TAMPA & ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Florida Venture Forum, a statewide support organization for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, today announced its selection of 20 Florida-based companies to present and two Florida-based companies to exhibit at its Seventh Annual Early Stage Capital Conference. The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at the Reunion Resort, 7593 Gathering Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34747.
The 20 companies, considered among the state’s best early stage prospects for equity financing, will each deliver six-minute presentations to an audience of venture capitalists, private equity investors, angel investors, investment bankers, financial intermediaries, and entrepreneurs.
The Florida Venture Forum, established in 1984, is known as the state’s leading entrepreneurial networking group that provides companies with managerial assistance and identifies sources of venture capital. To date, the organization has helped Florida-based companies attract more than $2.8 billion of venture capital investment.
This year’s presenting companies, listed by region, are:
Central/East Central Florida
CareSpotter (www.carespotter.com), based in Orlando, is an online platform that enables families to search for and hire local, professional caregivers. Families can search using 150 unique criteria such as language, experience with a medical condition, or hobbies. All caregivers receive background checks and are screened, insured and bonded through the site. CareSpotter's backend technology helps caregivers provide enhanced care and prevent hospital readmissions.
I MEDIAREACH (www.imediareach.com), based in Orlando, transforms old technology, ultra-high-frequency devices into mobile-compatible formats for broadcasting to any smart device within range. It enables smart devices equipped with its exclusive app and snap-on dongle antennae to receive multi-channel streaming video in 480i/p, rendering HDTV experiences for end users on the devices of their choosing.
MYOLYN, based in Gainesville, and a GAIN FastPitch Winner, is a manufacturer of neuro-prosthetic devices. Its Myolyn technology utilizes functional electrical stimulation to provide increased mobility, health, and independence to people with neurological disorders.
PowerPHASE (www.powerphasellc.com), based in Jupiter, makes a patent-pending air injection system for combustion turbine (gas turbine) power plants, called TurboPHASE. A single TurboPHASE module is about the size of a 30-foot long shipping container. A modular TurboPHASE system is composed of one to five TurboPHASE modules per gas turbine and is capable of boosting the output of gas turbine power plants 10-20% for less than one-half the capital cost of building a new power plant.
Seatorque Control Systems (www.seatorque.com), based in Stuart, is a manufacturer of Propulsion Systems for the marine industry. Seatorque’s patented, award-winning enclosed shaft system has already broken new ground as a low-loss, hi-efficiency propulsion alternative.
Spectrum Bridge (www.spectrumbridge.com), based in Lake Mary, provides the tools and services that identify available spectrum and manage the shared use of the finite resource of broadband wireless access.
Southeast Florida
Biscayne Pharmaceuticals (www.biscaynepharma.com), based in Miami, is developing novel therapies licensed from the University of Miami that are based on proprietary growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) technology discovered by Dr. Andrew V. Schally, a Nobel laureate and pioneering developer of blockbuster endocrine drugs. Biscayne’s GHRH analogs are expected to have broad applicability for the treatment of many different cancers and they may also have utility in heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.
CarePredict (www.carepredict.com), based in Davie, is the developer of Tempo, the first wearable sensor for seniors that is context aware and uses machine learning with predictive analytics to trigger social and clinical interventions. Tempo learns the patterns of activities and behaviors in the seniors’ homes from the moment they wake up to when they go to bed. It enables loved ones to know when anything unusual happens, even if the events are gradual and take place over time.
LogZilla Corporation (www.logzilla.net), based in Wellington, is a subscription-based software company in the Big Data analytics market. The company has developed a platform that enables customers to collect, index, monitor, search and analyze any unstructured data source.
Neocis (www.neocisinc.com), based in Miami Beach, creates a robotic guidance system for the dental implants market. It reduces surgeons’ time and improves clinical performance through a minimally invasive approach.
Papatel (www.papatel.com), based in Sunny Isles Beach, is a technology-enabled marketing services company that provides free international long distance calls to any device in the world, plus a money remittances alternative service. Ideal for calling emerging markets where more than 85% of phones are prepaid with no Internet, Papatel’s free call service attracts a fast-growing user base that is also offered e-commerce services such as gift remittances and mobile top up/recharging.
Razient (www.razient.com), based in Miami, provides an automated solution to track all global factories for companies and all the products they make, and then correlate them automatically in response to disasters, enabling faster notification and recovery efforts.
