South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
26
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Broward-based minority-owned businesses receive $10k grants from Fiserv

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Two Broward-based minority-owned businesses were awarded $10k grants from Fiserv at this year’s 2nd Annual EmpowerHER event held at the Nova Southeastern University Davie campus. The effort is part of Fiserv’s Back2Business Program.

Fiserv’s Back2Business program is a $50 million initiative to provide financial grants, community support and critical resources, including complimentary consulting and leading technology solutions such as the Clover® point-of-sale platform, to minority-owned small businesses.

Eligible businesses may use the grant funds to assist with payroll, rent or lease payments, technology or equipment purchases, or premise redesign.

This year’s grant recipients were two black-owned and woman-owned healthcare businesses based in Broward County: Cornerstone Medical Group Inc. and the Preventative Health & Wellness Center.

Cornerstone Medical Group Inc is lead by Dr. Sabine Delinois Elisee, a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician who is fellowship-trained in Hospice Palliative care and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health. Just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the Fall of 2019, Cornerstone Medical Group opened its doors in the city of Coral Springs, FL

Born and raised in South Florida, Dr. Elisee is vested in the community and actively participates in outreach events. The heart behind Cornerstone Medical Group is to Transform Healthcare through Patient Education and the Reconnection of Physical Spiritual and Cognitive Health to enhance Quality of Life. It was fitting for Dr. Elisee to receive the grant at this event being her Alma Mata is Nova Southeastern University College of Medicine.

Preventative Health & Wellness Center is lead by Atou Diarra, a nurse practitioner with over 17 years of nursing experience with a true passion for health and fitness, disease prevention and improving overall health. The center recently opened it’s doors in Coral Springs, FL.

Originally born and raised in Marseille, France, Atou moved to the U.S. in 2000. She attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA where she graduated in 2004 with a degree in Bachelor of Nursing Science. As a traveling nurse she found her way to South Florida, which she is now proud to call her home. In 2013, she earned her Master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner from Barry University in Miami, Florida.

The EmpowerHER event included guest speakers from Fiserv, a panel discussion with South Florida Tech Hub CEO, Nikki Cabus, Executive Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Nova Southeastern University, Beth Welmaker, and Moderator and VP of Business Development & Strategy at Fiserv Corporate Social Responsibility, Shane Caldwell.

Partner organizations included Clover, Coral Springs Coconut Creek Regional Chamber, Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center, Nova Southeastern College of Computing & Engineering, South Florida Tech Hub, and Broward County Black Chamber of Commerce.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) is a leading global technology provider serving the financial services industry, driving innovation in payments, processing services, risk and compliance, customer and channel management, and business insights and optimization. For more information, visit www.fiserv.com.

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25
Jun, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Member Spotlight | PeakActivity

Read Time 3 Minutes

Business: PeakActivity is a digital strategy and technology implementation company that guides progress for businesses at every point of their digital journey. 

Founded: 2012

HQ: Boynton Beach, FL

Website: PeakActivity.com

 

For many businesses, developing a digital strategy may feel like an insurmountable task. But one rapidly-growing South Florida company can help by acting as a trusted partner to help your business reach greater heights.

Meet Boynton Beach-based PeakActivity. The company has made a name for itself through its work helping businesses in South Florida and beyond take advantage of the opportunities in the ever-changing digital landscape – all while avoiding the major pitfalls.

Jeffrey Wilks is PeakActivity’s Chief Revenue Officer. Having worked for decades at the intersection of marketing and technology, Wilks has a unique insight into what exactly businesses need to level up their digital strategy.

“Our organization is about digital transformation,” Wilks told South Florida Tech Hub. “We see our job as helping companies progress on their digital journey.”

Wilks emphasized this idea of progress. “One of the reasons I like the notion of progress is that progress is positive regardless of your starting point,” he explained. “And that’s really important because we meet companies at different stages of their digital transformation every single day.”

The best way to understand the breadth and depth of PeakActivity’s business is through their four main areas of expertise.

