This year’s fifth annual Synapse Summit brought together more than 5,500 attendees, 311 exhibitors and 185 speakers to one community in one day. Weeks after the Summit we are still feeling the energy and excitement. People often associate innovation with technology, but at Synapse we think of innovation as creative solutions and ideas that make things better. For the last five years, Synapse has gathered those innovators from multiple industries and regions across the state of Florida. We curate a gathering that aligns the innovation community under one roof to find what they need and share what they have.
Not only was Synapse Summit 2022 successful in doing that, but the energy and the ideas that were shared inspired and rallied everyone together, making our program and this experience the best one yet.
Innovation on display
The program experience we curate at Synapse Summit provides a space for innovators and thought leaders to share their expertise on stage. This was presented across eight stages and 51 sessions both online and in-person.
To shape the content, we pay close attention to what’s happening in the ecosystem and listen to our partners on the topics they care about, who they want to hear from and what they need for their role. Some of the program themes and topics represented this year included investing in Florida innovation, web3, blockchain, health care, fintech, sustainability and talent. Our audience consists of founders, corporations and investors, educational leaders and policy makers. We are mindful to present content that covers everything from the foundational aspects of an industry to the current landscape of talent in Florida, to future trends.
Diversity in programming
The benefit of hosting an annual event is that we get to invite new voices to participate and pass the microphone. Florida is made up of a diverse community and we work hard to ensure the program is reflective of that, both demographically and geographically. Hosting a session with panelists from Miami, Tampa and Gainesville forges new relationships and displays further connectivity across the ecosystem. This year 90% of our sessions included diverse subject matter experts, including a gathering for Black innovators in Florida, an all-female panel who shared their success in securing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding, and veteran leaders who are helping others access the defense industry.
Celebrating the doers and makers
When it comes to uniting the innovation community in Florida, we are proud to celebrate it by continuing the Synapse Innovation Awards for the second year. The Innovation Awards were designed to highlight the doers and the makers transforming their industries, often with startups and nonprofits competing against growth and enterprise companies. Each company selects one of the six innovation categories: health care, community impact, emerging tech, defense, hospitality and entertainment, and cleantech. The Innovation Awards culminated at Synapse Summit with a showcase where each company pitched in front of a live audience on the center stage, giving them further exposure to the community and a space to share their story. Our finalists came from multiple cities across Florida further solidifying that Innovation Lives Here.
There’s no shortage of innovators and leaders who contribute to our ecosystem here in Florida. What we produced is just a sampling of the stories, wins and innovations that are impacting the community. We look forward to the momentum and opportunities that will stem from this year’s Synapse Summit, and the new thought leaders that we will get to discover and celebrate in the year ahead.
To stay in the know and learn more about how to participate with Synapse throughout the year, send us your information here.
Synapse Florida is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that connects entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders to accelerate success in Florida’s thriving economies.
