in infection control products,” Drake said. “That’s a big vision. I knew I couldn’t do that by myself and stay mentally healthy.”
Based at the University of Central Florida’s Lake Nona incubator, Orlando Inno Startup to Watch company Kismet developed NanoRAD, a transparent disinfectant that kills bacteria and viruses within two hours of being applied on a surface. NanoRAD can last on a surface for months.
Meanwhile, Costantini founded Casselberry-based Avant Healthcare Professionals in 2003, growing it to a company with 250-plus Central Florida employees. Avant was bought by Alpahretta, Georgia-based Jackson Healthcare in 2018.
When Costantini left Avant last year, she wanted to help grow another business, she said. Through the Entrepreneurs Alliance Orlando, Costantini got acquainted with Orlando-based industrial tech firm Red Meters and became CEO last September. However, Costantini wasn’t a fit at Red Meters “for many reasons” she said, and she left the company after four months.
However, Costantini said she feels Kismet is a good fit because of Costantini’s health care background and her experience working with the government. Approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the biggest regulatory hurdle Kismet faces as it works to bring its product to market, Drake said.
Costantini also connected Drake to former Avant Chief Financial Officer Spence Lloyd, who recently took the same position at Kismet.
These two additions to the team are key as Kismet not only goes back and forth with the EPA, but also eyes two big developments for the company.
One is an attempt to enter the cruise industry, which would be a beachhead market for NanoRAD. Kismet’s products have applications across sectors, namely health care, but the cruise industry poses fewer regulatory hurdles.
The other is a fundraising round Kismet aims to open within three months, Drake said. Costantini is experienced in that area, having raised an assortment of angel, private equity and strategic investment capital during her 18 years at Avant.
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