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A New Home for ESPN West Palm Sports | A Dynamic Entrepreneurial Ecosystem | Relocations/Expansions
A Quarterly Economic Development Publication
Summer 2016
Fresh Ideas
in Economic Development
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News & Events
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Attracting and Retaining Talent Building Innovative Communities Major Real Estate Developments Underway Throughout County Building Livable, Walkable Communities Construction Begins on UTC’s New Center for Intelligent Buildings Unemployment Rate at 9-Year Low New Glades Website BDB Golf Tournament BDB FAM Tour Relocations & Expansions
FAM Tour
PBC's Business Assets Shown to Site Selectors
Global Sigma Group
Finds Success in Palm Beach County
ON THE COVER Gabe Klein delivers a keynote address at the BDB’s Economic Development Forum 2016.
Palm Beach County’s Colleges and Universities
Offer Entrepreneurship Programs
Supporting the Entrepreneurial Spirit
The Driving Force for Business Success in Palm Beach County
Spotlight on Entrepreneurs The Secret to Their Success
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CONTENTS
Economic Development Forum
Welcome from the President TO OUR MEMBERS AND PARTNERS:
It’s exciting to see the accelerating pace of business activity throughout Palm Beach County: new companies, new jobs and a host of commercial and residential real estate projects. Our county’s jobless rate continues to fall and there are great economic development opportunities in the north, central, south and west areas of our county. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. Like everything else in life, change is relentless. Our county’s business development strategies must continue to evolve, just as our area companies must keep a close eye on the needs of their customers. In that regard, the BDB’s second annual Economic Development Forum – covered in depth in this issue – included important insights from keynote speakers outside the region. We felt it was important to gain fresh ideas on key topics like attracting Millennial workers and fostering a collaborative climate for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. It’s also a pleasure to report that our local governments, educational institutions and private businesses understand the importance of working together to build a strong and sustainable economy. It takes a shared vision
and strategy to succeed – and our partners in the public and private sectors “get it.” Certainly, two of the many highlights of the forum were Gabe Klein’s visionary presentation on creating cities of the future and Paul Krutko’s talk on “Building Communities for the Next Generation.” A national leader in developing science and technology parks, Krutko explained how Ann Arbor, Michigan, is drawing on the educational resources of the University of Michigan to attract young engineering talent and launch new companies. This issue of Palm Beach County Business also includes features on two of our region’s dynamic companies, along with articles on how we are building a robust countywide ecosystem for entrepreneurs in all types of businesses. Let us continue to cultivate that spirit as we continue to diversify Palm Beach County’s economy. CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL:
Kelly Smallridge President and CEO
Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Inc. 310 Evernia Street | West Palm Beach, FL 33401 561.835.1008 | www.bdb.org Palm Beach County’s Economic Development Resource
Published by » Passport
Publications & Media Corporation
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Palm Beach County’s Economic Development Resource
Economic Development Forum Provides New Ideas, Fresh Insights and Best Practices A technology incubator program is bringing new engineering jobs to Ann Arbor, Michigan. A street redesign program in Chicago is attracting young bicycle commuters and bus riders. And a “nice” promotional campaign is attracting family visitors to Nebraska. These are were a few of the innovative concepts presented to Palm Beach County’s business, education and civic leaders at the Business Development Board’s Economic Development Forum 2016. More than 500 executives and professionals from throughout the region attended the BDB’s second annual forum on April 21 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center with Bank of America as the presenting sponsor. “We wanted to bring new ideas, fresh insights and best practices from across the country to Palm Beach County,” said Kelly Smallridge, BDB president and CEO. “We can all benefit from creative thinking and leading-edge initiatives in terms of transportation, workforce, education and other issues.” The forum included sessions on real estate development, the economic outlook for Palm Beach County, innovation and technology, and building communities for the next generation. “Our goal is to bring our leaders togther to discuss how to make Palm Beach County an even more attractive location for business investment and creating new jobs,” said Gina Melby, BDB chair and CEO, HCA Palm Beach Hospitals. “We hope everyone at the forum becomes very engaged in the economic development process.” Palm Beach County Mayor Mary Lou Berger emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships in building a sustainable future. “Palm Beach County is recognized around the country for our economic development success,” she said. “We look forward to learning and sharing with each other as we seek innovative ways to continue our growth.”