Snow Lizard Products (www.snowlizard.com), based in Miami, created the first-ever waterproof, solar/battery-powered rugged iPhone and iPad case. Its rugged, wearable, waterproof cases are designed to endure the toughest conditions as well as charge devices on-the-go via an auxiliary, solar powered battery. Their products enable consumers to take phones or tablets in any environment with no risk of damage and extended time periods.
U-Glove (www.u-glove.com), based in Weston, offers an advertising platform on disposable gloves called “U-Gloves.” The company will partner with fuel retailers and energy companies to offer free disposable gloves at gas pumps for consumers and gas station operators. The company will make its revenues from advertising printed on the U-Gloves.
Vigilant Biosciences, Inc. (www.vigilantbiosciences.com), based in Miami, is the developer of the Vigilant platform, which uses cancer-specific protein biomarkers to detect cancer earlier to improve outcomes. Vigilant’s first test consists of a simple, oral cancer-specific and cost-effective oral rinse and test strip that can be commercialized in the dental and medical channels (including pharmacy clinics). Priced to leverage existing insurance reimbursement codes, Vigilant’s oral cancer risk assessment test will target a $600 million market opportunity in the U.S. and a multi-billion dollar opportunity worldwide starting with a product launch in 2015.
Southwest Florida
Dock-n-Lock, (www.dock-n-lock.com), based in Sarasota, is an automotive electronics company focused on improving driver safety. Its technology requires drivers to "dock and lock" their phones before starting their vehicles. In this way, completely eliminating the distractions of the phone while driving.
MassiveU, Inc. (www.MassiveU.com), based in Naples, is a mobile-first learning solutions company in the high-growth education technology sector. The company uses mobile apps to help content providers create, distribute and sell unique mobile learning content to students and customers that may be accessed on virtually any mobile phone, tablet or online screen.
Platesmart Technologies (www.platesmart.com), based in Oldsmar, develops advanced, proprietary license plate recognition software solutions that deliver mission-critical information in real time for law enforcement, security agencies, and commercial enterprises. PlateSmart’s solutions are hardware-agnostic, capable of functioning with standard windows PCs and a wide range of off-the-shelf IP cameras. Its product lines include its Mobile LPR software, popular with law enforcement, and ARES, a complete end-to-end video analytics system based on LPR. PlateSmart is the sole owner of all of its technology and has an extensive portfolio of patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
North Florida
Full Core, LLC (www.fullcore.com), based in Atlantic Beach, is the first natural appetite control drink formulated with fiber, vitamins, and minerals to promote digestive health. It’s currently in production in lemon-line flavor, and three other flavors have already been formulated: orange fusion, acai pomegranate, and non-carbonated green tea.
Vin-Ice Inc. (www.vin-ice.com), based in Pensacola, is the producer and marketer of Vin-Ice, an innovative frozen wine drink designed for mid-market to high-end bars, restaurants, and casinos. It is also being produced in a consumer retail 12-ounce flex package for home use. The product is made in Florida from imported wines and in California from high-end local wines and proprietary natural formulas.
The exhibiting companies are:
Florida Funders (www.floridafunders.com), based in Tampa, connects investors and early stage companies seeking funding. Using the Florida Funders website, accredited investors access information on companies seeking investment.
Shirmo (www.shirmo.com), based in Bradenton, developed a patent-pending, software-based sponsorship program to help individuals easily secure funding and support on behalf of their organizations through the design and production of high-quality sponsored t-shirts using a real-time sponsorship engine. The engine enables simple, one-click purchasing and logo management.
In addition to the company presentations and exhibits, the Early Stage Conference will feature panel discussions, a workshop for presenters and investors about valuation of early stage companies, networking opportunities, and access to industry thought-leaders and decision-makers with many of Florida’s top entrepreneurial companies. More details are available in the conference schedule. Since 2008, previous presenting companies at this conference have received a total of more than $12.7 million in early stage investment funding.
About the Florida Venture Forum
The Florida Venture Forum is Florida’s largest and most prestigious statewide support organization for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, helping emerging growth companies come together with sources of capital from across the country. The organization provides programs statewide throughout the year in addition to hosting the Florida Venture Capital Conference, the Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and the Early Stage Conference. For more information, visit http://www.flventure.org or send an e-mail to pat@flventure.org or kevin@flventure.org.
Editor’s Notes: Media passes and interviews may be coordinated upon request.