 

  1. Modernization

PeakActivity will help implement modern technologies that drive transformative results. That includes:

  • Digital experience & eCommerce strategy 
  • Tech stack architecture, integration, and implementation 
  • Custom website, mobile application, and software development
  • Data architecture and microservices

Wilks explained that typical projects can range from helping customers with an outdated tech stack to helping improve an implementation that did not go to plan. “When we talk about modernization, it’s really about improving both the architecture and the execution of that technology stack.”

 

  1. Optimization

Optimization is most relevant for clients that have a well designed tech stack that has been implemented appropriately, but – in Wilks’ words – “for whatever reason their ecommerce environment is not performing to expectations.”

With PeakActivity’s support, businesses can increase ROI and customer engagement through continual optimization of their channels. Services include:

  • Multi-channel strategy
  • Business intelligence
  • User experience design
  • Search engine optimization
  • Conversion rate optimization
  • Email marketing

 

  1. Innovation

“We fundamentally believe that all organizations have great ideas in them,” said Wilks. “What they sometimes suffer from is the inability to get those ideas out and to act on those.” 

PeakActivity helps companies create unique customer experiences or products through innovative technologies. 

  • Go-to-market strategy
  • Innovation workshops 
  • Spatial computing
  • Machine learning

 

  1. Engineering services

“In today’s environment, it’s harder than ever to find great technical talent,” asserted Wilks. PeakActivity can help by providing experienced technical talent & leadership for hire using flexible working models.

  • Wide breadth of roles and seniority
  • Full managed services or external team integration
  • Part time, short term, or long term contracts
  • On-site, remote, or near-shore resources

For Wilks, these four strategic areas capture a wide range of the digital transformation challenges that their customers are facing. “That’s intentional on our part,” he noted. “We want to be helping clients in a variety of different ways, and clients very often have a variety of different needs.” The breadth of PeakActivity’s services mean that they’ll likely have a solution to any digital transformation problem they come across.

Learn more about PeakActivity’s offerings by visiting their website.

 

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25
Jun, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Techstrong Group’s Alan Shimel on the state of South Florida tech

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Alan Shimel, founder and CEO of the Techstrong Group, has seen his fair share of economic ups and downs in the more than three decades he’s been involved in the tech world. “I’ve been through the boom and bust cycles,” he told South Florida Tech Hub. “There’s no doubt that what we’re going through now is some sort of recession or correction. The market has changed in the last couple of months.”

How long this volatility lasts is difficult to predict, asserted Shimel. “It could be another two, three months. It could be a year or more.”

He believes that profitable companies with cash in their coffers will have no issue making it to the other side of this period of uncertainty. “You’re going to see a shakeout,” he explained. “A lot of the companies that raised money during 2021 but don’t have sound business models and business plans are going to have a hard time.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom for Shimel. “Economic downturns are also the best time to start new companies. It’s like fresh growth in the forest. And so I’m excited to see what new companies can come out of these times.”

No matter the direction in which the economy is trending, we can trust the TechStrong group’s wide range of media entities to keep us up-to-date on it all.

The Boca Raton-based omnichannel content company is empowering people and companies to come together and learn about what’s happening in the worlds of digital transformation, cybersecurity, the cloud, and DevOps.

Under the Techstrong Group’s umbrella are media brands such as DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, Container Journal, and TechstrongTV. The company also works to bring tech leaders, consultants, and vendors together to share their knowledge and learn from each other. This includes through their Techstrong Live! division, which hosts in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.

Shimel continues to be bullish about South Florida’s tech ecosystem, contending that our region has reached a critical mass of tech entrepreneurs and innovators. “It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill: once it’s of a certain size, nothing can stop it.” 

He praised the work of South Florida Tech Hub and other local organizations that have been promoting our ecosystem on national and international levels. However, he hinted at some growing pains facing our region: “The reality is that it’s not less expensive here anymore, and it’s getting more and more crowded.”

