Central Florida’s nonprofit membership organization for tech startups — Orlando Tech Community — has chosen six local companies to represent the region at MetaCenter Global Week. The group will present in an Oct. 18 session called Innovation Showcase: Central Florida's Tech Trailblazers.
The businesses stand out among local entrepreneurial efforts with roots in technology, said Dawn Haynes, chair of the Tech Connect committee that selected the six.
Each was chosen in part because it has been vetted as offering a viable solution to a real problem and fills a true need in the marketplace, she said.
Here are the companies that were chosen:
- Ainthoven Inc.: Founded in 2022 and led by CEO Zack Ernst, it uses artificial intelligence to interpret pediatric electrocardiograms. The purpose is to anticipate and prevent sudden cardiac arrest, a cause of death for many children and adolescents.
- Capacitech Energy Inc.: This company, founded in 2016 and led by CEO Joe Sleppy, is set on turning electrical cords into energy storage units, and has made power cords that store and distribute energy. Capacitech is revenue positive and is poised to grow significantly via distribution contracts.
- FlowIntell LLC: The company, founded in 2021 and headed up by CEO Jessica King, is developing a non-invasive blood test to screen for endometriosis. FlowIntell combines biotechnology with comprehensive telehealth services, benefiting women who endure persistent menstrual pain and inflammatory symptoms associated with endometriosis, a health condition that often goes undiagnosed for years.
- Novineer Inc.: Novineer is a software company that automates the design process for 3D printing, making it more efficient and more scalable. It was founded in 2022 and led by CEO Ali Tamijani, Ph.D.
- SimBlocks LLC: It is a digital twin developer that uses Unity and Unreal to create simulations for commercial and government customers. The firm was founded in 2016 and is led by CEO Jordan Dauble.
- Techfit Digital Surgery Inc.: Techfit’s focus is improving surgical accuracy, reducing risks and complications. Two approaches the company takes are facilitating virtual surgery and making custom medical devices that adapt to the patient’s anatomy. Founded in 2018, it is headed up by CEO Mauricio Toro.
Haynes explained that in addition, the committee prioritized businesses that have been cultivated in the Orlando startup ecosystem, a group of entrepreneurial support organizations commonly called ESOs.
A scan of the businesses and the ESOs the found support from tells the story of an environment that could help Orlando achieve what Tampa and Miami have: a thriving startup scene that’s appealing to investors.
“If all the stakeholder groups come together and the support is there across our entire community, Orlando has a really amazing opportunity to become a very robust, healthy and respected tech and innovation center,” said Haynes.
Daytona Beach-based Novineer has as a co-founder, Ali Tamijani, who’s also a professor of aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. He noted that Orlando ESOs serve more areas than just the city. Companies are willing to travel to Orlando and a lot of programs are offered virtually, in whole or in part.
Tamijani said he has gotten a lot of help from Starter Studio, where he went through two business accelerators that helped his company establish a foundation. Starter Studio has its office in downtown Orlando on Orange Avenue and gets its funding from Orange County and the city of Orlando. Of the six local businesses presenting at MetaCenter Global Week, five have done one or more Starter Studio programs.
Novineer completed the Build Stage accelerator in August 2022 and the Pre-Seed Stage accelerator in October 2022.
"In Build, we learned about KPIs, talking with customers and product-market fit. In Pre-Seed, we learned about risks and how to mitigate them and investors due diligence,” he said. “Both of them were very valuable programs and at the end of it, we got a $50,000 investment.”
Joe Sleppy of Orlando-based Capacitech Energy — an Orlando Inno Fire Awards honoree and maker of power cords that store and distribute energy — said the region’s ESOs have been critical to his company’s success.
“They say raising a kid takes a village. Well, a startup is kind of the same way,” he said. “I'm not an expert in any of this stuff, so if I can be part of a program that gives me access to people who have been there and done that, if I can learn from their mistakes so I don’t make the same ones, I’m going to get as much of that as I can. I want those lessons.”
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