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UCF Business Incubation Program Congratulates its 2023 Crummer Venture Plan Competition Clients

Kismet and Soarce place first and second, with three other current or former clients in the semi-finals

 

Orlando, Fla. (March 24, 2023) – It was a big night for UCF Business Incubation Program clients as the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College announced the winners of this year’s venture plan competition.

 

Coming in as the first-place winner was Lake Nona Incubator client Kismet Technologies, which is bringing nanotechnology that provides non-stop protection from bacteria and viruses to the market.

 

Second place went to another Lake Nona Incubator client, Soarce, which is developing a novel seaweed formula into leather and fibers for a wide range of uses.

 

In addition, Orlando Incubator client Spot Social Fitness and new Lake Nona client Flowintel, along with Fluix, a previous Downtown Incubator client,were semi-finalists in the competition.

 

“The success of our companies is a reflection on the success of the incubation program and how we can help guide these firms to scale and create significant economic impact for our entire region,” says Carol Ann Logue, director, programs & operations, Innovation Districts & Incubation Program, University of Central Florida. “There are a lot of firms who are on the verge of significant growth in our community and we’re pleased to be a part of their growth.”

 

Kismet’s technology was developed with research at the University of Central Florida. As is the case with many companies, the UCF Business Incubation Program worked to help commercialize the research and worked with founder and CEO Christina Drake to build the business. Kismet will receive $50,000 in prize money from the win. 

 

According to the announcement, the annual Crummer Venture Plan Competition is Central Florida’s largest and most comprehensive business plan and pitch competition for start-ups..

 

Open to all regionally headquartered start-ups, companies battle for funding and mentorship in front of the region’s top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. This year, more than 80 local businesses submitted proposals for the event.

 

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For more information, please contact:

UCF Business Incubation Program: Carol Ann Dykes Logue, 407-635-9882, carolann.dykeslogue@ucf.edu or Alan Byrd, Alan Byrd & Associates, 407-415-8470, Alan@ByrdConnections.com 

About the UCF Business Incubation Program: The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has provided vital business development resources resulting in over 300 local startup companies reaching their potential faster and graduating into the community where they continue to grow and positively impact the local economy.  

 

With eight facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. For the 2017/2018 fiscal years, the activities of these participating firms have helped to sustain more than 6,725 local jobs and have had a cumulative impact of over $725 million on regional GDP and over $1.3 billion on regional sales. During the same period, the program has returned more than $12.00 in state and local taxes for every $1.00 invested in the program. In addition, for every $1.00 of public investment the firms also produced $118 of additional regional GDP and $226 of regional sales. For more information, visit  www.incubator.ucf.edu.

 

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