That said, Shimel highlighted the Boca Raton/Delray Beach area in particular as a bright light in South Florida’s innovation ecosystem. “We have all the things you need to build a strong community,” he said. That includes universities with top talent, ambitious entrepreneurs, a government friendly to tech, and investors with capital. Boca ticks all the boxes.

“Boca has always been very entrepreneurial, even going back to the IBM days,” underscored Shimel. And the best may be yet to come.

 

Learn more about the Techstrong Group

Business: The go-to source for unbiased information, insights and connections for IT professionals looking to excel personally and professionally

HQ: Boca Raton

Employees: More than 40

Website: TechStrongGroup.com

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25
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Miami startup Modern Trials wins IDEA Showcase for investment from Seedfunders

Read Time 4 Minutes

Modern Trials, a Miami-based startup, pitched at this year’s IDEA Showcase held on Thursday, June 23rd at the Broward County Convention Center. The startup took home first place which included an investment opportunity with Seedfunders, a Florida-based investment firm.

The HIPAA-compliant platform, Modern Trials, leverages electronic medical record data from a broad network of healthcare organizations to match patients in need of advanced treatment options with appropriate clinical trial opportunities.

IDEA Showcase is part of the #TECHSUPERSHOW at the ITEXPO which has been coming to South Florida for decades. South Florida Tech Hub has been partnering with the expo for three years now. The IDEA Showcase pitch contest has become one of the most popular and best-attended events at the ITEXPO. It features cool startup pitches and networking with open bar.

ITEXPO and the collocated events that comprise the #TECHSUPERSHOW all feature educational sessions presented by industry-leading experts. Attendees also gain valuable new insight from keynotes presented by thought-leaders from around the globe. The expo floor is filled with more than 200 companies demonstrating the latest innovations in a marketplace setting.

Startups that pitched included CERA, Envonics, flo-ops, Modern Trials, Nebulai, Unitii, and In My Team. Six of the seven startups to pitch were from South Florida and for the first time ever a prize package including an investment opportunity. Modern Trials took home the judges prize!

“Despite 20 years of experience and many friends in the [healthcare and clinical trials] industry, I was not able to find an appropriate trial for my own mother,” said Dr. Christopher Ochner, Co-Founder of Modern Trials whose mother was diagnosed with a stage IV glioma. “I came to the startling realization that there exists no way for patients in need to gain access to appropriate clinical trial opportunities.”

Immediately after his mother’s passing, he circled back with his Co-Founder, Dr. Alex Logsdon and said; “you were right; this system is broken and we need to fix it”. After countless hours working through a modernized process flow with regulatory experts, legal counsel and consultants, Modern Trials was born.

The IDEA Showcase judges panel included Tahl Milburn, former tech executive and founder from Silicon Valley turned investor, Danielle Mousseau, Manager of 35 Mules, Florida Power & Light’s Company’s (FPL) innovation hub, Akshay Sharma, former Gartner Analyst having authored or co-authored over 280 research notes and current CTO at Kovair, Ariana Pareja, startup founder with three exits and current President and Co-founder at Pareja Family Foundation which provides tech bootcamp scholarships for women and minorities, and Dave Chitester, Founder of Florida Funders, Founder of Seedfunders, and named one of Florida Trend’s 500 Most Influential Business Leaders in the state.

Dave Chister announced the judges winner and awarded Modern Trials with a minimum of $5000 investment through his firm Seedfunders. He said that after due diligence the investment could be much more significant. South Florida Tech Hub also added a free Startup level membership for Modern Trails for one full year.

Seedfunders is investing in pre-revenue scalable technology throughout the state of Florida. Led by a group of leading visionaries, Seedfunders is paving the way for technology startups throughout the state with a presence in St. Petersburg, Orlando and Miami. Dave recently moved to Miami to be able to support startups across the entire South Florida region.

With a unique focus on pre-revenue stage concepts, Seedfunders brings a different approach with mentoring and guidance for developing an MVP and bringing your concept to market.

“No question that cash is the lifeblood of every startup, particularly given the current economic environment,” said Modern Trials Co-Founder Dr. Ochner. “To us, however, an investment from SeedFunders means much more than that. Good mentorship is even more valuable than cash and the intellectual investment that Dave Chitester and his group make in the companies they chose to work with is the real prize.”

