As the head of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator turns to a new venture in the region, FIBA will be pivoting at the start of the new year.
FIBA enters its fifth year in 2021 and was headed by Rachel Feinman, its executive director. She recently accepted a role as vice president of innovation at Tampa General Hospital and will be leading a $15 million, innovation-focused fund. She will finish with FIBA in November and start her new role in January 2021.
"I think it's very natural and a very exciting move for her; we've been partnering with TGH very closely in the last couple years," Rakefet Bachur-Phillips, FIBA's former director of marketing, said. "Rachel was really a pleasure to work with, she brought a lot of great ideas and energy and we're very excited for her new role — and also for our new structure and focus areas. We hope 2021 will be very busy but very successful."
Rakefet Bachur-Phillips will now serve as co-executive director along with Pam Miniati. Jack Ross, who previously worked at FIBA before leaving to serve as COO with FIBA company StemRad, is returning as director of impact investment.
Their first order of business is to shift FIBA's model, which previously focused on hosting cohorts of Israeli companies.
"It's fairly clear that for us to achieve the goal of convincing these companies to set up shop in Florida, they either need to find a local investor or find an industry partner that will experience and highlight their product," Bachur-Phillips said. "It may be different with local startups, but for Israeli startups these [factors] are important. And after experimenting with different models and programs, we want to shift to generate more success."
Forty companies have gone through the program, with an additional 20 that were brought on board through the organization's "challenges" or requests for innovation. Six of those companies have either relocated or expanded to Florida.
While details are still being ironed out, Bachur-Phillips stated the goal is for FIBA companies to receive investments with the understanding they would have to relocate or expand to Florida. The companies could also partner with an industry leader with similar expectations of moving or relocating to the Sunshine State. FIBA already has a history of partnerships, including with TGH, Jabil and an upcoming partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture.
"It [will be] anchored around a topic, saying, 'This is the need I have and I want to see solutions that are focusing on this problem,'" Bachur-Phillips said. "It really helps with recruiting and to bring companies in that provide an exact solution our partner has, which increases the chance we have some synergy. We're trying to be much more focused and targeted versus bringing in a random group of amazing startups with no anchor at all."
On the investment side, Bachur-Phillips said it was too soon to give a monetary value for the eventual fund they hope to create. But, they are looking for investors across the entire state of Florida.
"It's very possible the core will be in Tampa Bay, but we definitely want to open the options and opportunities to other angel investors in Florida with a focus on Sarasota, Naples, Fort Myers," she said, adding FIBA has worked with the cities of Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. "We want to get the community educated and excited for these opportunities."
