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Medical innovation wins
VenturePitch SWFL brings ideas to Babcock Ranch Special to SWFBT Jacob Ogles, Editor
Salute to Small Business
Local entrepreneurs tell their stories in our annual celebration of commerce in Southwest Florida.
Commercial Real Estate
A specially focused monthly section exploring the SWFL commercial real estate marketplace.
Southwest Florida companies competing within the health and services space faced tough questions about the viability of their inventions and business models during at the most recent installment of VenturePitch SWFL. The event took place in Babcock Ranch. Executives impressed the panel of makeshift magistrates while showcasing plans to revolutionize the walker, regulate holistic medicine dosage and even help stroke victims restore their sight. Judges ultimately split $50,000 in equity investments between Naplesbased Stabilized Steps and Bonita Springs-headquartered Envision Solutions, but not before putting respective presenters Stephanie Gomez and Andrew Maskery through a public interview about their goods. Tim Cartwright, event organiz-
er, said the high-stakes gathering showed the growing startup culture in Southwest Florida. “It’s important to grow the region’s economy and bring innovation,” said Cartwright, a general partner with Adrenaline Venture Fund and chairman of Tamiami Florida Angel Funds. The fledging Babcock Ranch, a fully solar energyrun community, provided a great venue for a VenturePitch event, he said. Gomez, president and co-founder of Naples-based Stabilized Steps, impressed judges with a patented stabilizer allowing users to take walkers over sand, mud, gravel and other varied terrain. The company looks to sell more than 4,700 units this year and to quadruple the amount next year. Gomez said winning the $25,000 in funding at VenturePitch provides a chance to publicize the product. “We have inventory but no money for marketing,” she said. The prize PITCH See page 3
IN THE NEWS
Food is the stuff of these dreams
Badia named S. Florida Small Business Person of the Year
The U.S. Small Business South Florida District Office recently announced the winners of the SBA’s 2018 District and State of Florida Small Business Week Awards, including naming Anais Badia, chief medical officer and owner of Florida Skin Center in Fort Myers, as Small Business Person of the Year for the South Florida District. “This is a celebratory announcement for the entire South Florida region,” said Lynn Douthett, interim district director for the South Florida District Office.
Airbnb announces Charlotte County bed tax agreement
Airbnb announced a tax agreement with Charlotte County that will allow the hospitality rental platform to collect and remit bed taxes on behalf of its local hosts. With the tax agreement in place, the county will be able to benefit from more people visiting Charlotte County and staying longer through home sharing. Effective May 1, Airbnb will automatically collect and remit local bed taxes for all taxable bookings on the Airbnb platform in the County, making the process seamless and easy for both Airbnb hosts and the City. TAX See page 4
Photo by Jacob Ogles Stephanie Gomez of Stabilized Steps and Andrew Maskery of Envision Solutions won equity funding at a VenturePitch event.
Special to SWFBT Karen Moore, Publisher
Photo by Bob Szanto Attendees of the Knockout Boot Camp gathered at the new Naples location for The Rocket Lounge in April.
Rocketing into success in Naples
The Rocket Lounge, a co-working space and business accelerator, recently hosted its latest “Knockout Boot Camp” for small business owners preparing to take their enterprises to the next level. The all-day event at a TRL’s new Naples location featured a series of workshops presented by well-known and successful entrepreneurs in the area. Topics included branding, finance, digital marketing and building a successful team and culture. Presenters included TRL Founder and CEO Dieter Kondek; TRL Chief Operating Officer Bud Stoddard; millennial entrepreneur and CEO of RoomDig, Jakob Adamowicz, and others. After completion of the Knock Out
Boot Camp, attendees each received a certificate of completion. Other programs offered at The Rocket Lounge include the TRL Academy, as well as Florida-specific Vertical Accelerator Programs. Members of TRL also have access to a large network of mentors, coaches and the TRL co-founders. To further encourage the development of Southwest Florida’s startup ecosystem, TRL also offers monthly learning, pitching and networking events where freelancers, developers, investors and entrepreneurs get together to share their ideas and concerns. More information is available at www.therocketlounge.com.
“Eat. Explore. Learn. Enjoy.” This is the mission of Collier County’s Culinary Accelerator in Immokalee, the first business incubator of its type in Southwest Florida, a groundbreaking project for both the county and the region. Work has been underway to open for over four years according to Director Dr. Marshall Goodman. Business incubators provide the environment, tools and support to develop and nurture a variety of business models under one roof. The Immokalee Culinary Accelerator is membership-based and specifically focused on the development of food businesses. On site at a recent event were samples from a variety of local food entrepreneurs, ranging from a specialty wine developer to local bakers who want to open their own shops. Danny Gonzalez, owner of Lozano’s Mexican Restaurant in Immokalee, dreams of distributing his restaurant’s special brand of salsa to the market extending beyond his restaurant’s patrons. With no idea how to do that, he shared: “The Culinary Accelerator is helping us figure out how to package, promote and distribute our salsa. We are very excited about the Accelerator and the opportunity to expand our business.” CULINARY See page 4
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