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and
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FORUM
Attracting Retaining
Talent
When it comes to “selling” Nebraska – a state without the dramatic scenery of the Southwest or the big cities of the East – Andy Fletcher and his team decided to highlight the state’s friendly people with the slogan: “Visit Nebraska. Visit Nice.” “In advertising, you want to make an emotional connection with your audience,” said Fletcher, CEO, Bailey Lauerman, an independent advertising agency in Omaha. “Don’t worry about facts and figures,” he added. “Make people love you.” “That same approach is crucial to attracting young, creative talent in communities like Palm Beach County,” said Fletcher in his talk on “Attracting and Retaining Talent.” Noting that the 80-million Millennial generation is quickly becoming 50 percent of the workforce, he said, “If you don’t figure them out, you will be in trouble.” “Millennials are self-confident, with hopes and ambitions for the future,” he said. They also challenge the status quo and can make immediate contributions to their employers. “We are lucky to be able to turn over our businesses to them in the future,” he added. Fletcher gave seven recommendations for attracting young professional talent: 1. “Be intentional about making changes. Rather than simply react to market conditions, successful companies should identify what they should do differently and make things happen,” he said. 2. Do it now. “Don’t put things off; just get started,” Fletcher said. “You could try something different with your next customer and start to incorporate new ideas into your organization.” 3. “Never be sorry. Don’t apologize for what you do,” he said. Instead, be proud of who you are and where you are going. 4. Set a high standard for your people. “No one will think higher of you than you think of yourself,” he said. 5. Minimize your policies and procedures. “Expect your people to be good, not bad,” he said. “Most everyone will do the right thing, and cutting back on the rules makes your organization more nimble, as well as attractive to Millennials.” 6. Take a stand. “Millennials need to know you are doing more than just making a living,” he said. “Believe in a cause and adopt it.” 7. Value new employees’ prior experience. “Don’t make them start at the bottom again,” he said. “Give them assignments and roles based on their experience and help them keep growing. That’s the key to retaining Millennial talent for the long term.”
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Building
innovative Communities Paul Krutko
While Detroit has far fewer automotive manufacturing jobs than in the past, the Midwest region still has an abundance of engineering talent. In Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, a robust public-private partnership is fostering the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. “Talent, educational institutions and private ventures can come together to create prosperity,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK, in his talk on “Building Communities for the Next Generation.” In the past decade, the Michigan economic development organization has assisted 1,873 startups, and brought in $1.9 billion in investment, creating 15,200 jobs. Nationally known for his leadership in science and technology initiatives, Krutko pointed to the importance of building strong “towngrown” relationships, internship programs and incubator spaces in developing young talent, and keeping those professionals in the community. “If you just sit back, you won’t get the talent you want,” Krutko said. “We run our own job portal, and created a series of events for college students to give them exposure to local companies.”
From an economic development perspective, Krutko said, “It’s important to conduct a careful inventory of the current resources and services for new entrepreneurial ventures and early-stage companies.” “It’s also important to have a physically compact, accessible environment for anchor institutions, big companies and smaller firms to interact with each other,” Krutko said. “Having a dense, mixed environment can spur new economic activity. Since every technology job creates five additional jobs, having that kind of ecosystem is vital for sustained economic development.” "You may have a cluster in your community, but others need to know about it – marketing is a key component," Krutko said. “The lessons of Ann Arbor – and other technology districts around the country – include setting a vision for growth, actively pursing talent and technology, enhancing access to capital and promoting inclusive job growth that goes beyond workers with high-level skills.” “You also have to be authentic in your economic development strategy,” he said. “Work on the assets you already have, take a collaborative approach and be sure to include funds for marketing and communications. You have to tell the world that you have a great platform for business success.”
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Palm Beach County’s Economic Development Resource
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FORUM
Major Real Estate Developments
Sahnnon LaRocque, Bobby Julien, Jordan Paul, Jeff Greene
Underway Throughout County Throughout Palm Beach County, the pace of commercial and residential development is accelerating, according to three leaders who participated in a panel on “Current Trends in Palm Beach County Real Estate.” Shannon LaRocque, assistant county administrator, Palm Beach County, moderated the panel with Jeff Greene, real estate investor; Bobby Julien, CEO, The Kolter Group; and Jordan Paul, CEO, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. “Locally, I am very bullish on our market,” said Greene. “There has been no construction here since the financial crash, and our county is still in the early stages of our recovery.” Greene gave an update on his current projects, which include One West Palm, a Class A office, hotel and residential development; Lakeview, which is still in the planning stage, and a master-planned 17acre retail and residential development near Curry Park. Paul noted that major investors from throughout the U.S. are
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taking a close look at the West Palm Beach market. “We have seen very good absorption in the office market and rental rates have gone up substantially over the past few years,” he said. “Our challenge is to increase our inventory of Class A office space to help attract major companies. We need that to create a true live-work-play environment here.” Kolter is moving forward on its 680-acre Alton development in northern Palm Beach County. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime infill project with new homes, commercial, retail and entertainment uses,” said Julien, adding that United Technologies Corp. has broken ground on its 30-acre UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings in the development. Paul said, “A wave of new development will transform the western communities in the next decade and have been approved for 15,000 residential units and 10 million square feet of commercial space.” He added, “We need those commercial services out west to reduce the number of people who have to drive east.”