With approximately 200 people in attendance for the IDEA Showcase, there was an audience winner chosen as well. The audience used a real-time voting tool to choose their favorite pitch and the winner was CERA – Critical Emergency Response Applications.

Judge and investor, David Chister assured a handful of the startups that pitched that they were close behind, He urged each of them to apply for investment from Seedfunders as well.

Click here for more info on Seedfunders, Modern Trials, CERA and the ITEXPO.

 

 

 

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20
Jun, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Member Spotlight | VIDEOBOLT.COM

Read Time 3 Minutes

Business: Empowers companies to create data-driven videos with personalized distribution

Founded: 2009

HQ: West Palm Beach

Employees: 10

Website: VIDEOBOLT.COM

 

These days, content is king. It is more important than ever for businesses to create engaging content that attracts and informs potential customers.

“The best way to get new business is to help people who are looking for information,” Brian Albert, Founder/President of VIDEOBOLT.COM told South Florida Tech Hub. That’s why Albert has created the world’s first conversational video platform for business.

VIDEOBOLT.COM enables companies of all shapes and sizes to easily and affordably create video content. Albert leverages his years of experience in the world of television journalism to develop top-quality content for his customers at a cost that is impossible to beat.

How does he do it? The key is scale. Albert’s digital platform lets users create videos instantly with only providing a few key details. For instance, one of their clients sells tax free municipal bonds. This company makes daily videos highlighting a particular bond. All this client has to do is fill out a couple of fields on a form, press submit, and VIDEOBOLT automatically generates a one-minute video using text overlays to include all the relevant bond information.

And these videos are far from cookie cutter. The graphics change, the B-roll is always fresh, the on-camera talent is different each day a week. These videos are then seamlessly distributed to the client’s customer base via email.

Another top client for VIDEOBOLT.COM is national real estate agency Douglas Elliman. “We built a platform for almost 8,000 of their agents to build videos just by pointing and clicking,” explained Albert. VIDEOBOLT.COM’s system then connected to Douglas Elliman’s backend and MLS systems. 

“We pull in all of the assets: the information about the home and about the agent. The agent can go into their browser and simply choose what images they want included in the video,” said Albert. “They can do other customization like adding a headline, and within about three minutes they receive the video.” 

On top of generating an mp4 video file, VIDEOBOLT.COM also creates a landing page. That’s ideal for someone who may be less technically inclined. “They can just take that link to that landing page and share that simply by text or by email,” said Albert.

A major advantage for Douglas Elliman is that they don’t have to worry about compliance and branding requirements, since this is standardized across all videos on the platform.

The two major factors that set VIDEOBOLT.COM from the crowd are launch time and price. They can typically launch a project in a matter of hours or days, not months or weeks. And VIDEOBOLT.COM’s pricing comes in at 10-20% of their competitors’. 

“There’s a huge market that’s available for us because of the fact that we’ve developed our own technology that allows us to launch these products quickly, and at a price point that makes sense for a much wider range of businesses than just the Fortune 100,” asserted Albert.

He explained that the company is poised for growth. “We’re excited to get into more verticals with our data driven video product,” said Albert. “Our product is really strong – already several years ahead of what everyone else is doing. So we will continue to innovate as we get that product in front of more businesses, so they can really benefit from video in a scalable way.”

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12
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Verizon Learning celebrates 10 years, $1B in contributions, and now 50 new schools

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This week, Verizon is celebrating 10 years of its award-winning education initiative focused on addressing barriers to digital inclusion for students and teachers: Verizon Innovative Learning.  Since 2012, the program has worked with nonprofit partners and committed $1 billion in market value to support digital equity, reaching over 1.5 million students in some of the most vulnerable populations across the country

Verizon Innovative Learning provides free technology, internet access and emerging technology-infused learning programs to students in under-resourced communities enabling students to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to build an innovative workforce of the future.

