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Omnimodal and the Future of Orlando Transportation

March 24, 2017 By Max Jackson Leave a Comment

“It feels like everybody is just two degrees away from everybody else.”, Nathan Selikoff said when asked why he makes Orlando his home. Orlando is a big city, but it’s small enough that its social networks are easy to navigate. Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who controls major resources or who can help shape public policy.
Selikoff is the co-founder of Omnimodal, an Orlando startup seeking to make transportation infrastructure more open and navigable, which has its home on “the Boulevard of Dreams”. Seriously.

The coworking space that they call home is located in a building once occupied by an architectural firm, a firm that erected little homefronts and street signs in the building to show off their architectural flair, homefronts that now serve as offices for local businesses and entrepreneurs working alongside one another. Omnimodal – Omni for short – has a corner space just off the mini main road that runs through the middle of the space, and they have a terrific view.

The coworking space is Conduit, and Omni moved into the building when they did. Conduit began as a cross-disciplinary project with the Florida Hospital Innovation Lab in 2016, eventually expanding to the new space in partnership with SunGate Capital.

Omni’s been with Conduit for a long time. Nathan Selikoff, co-founder of Omni, has been with them since February of 2016 – to him it embodies the best of what Orlando has to offer, what leads him to make the city his home base.

Navigating this world is the biggest challenge Omi currently faces. “The big transition is from thinking about what a better world would be to thinking about what levers of power you actually have to pull to make that happen”, Selikoff said. It’s the basic challenge of any social enterprise, really.

Selikoff and his Co-Founder, David Thomas Moran, first met through the Transit Interpretation Project (TrIP), an initiative where artists and creatives were given an all-day bus pass and rode around Orlando and created art to express their experiences. Selikoff and Moran hit it off right away, full of ideas for how to make transportation better for everyone. They determined that the biggest and most direct way for transportation to improve is for there to be more data, and for that data to be open.

Right now Omni is working to establish itself as a consultancy. A year from now they aim to be well underway with the work of improving Orlando’s infrastructure in conjunction with an agency or other institution. But it doesn’t have to wait – anyone can take the bus, the train, the bike, or even walk if it’s close enough. They encourage people to take that jump, to see what the experience is like and how that experience can be improved, and to take as much data as possible. In Omni’s vision, transportation is something that not only can be used by everyone, but can also be known and improved by everyone too. In transit as in most things, we’re all in this together.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

$1 Million FireSpring Investment from Embry-Riddle Game-Changing for Central Florida Tech Ecosystem

February 8, 2017 By Carlos Carbonell Leave a Comment

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University just announced a substantial $1 million dollar commitment to FireSpring Fund, an evergreen nonprofit fund working toward building Central Florida’s technology and creative community by investing in promising companies.

Donna Mackenzie, Executive Director of FireSpring Fund, says “working together in cooperation will make us all stronger by creating more companies ready for venture investment. That will in turn attract venture funding both from within and outside of our region, that will invest in companies in our region and help us to diversify and grow our economy and create high-paying jobs.”

Ray Leach, the CEO of Jumpstart, which serves as one of the models for Central Florida-based venture investment nonprofit Firespring Fund, said recently at an Orlando, Inc. (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) event that in order to grow a tech ecosystem, public/private partnerships need to share the work and investment together.

After this latest $1 million commitment by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the financial support of both City of Orlando and Orange County governments, University of Central Florida, and several private companies and organizations, our region is on its way to do exactly what Leach suggests. As a tech community, we should be excited that we have yet another partner enter our ecosystem.

Sharing in that excitement is Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, one of the first advocates of FireSpring Fund. “The City of Orlando is pleased to welcome Embry-Riddle as a financial partner in the FireSpring fund,” said Mayor Dyer. “When our government, educational anchors and private sector businesses partner to support our entrepreneurial ecosystem, we are working together to nurture and grow the most promising innovative technology and advanced manufacturing startups in Central Florida, and in turn, growing Orlando’s innovation-based economy and helping to create new jobs and opportunities for our residents.”

Donna Mackenzie, who also leads Canvs and Starter Studio, has been quietly working very diligently in furthering this connection and negotiating the investment for several months. But it wasn’t a hard sell. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) understood the value of connectivity early on and knew that a relationship with the tech community would serve as a bridge between Volusia County and Orlando in general. Embry-Riddle is a center of excellence for innovation in the areas of Simulation Technology, Aerospace and Software Engineering to name a few. The connectivity to Embry-Riddle will also be beneficial to Central Florida startups that may benefit from the support available at Embry-Riddle: incubator space, unique partnerships, research facilities, laboratory space and other resources.

Mackenzie said this commitment “represents a strong partnership between Embry-Riddle and others in Central Florida like FireSpring Fund, Orlando Tech Association, Canvs, University of Central Florida, City of Orlando, Orange County, Rollins and many others that are working together to solve for a lack of seed funding and resources to give our startups every possibility of great success.”