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Building
Livable, Walkable Communities
Palm Beach County can become an even more attractive place to live, work and play, according to Gabe Klein, senior vice president, Fontinalis Partners, and author of a new book, Start up City. In his keynote talk at the forum, Klein outlined his planning and consulting work in Chicago, Washington, DC, and other major cities. “I believe we can do great things for people, help nature and still make a profit,” he said. “Today, everyone wants more, livable walkable communities, and you have an opportunity to create that right here.” Reflecting on his 22-year career in the public and private sectors, Klein articulated that dense cities are the foundation for economic growth, technology innovation, shopping and cultural facilities. “Urbanization is on the rise around the world, but it requires a good support system, including transit,” he said. “Only so many people can fit into cars.” Klein, who started Zipcar in 2002, said the cost of owning a car in cities keep rising. “Now, with Uber and Lyft you are seeing the evolution of transporation as a service,” he added. “Now you can get a ride at the push of a button.” Klein is also an advocate of bicycle commuting and bike-sharing, a service already available in West Palm Beach. “Turning car lanes into biking routes in San Francisco and Chicago supports that concept and actually improved the flow of vehicular traffic,” he said. “In the Chicago ‘Complete Streets’ plan, we redesigned around people,” Klein said. “We turned downtown Dearborn into a safer street for bikers and pedestrians, and found that business actually went up.” To change urban dynamics, Klein pointed to the importance of getting stakeholders aligned on a goal, creating a sense of urgency, building a business case and getting things done. As he said, “Even small projects can have a big impact on communities.” Gabe Klein
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&
News Events Construction Begins on UTC’s New Center for Intelligent Buildings Following a May 31 groundbreaking, United Technologies Corp. has begun construction of its UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings in Palm Beach Gardens. The $115 million facility will be the headquarters of UTC’s Climate Controls and Security division where it will showcase its innovative products and technologies. “This center will serve as a living showcase, demonstrating the latest building technology and pioneering new concepts that will help our customers meet their needs efficiently, sustainably and intelligently,” said UTC CCS President Bob McDonough at the groundbreaking. The new center will feature high-efficiency air conditioning systems, security and fire safety systems, elevators and escalator models, and energy monitoring systems. The UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings is expected to create at least 380 jobs, and bring visitors from around the world to Palm Beach County. The project’s general contractor, Whiting-Turner, is expected to complete the center sometime in 2017.
BDB Golf Tournament The BDB hosted its 29th Annual Golf Tournament on May 6, 2016 at the PGA National Resort and Spa. Thank you to our sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
Platinum Sponsor
Silver Sponsors
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Unemployment Rate at 9-Year Low Palm Beach County’s unemployment rate for April dropped to 4.3 percent – the lowest in nine years, according to CareerSource Palm Beach County. The April rate also fell below both the state (for 30 consecutive months) and the national rate (for 31 consecutive months). “Even though we are approaching the traditionally slower summer season, job growth continues at a healthy pace,” said Steve Craig, president and chief executive officer of CareerSource Palm Beach County, the nonprofit organization chartered by the state to lead workforce development in Palm Beach County. Industries in Palm Beach County with the largest job gains over the year were education/health services (+4,000 jobs); professional/business services (+2,900 jobs); leisure/hospitality (+2,500 jobs); financial activities (+1,600 jobs) and government (+1,400 jobs).
New Glades Website The BDB, in partnership with Lake Okeechobee Regional Economic Alliance of Palm Beach County (LORE) and Alchemy Communications Group, has launched PBCglades.org. The new website features the attractive business attributes of South Bay, Belle Glade, Pahokee, and the unincorporated territory around the tri-cities.