In 2021, Verizon launched Verizon Innovative Learning HQ, a next-gen online education portal that provides free access to immersive XR educational experiences to all educators, including K-12 teachers, nationwide. A key program under Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, Verizon Innovative Learning is helping to drive the company’s commitment to provide 10 million youths with digital skills training by 2030.

To mark a decade of dedication to the education community, and to honor the resilience of teachers at the end of another challenging school year, Verizon is proud to support the first-ever TIME Innovative Teachers Project. Chosen by a team of editors at TIME, the list profiles 10 teachers who are changing the landscape of education in America through innovation.

The 10 finalists of the TIME Innovative Teachers Project have helped students with disabilities get placed in STEM careers, made unaccompanied minor immigrants feel welcome in the U.S., connected students around the world on video chat, planted micro-forests to teach ways to fight climate change, and designed video game lessons to teach anti-racism. And they have all demonstrated leadership in their schools and teaching communities.

“We understood early on that closing the digital skills gap in the U.S. must start in under-resourced schools. Verizon Innovative Learning is a strategy to help solve this issue. Our mission has never wavered and now, 10 years later, we are proud to have reached over 1.5M students. This is an important milestone, yet our work is far from over,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Verizon. “We will continue expanding and evolving this initiative to ensure that deserving students have the tech tools and resources to become the next generation of innovators.”

The initiative’s signature program, Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, in partnership with long-time nonprofit partner Digital Promise, equips students and teachers at select Title I schools across the country with free technology devices, internet access and innovative STEM learning programs. The program also provides schools with extensive teacher training focused on technology integration into the learning experience, support and the opportunity to engage in powerful teaching and learning strategies that leverage technology.

Just this week, Digital Promise and Verizon announced that 50 new Title 1 middle and high schools from 11 districts across the country will join the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program in the fall including schools in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. 

The continued partnership between Digital Promise and Verizon for the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program equips students and teachers at select schools with free technology devices and internet access. In addition, all Verizon Innovative Learning Schools receive access to professional learning and opportunities to collaborate with a national network of innovative, technology-driven school leaders and educators.

 

“Access to technology and the internet continues to be vitally important for students and families as we work to close the digital divide,” said Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise. “We are proud to continue our partnership with Verizon to support schools and provide devices and access to the students who need it the most.”

The new cohort brings the program’s reach to 561 schools in 94 school districts across 37 states and Washington D.C., with 100 percent of eligible middle schools in 35 districts participating in the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program. Title I schools with a 65 percent or higher free and reduced-price lunch population are eligible for the program; however, schools in this cohort of Verizon Innovative Learning Schools are at an average of 88 percent.

Of the additional 50 selected Title 1 middle and high schools nationwide to free technology, internet access, and professional development through the Verizon Innovative Learning program, 34 will receive mobile devices (either an iPad or Chromebook) with up to a four-year 30GB 4G LTE Verizon data plan for every student and teacher. 16 schools with existing one-to-one device programs for students in place will receive hotspots with two-year 30GB 4G LTE Verizon data plans for students who lack reliable internet access at home.

Sixteen of these schools are Broward County Public Schools (12) and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (4).

  • Broward County Public Schools (Florida): Annabel C. Perry PreK-8*; Apollo Middle School^; Bair Middle School*; Driftwood Middle School*; Forest Glen Middle School*; Lauderdale Lakes Middle School^; Millennium 6-12 Collegiate Academy*; Parkway Middle School*; Plantation Middle School^; Pompano Beach Middle School^; Silver Lakes Middle School^; William Dandy Middle School^
  • Miami-Dade County Public Schools* (Florida): Citrus Grove Middle School; Hialeah Middle School; Homestead Middle School; John F. Kennedy Middle School
*Schools will receive mobile devices with data plans for every student and teacher.
^Schools will receive hotspots with data plans for students who lack reliable home internet access.

 

For more information, visit verizon.digitalpromise.org

 

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11
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Boca Raton startup Owwll officially launches connecting experts for instant 1:1 advice

Read Time 3 Minutes

As Elon Musk said “Instead of baby showers, let’s host business showers. When a friend starts a business, we all come together, celebrate them and bring resources for their business to start!” This was all Jason Hill, Founder of the Owwll app, needed to hear.