Our region is more than just Orlando city limits. The power of our collective, the spirit of collaboration and our willingness to work outside of silos will be the catalyst to propelling us to success.

(Carlos Carbonell is the CEO of Echo Interaction Group, a tech strategy & mobile app development company, and founding board president of the Orlando Tech Association).

Filed Under: Funding, News, People, Uncategorized

Dear Friends

July 25, 2016 By odavis 4 Comments

Over the past five years, it has been my personal mission to help foster a startup community in Orlando. In that time, I’ve seen our fledging community grow to support hundreds of meetups, local bootstrapped companies exit for millions of dollars, our events welcoming thousands, and OTA’s national recognition for these programs.

I could never have imagined hosting a pitch night would lay the foundations for what would eventually become the Orlando Tech Association. I’ve been fortunate to have a role in initiatives that created a true sense of community, empowered entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams, and raised awareness of how critical tech is to the future of Orlando.

At my core I’m a starter, and I’ve always known that one day I would get back in the ring working with an early-stage tech company. And now that day has come. Today, I must inform you that I will be stepping down as Executive Director of OTA effective July 29. I’m excited to join Abe as their Head of Growth, where I will help this Orlando-based startup grow and become a key player in the field of AI and personal finance.

I remain dedicated to OTA and will continue to drive the work of our mission as a member of the board. Our signature programs and events, including Orlando Tech Meetup, Orlando Tech Week, and Weekend Launch, will continue uninterrupted. To ensure this continuity, I am committed to supporting a smooth transition as OTA plans its next steps and we begin the executive search process.

I want to thank you all for your support throughout the years. And, I look forward to supporting OTA as we continue to help our community grow.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

flexReceipts Completes Y Combinator & Secures an Additional $2.5 M

June 29, 2016 By Vanessa Luis Leave a Comment

flexReceipts, an Orlando-based company, has announced that it’s raised $2.5 million in additional funding. The round was led by Point Judith Capital, a Boston-based venture capital firm that focuses on consumer and enterprise technology investments. The additional funding brings there toal to raised to $5 million. flexReceipts is now used in more than 7,000 retail locations, such as Rooms to Go, GNC and Aldo Shoes and its marketing platform is an essential part of its success. The company leverages data to include custom promotions, coupons, recommendations and more. It’s smart email receipts allows retailers to engage better with their customers post-purchase

Sean March from Point Judith Capital said, “I focus on investing in people who have a real passion for what they are doing and who have the drive, intellect and a will to win that enables them to recruit A+ talent to build their team.  Tomas and Jay embody this in every way and the result is a leading product in the e-receipt market.”

Click here to read the full press release. 

What is the Y- Combinator

Y Combinator provides seed funding for startups. Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding. It pays expenses of startups while they are getting started. Twice a year the Y Combinator invests a small amount of money in a large number of startups. For three months, the startups move to Silicon Valley where they work intensively to reshape, refine and perfect their pitches to potential investors. Each cycle ends in what’s called Demo Day. This is where startups take the stage to present their companies to carefully selected, invite-only audiences. The mentoring and help for these companies continues for the life of a company.

Click here to learn more about the Y Combinator.

Filed Under: Digital Media, Funding, News, People, Product Announcements, Uncategorized, Web/Mobile Application Tagged With: flexReceipts, orlando, Startup, Y Combinator

June Orlando Tech Meetup – It’s All About Community

June 9, 2016 By Vanessa Luis Leave a Comment

We are halfway through the year, which means we are officially halfway through the meetups for 2016. For this month’s meetup the theme is community and you will get to hear from four companies looking to change the way you get involved.

These startups will help you connect with people who have similar interests, keep you in the loop with family and friends, tap into the boating community, and the last you explore different home kitchens around you.

Let’s take a look at what you can expect next week!

Featured Companies

Friendish – A friending app that connects users with people around them that share common interests. Swipe on interests you like and connect with other people around you who like the same things. | Twitter: @friendishapp | FB: Friendish App

Familink – Stay connected with loops. In loops you can create quick posts, which makes keeping people updated easier than texting. Only social network available where you can see who your friends are using and trust using in their home.| Twitter: @thefamilink | FB: Familink 

Dock Skipper – AirBNB for private boat docks and is the only complete system for listing and renting docks, slips and moorings. It connects private owners with unused dock space to boaters looking to rent. | Twitter: @dock_skipper | FB: Dock Skipper

Pull Up a Seat – This food app allows users to find anyone cooking around them and simply ‘pull up a seat.’ Sort of like the Uber of food. This allows you to explore from an assortment of flavors around you and opens up the door to someone’s kitchen. |Twitter: @PullUpASeatAPP | FB: Pull Up a Seat

RSVP here and let us know you’ll be there!

Filed Under: Education, Events, News, People, Product Announcements, Profiles, Uncategorized, Web/Mobile Application Tagged With: Application, Boats, Dock Skipper, Familink, Family, Food, Friendish, Meetup, orlando, Pull Up A Seat

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