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Relocations & Expansions Epoca International, Inc. Epoca International, Inc., a distributor for household consumer goods will expand its headquarters in Boca Raton. The company purchased 11,000 square feet of space at 901 Clint Moore Road, and will make a capital investment of $3,100,000. Epoca will retain 23 positions and hire 17 new employees. Epoca’s product line of coffee ware, tea ware, beverage servers and cookware are sold in over 20,000 locations throughout 18 countries. The BDB assisted the company through the incentive process. The company received a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund (QTI) incentive of $85,000 with $68,000 from the State of Florida and a $17,000 contribution from the City of Boca Raton. Kelly Smallridge, BDB president and CEO, said, “Founded in 1991, this privately held company makes a significant economic impact in the county and this expansion project is an example of the strong relationship the BDB has with the state and the City of Boca Raton.”
Ramatex International Ramatex International, a company that specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of high-quality, environmentally friendly garments, blankets and other textile products will relocate to Palm Beach County. The company purchased 24,500 square feet of space in Mangonia Park and will hire 20 new employees. Ramatex will distribute products throughout the U.S., Canada and Japan from this location.
Neil Merin, Bruce Corn, Matt Hedrick, Jason Sundook
“Ramatex International is an environmentally conscious company manufacturing and distributing garments and home textiles made from 100 percent recycled fibers,” said Camilo Raful, president. “We are excited to be moving to Palm Beach County where the population is very much in tune with keeping the environment clean for our generation and many more to come.” The BDB helped the company by coordinating assistance through multiple resources including CareerSource Palm Beach County, State of Florida Manufacturing Tax Exemptions, Florida Power & Light, export assistance through Enterprise Florida and the U.S. Commercial Service, and alternative financing resources.
CEL Aerospace For the past 28 years, Canadian-based CEL Aerospace has engaged in the design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance of systems for the testing of gas turbine engines. Recently, the company leased office space in Jupiter for CEL Aero USA, Inc. to better serve its client base here and throughout Southern Florida. The company will create 28 new jobs with an average salary of $65,000. “CEL is a great addition to the flourishing AAE industry in Palm Beach County,” said Kelly Smallridge, BDB president and CEO. “The company’s decision to select Palm Beach County is a testament to the strong AAE cluster established here and the availability of a sophisticated workforce.” The BDB assisted CEL by providing the company with real estate searches and information on business licenses.
Paul Wieseneck, Paul Fuoco, John Tracy, Tim Smith, Tim Tracy
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2016 Palm Beach County International Site Consultant
FAM Tour
West Palm Moves to ‘Showplace’ Office in Downtown West Palm Beach
Megan McDonald, Enterprise Florida, Michael Geouge, Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting, LLC, Sandra Trivett, Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting, LLC, Namrata Sundaresan, IBI Connect
Site location experts from Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, Indiana, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and India took part in the BDB’s 2016 Palm Beach County International Site Consultant Familiarization Program (FAM) on March 16-18. This year’s FAM tour focused on all areas of Palm Beach County. The site selectors met with public and private sector representatives, experienced various PBC communities,and peeked at the business assets here. The consultants gave the community important feedback during the BDB’s breakfast meeting that took place at the end of the tour. They were most impressed with the spirit of collaboration among government and business sectors, and noted that they learned that there is a real economy and a real sense of it Palm Beach County. They also urged the BDB to emphasize the stability of the area, as well as the longevity of BDB personnel, which speaks to the uniqueness of the area and the BDB’s ability to work with companies over the long term.” Site consultants such as these represent major national and international corporations and provide significant expansion and relocation leads to the BDB. These behind-the-scenes tours help the consultants to visualize Palm Beach County as a potential location for their clients.
Chris Lloyd, McGuire Woods Consulting, Jim Kinnett, the Kinnett Consulting Group, Michael Geouge, Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting, LLC, Namrata Sundaresan, IBI Connect
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After 13 years on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, ESPN West Palm recently moved to a “showplace” office in downtown West Palm Beach. “Along with accommodating our steady growth, this move gives ESPN West Palm a great ground-floor location that will add a fresh dimension to downtown’s vibrancy,” said Steve Politziner, general manager, ESPN West Palm Beach, and vice president of Good Karma Brands, its parent company. ESPN West Palm leased nearly 5,000 square feet in Phillips Point, 777 S. Flagler Drive, for its 30-person workforce. “Pedestrians and building tenants will be able to see the live broadcasts from our studios as they walk by,” said Politziner. “That’s one of the ways our new location epitomized who we are in the community.” As Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast’s home for sports, ESPN West Palm’s assets include ESPN radio (106.3 FM), Spanish language ESPN Deportes (760 AM ) the annual Boca Raton Bowl in December, television sports programming for WPTV (Newschannel 5) and WFLX Fox 29, and digital and mobile content on ESPN.com and the ESPN App for the regional market.
