Lake Nona caught Maria Salamanca’s attention.
From the Lead Sports Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech accelerator hosting startups from around the world to the self-driving Beep Inc. shuttle cruising the streets, the Lake Nona master-planned community interested Salamanca, a partner at San Francisco-based venture capital firm Unshackled Ventures.
That’s one reason Salamanca bought a house in Lake Nona in May 2021, she told Orlando Inno. “I saw Lake Nona as a place where a lot of collaboration is happening. They seem to be innovation forward-focused.”
Salamanca immigrated to Orlando from Colombia more than 20 years ago. After a decade of going to school and working in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the world hubs for entrepreneurship and innovation, she moved back to Orlando.
While the move mostly was motivated by a desire to be closer to family and friends, she’s also exploring the innovation ecosystem of her hometown.
In 2021, Miami and Tampa often made headlines for drawing West Coast entrepreneurs and investors to the Sunshine State, while Orlando has not appeared to attract nearly as many.
However, Salamanca’s return to Central Florida provides a fresh perspective on the local startup ecosystem. It also may mean more Florida investments by Unshackled Ventures, an early-stage investment firm that focuses on companies with immigrant founders.
Here’s more from Salamanca on her move back to Orlando:
Why did you decide to move back to Orlando? Proximity to family was important. Covid was not an easy time to travel between the east and west coasts. I really missed my community. I’m close to people from the school district, friends from high school, friends from K-12. There has been a big move from California and New York to Florida.
What do you see as the Orlando tech and entrepreneur ecosystem’s advantages? Orlando is actually a pretty unique and creative city. Between Full Sail, Disney and the space work, we have some really cool stuff. We have some of the same infrastructure as Los Angeles when it comes to entertainment and creative industries. Orlando hasn’t quite decided what we as an ecosystem want to be really good at or stand out for.
What needs to improve? There needs to be an ecosystem of entrepreneurs and investors who are coming together fairly often. I’m seeing some signs of that. I’m a big admirer of everything Embarc Collective has done in Tampa, and I hope to see something like that in Orlando… It’s interesting to see how Miami was able to transform to a tech meeting spot. They have Miami Hack Week, Miami Tech Week. I would like to see Orlando capture momentum like that.
Do you expect to invest in more Florida companies now that you’re here? I am spending time meeting entrepreneurs from Orlando and everywhere in Florida. We just hired an analyst who is based in Miami. Between the two of us, we’re excited to do a lot more Florida deals.
How many deals does Unshackled Ventures do each year? We invest in between 18-20 companies each year. Our range is $200,000-$500,000. The average check is closer to $400,000.
Maria Salamanca,
partner, Unshackled Ventures
- Assets under management: $60 million
- Age: 29
- Hometown: Orlando
- Education: University of California, Berkley
- Hobbies: Playing tennis; working with Orange County Public Schools on the College Access and Success Initiative, which she founded
- Website: www.unshackledvc.com
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