When KinoTek Inc.’s co-founders in 2020 applied to the Lead Sports Accelerator, they didn’t know which of Lead’s two startup accelerator locations they were applying for: Berlin or the Lake Nona community in Orlando.
They didn’t find out they would be joining the Lake Nona accelerator until the first introduction call with Berlin-based Lead Sports, co-founder and CEO Justin Hafner told Orlando Inno. Further, Portland, Maine-based movement analysis firm KinoTek knew little about Lake Nona before it was accepted into the accelerator’s inaugural cohort.
However, the accelerator exposed KinoTek to a burgeoning sports and health tech cluster in the southeast Orlando community, got the startup connected to investors and led to a recent decision to establish a second office in Orlando, according to Hafner. “What’s being built there is truly game-changing.”
The growth and relocation of early-stage businesses is important for Central Florida, as those firms can add local jobs and create economic impact as they scale. Startups also create innovative solutions for businesses, help develop a community and make it easier for other new companies to form in the future.
The 3-year-old firm’s technology lets therapists, chiropractors and strength/conditioning coaches capture and document movement data in as little as 5-10 seconds. It then can share the data easily with clients as part of the recovery or training process.
The company sought out startup accelerators because it wanted to grow as fast as possible. The Lead accelerator seemed like a good fit because of its sports and wellness focus. During the six-month program, KinoTek’s team got connected with a collection of sports and wellness startups and organizations, Hafner said. “We got to triple our Rolodex.”
The accelerator is how KinoTek connected with representatives of the Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Fund, formed by Lead Sports and Tavistock Group. The fund led a $2.1 million seed round for KinoTek, which was announced Oct. 6.
One of the goals of the Lead accelerator and the fund is to use the sports and health organizations in Lake Nona. KinoTek found an important partner in the Lake Nona Performance Club, which uses the company’s technology to conduct comprehensive evaluations of its new members, Executive Director Jay Groves told Orlando Inno.
This evaluation lets the club detect injuries or movement issues in its members with “unprecedented” sophistication, Groves said. This helps staff prescribe exercises and workout tips tailored to each member. Meanwhile, this partnership helps KinoTek “flesh out” and test new features on its platform, Hafner said.
In addition, an office in Central Florida is valuable to KinoTek because of the Sunshine State’s big health care market, Hafner added. KinoTek will concentrate its sales efforts on the north and south ends of the East Coast before expanding out west, he said. “If we can win the Florida market, we can really start to build this out and expand.”
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