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Global Sigma Group Finds Success in Palm Beach County
Hanming Rao and Ambrose Paxson
Palm Beach County provides an ideal platform for Global Sigma Group, LLC, a dynamic financial services firm, to serve its national and international clients. “With warm weather, great schools and convenient air connections, it’s not surprising so many high-profile companies are moving here,” said Ambrose Paxson, chief operating officer (COO) of the Boca Raton-based company. “The county is really moving forward as a financial center, attracting funds, firms and investors.” Hanming Rao, founder and chief information officer (CIO), launched Global Sigma Group LLC in 2009 after developing a statistical arbitrage financial model. Using short-dated S&P 500 and US Treasury options and futures, the firm seeks to deliver aboveaverage risk-adjusted returns to sophisticated investors. “This strategy historically has performed well in lower and higher volatility financial environments because it uses short-dated instruments,” Paxson said. “We do a great deal of data mining and analysis to find trades with the best risk-reward potential for the investors in our fund.” Paxson said the firm now manages around $300 million in assets for family offices and high-net-worth individuals, as well as a growing number of institutional investors. “We recently started a second fund that focuses on short-dated options on U.S. Treasury futures,” he
added. “Both funds help investors achieve portfolio diversification because their returns are largely uncorrelated with traditional assets like stocks and bonds.” Rao created the firm in Stamford, Connecticut, and was introduced to Palm Beach County in 2012 when Rick Stone, founder of Palm Beach Investment Research Group, invited him here for a presentation. “Hanming visited with his wife and children and soon bought a home here,” Paxson said. “They liked the weather, the schools and the high quality of life.” Paxson, who had worked with Rao on Wall Street, joined the firm in early 2015, and has seen the company grow to six people in Boca with a marketing professional in New York City. The firm brought in an intern from Florida Atlantic University. Prior to founding Global Sigma Group, Rao was also a model developer for Millennium Partners, and a global macro trader for SAC Capital. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering sciences and a master’s degree in computer sciences from Harvard University. Paxson was formerly co-founder of a global macro hedge fund and a proprietary trader for Lehman Brothers. Global Sigma Group, LLC is registered as a Commodity Trading Advisor and Commodity Pool Operator with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA).
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Palm Beach County’s Colleges and Universities Offer Entrepreneurship
Programs Palm Beach County’s colleges and universities offer business education programs that focus on building entrepreneurial skills. Keiser University offers a bachelor’s business degree in entrepreneurship at its Flagship Campus in West Palm Beach. The curriculum covers starting a company or managing a family-owned business, and includes business support, mentoring and training opportunities covering everything from protecting intellectual property to learning from other successful entrepreneurs. Palm Beach State College (PBSC) students can earn an associate’s degree in entrepreneurship, a bachelor’s degree in supervision and management or an entrepreneurship college credit certificate. In this program students learn to think like an entrepreneur and recognize business opportunities as they increase their knowledge of sales and marketing, e-commerce, resource planning, financing, risk-taking, business law, staffing, and management and leadership strategies. Everglades University offers a master’s degree program in entrepreneurship both online and at its Boca Raton campus. In this program, students explore basic business fundamentals as well as current industry trends, while taking courses such as Leadership Skills for Managers, Strategic Sales and Marketing Management, Entrepreneurial Innovation and Technology, and Global Business Ventures. An Entrepreneurship Capstone Course enables students to demonstrate their gained knowledge from the program. Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU) offers a bachelor’s degree in management with an Entrepreneurship and Small Business Track. PBAU also offers mentoring and other forms of support, and hosts an annual business plan competition. Florida Atlantic University (FAU) offers both bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in entrepreneurship. The goal of the program is to prepare students for careers in leadership roles as well as futures in entrepreneurial endeavors. The Adams Center for Entrepreneurship at FAU’s Boca Raton campus helps prepare students in business, science, engineering, and all disciplines who are looking to become entrepreneurs through business ownership or through venturing.
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Supporting the Entrepreneurial Spirit
From business incubators to angel investor and venture capital events, Palm Beach County has a growing range of support services for entrepreneurs. “We believe the entrepreneurial spirit is the driving force for business success and sustainable economic development,” said Kelly Smallridge, BDB president and CEO. “We want to support fresh ideas and innovative concepts by helping entrepreneurs find their niche in the marketplace.” For more than 30 years, the Gold Coast Venture Capital Association has been providing a forum to develop relationships among South Florida entrepreneurs, investors and service providers. Led by chairman David Bates, a shareholder of Gunster in West Palm Beach, the association hosts speakers and panels on topics of interest as well as ‘pitch meetings’ for local start-ups and early stage entrepreneurs. For example, in February, more than 1,500 people attended SUP-X™: The StartUp Expo, organized by GCVCA president Bob Fitts, president, Trident Global, LLC. Many Palm Beach County professionals participate in the Florida Venture Forum, a statewide organization that helps entrepreneurs obtain funding through education, strategic partnering, and effective networking. The forum’s annual Florida Venture Capital Conference has helped the state’s entrepreneurs raise more than $3 billion since 1992. Entrepreneurs can also benefit from the Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research, which helps startups capitalize on research discoveries at state universities. The institute provides $50,000 to $300,000 in seed funding to qualified companies that license university-developed research and technology.
In addition to their entrepreneurial education programs (see related story on page 12), the county’s colleges and universities provide mentorships, internships and other support programs. For instance, The Adams Center for Entrepreneurship at Florida Atlantic University holds an annual business plan competition and offers an Entrepreneurship Boot Camp, a certificate course. Each fall, the center participates in Global Entrepreneurship Week, an international celebration of the innovators and job creators. The center also has partnered with local entrepreneurship efforts including StartUp Palm Beach, which hosts an annual StartUp Weekend where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups. FAU’s Tech Runway offers a business accelerator program that has helped companies like Honorlock, which offers cloud-based solutions to curb academic dishonesty, and Tone-y-Bands, which markets arm toning wrist weights that can be worn throughout the day. Supported by the State of Florida, FAU Tech Runway is based on two proven models for startup ventures, MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service and Stanford’s NSF-funded Lean Launchpad curriculum. Keiser University recently hosted a Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Investor Panel, presented by the Palm Beach County Community Foundation. The event gave 15 middle and high school students a total of $10,000 in startup funding to launch their businesses. Dr. Tom Duncan, president of Keiser University’s Flagship Campus, was one of the investor panelists who helped determine the winners and startup funding.
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BDB Highlights 3 Successful Entrepreneurs
Si
Jeff Rubin, Kelly Smallridge, Felecia Hatcher and Ryan Boylston
Finding the right talent is the key to business success, according to Jeff Rubin founder and CEO of IT'SUGAR, a fast-growing South Florida candy company. “Don’t be enamored by a resume,” he said at the Business Development Board’s Entrepreneur Luncheon on June 23 at the Kravis Center. “Put smarts in front of experience. We hired a 28-year-old Wharton graduate as our marketing director, and she’s doing a great job.” For Rubin, one of the secrets of success is an ability to spot new opportunities, along with a willingness to make mistakes. “Entrepreneurs generally don’t invent new products,” he said. “Instead they think of a better way to do things. We didn’t invent selling candy, but we aimed at the adult market, creating cool, colorful branded stores mostly for teens and adults.” Rubin was one of three successful entrepreneurs who told their stories and offered advice at the BDB’s quarterly luncheon with Bank of America as the presenting sponsor. Felecia Hatcher, an award-winning entrepreneur and author, talked about her role in helping African American youths and young adults build technology and business skills.“I want to help create the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Hatcher, who is the co-founder
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of Code Fever and Black Tech Week. “I want to create asset maps to show them how to connect the dots for a new venture so they stay in our community and grow our community.” Hatcher also spoke about founding Feverish Pops, a Delray Beachbased dessert company whose sophisticated products are aimed at adults. She created gourmet popsicles, including some with alcohol, to help brand the organization and to break the ice with her customers. “My ‘aha moment’ came when I fell down after chasing an ice cream truck in high heels,” she said. “I realized there should be a cool way for adults to enjoy ice cream, just like kids. Since then, I’ve learned the importance of taking risks. As an entrepreneur, you should do the things that scare you every day.” Ryan Boylston, founder and president, Woo Creative, Four Story Publishing Company and The KITCHN, an incubator in Delray Beach, said a high percentage of Millennials want to start their own businesses, but only a small fraction of them succeed. “We need to foster South Florida’s ‘entre-Millennials’ and turn their passions into new companies,” he said. “To me, it’s all about building businesses that create new jobs for our families.”
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