About 100 people attended the official community launch and business shower for the Owwll app held at the NSU Alan Levan Innovation Center in Davie, FL. As one of the first companies to go through the Incubate Program at the new center, the Owwll team felt is was only fitting to have the launch in the new space.

With a panel, drinks & hors d’oeuvres, a live interactive podcast booth, photo booth, and raffles and prizes, the event was full of energy. Panelists included those such as Olivia Gaudree, Partner and Core Analyst at Fuel Venture Capital and Steven Edwards, Founder & CEO of Premier Virtual, and other founders, lawyers, and investors.

“It’s so hard to launch a business so why not throw a shower. All these people that attended came with love, came with gifts, and celebrated the launch of Owwll,” said Jason Hill, as he said with a smile. “

Hill told Tech Hub that the idea for Owwll all started during his commutes to work. While we drive, we listen to podcasts and audio books, but you never get the chance to speak to these experts directly. Hill began reaching out to these experts on Instagram and LinkedIn to have no response 9 out of 10 times.  Even when they responded, getting a meeting set was a whole other issue.  Hill said he knew the world needed a platform where people could connect with one another on demand through audio calls at a moments notice and this was a gap that we had in the market that could be filled. Out of frustration and necessity, the idea for Owwll was born.

“From first hearing about the idea, giving feedback on different logo/mascot versions, and having Owwll pitch first the first time in front of a public audience at a Tech Hub pitch night during GEW 2021, it’s been so exciting t0o watch the growth of Owwll,” said South Florida Tech Hub CEO, Nikki Cabus. “Knowing that Owwll had the support of local organizations such as South Florida Tech Hub, OZ Digital Consulting, and the Alan Levan Innovation Center is even better.”

Jason has been working with Murray Izenwasser and his team at Fort Lauderdale-based OZ Digital Consulting over the past 18 months to build and perfect the app. As a local company, OZ appreciates being able to support local and help grow South Florida’s growing and successful tech community. OZ Digital Consulting is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

Before a full-scale launch, the application was tested using TestFlight, a software that implements real-time patchwork while getting direct feedback from Beta testers. After a couple of months, the interface between users, creators, and development had proven itself worthy of being downloaded by the masses.

“It was an incredible experience partnering with Jason on his entrepreneurial journey, from those initial conversations where the idea behind Owwll wasn’t even written down on a napkin,” Izenwasser told South Florida Tech Hub.

“Seeing his ideas come to shape and finally to the public launch has been one of the most rewarding projects of my career. And no client has done more or worked harder than Jason to drive his well-earned success. The entire OZ team is very excited to have been a part of bringing Owwll to flight.”

The app now has over 3000 users and growing with hot topics such as Startups, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Podcasting, Marketing and even some folks from Hollywood and different musicians. Anyone with a large audience on social tend to enjoy the benefits of being able to connect to their audience better.

Download the app from the Apple iTunes store, or the Google Playstore to gain access to one-on-one sessions.

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10
Jun, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Member Spotlight | Bidtellect

Read Time 3 Minutes

Business: Bidtellect is a performance-driven, demand-side advertising platform specializing in context-first optimization, cookieless solutions, and quality programmatic. 

Founded: 2014

HQ: Delray Beach

Employees: 78

Website: Bidtellect.com

 

The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way consumers interact with content. In particular, the shift from analog to digital content has been accelerated. This has major impacts on advertisers, whose goal remains clear: share their message with the right audience in the most efficient, most effective way possible.

Delray Beach-based Bidtellect is paving the way when it comes to cookieless advertising. They have built platform context-driven technology and optimization down to the placement level, ensuring readiness for our cookieless future while achieving performance goals.

“We pride ourselves on having built our system based on context and based on behavior – not the individual person,” Bidtellect’s CTO, Michael Conway, told South Florida Tech Hub. “We don’t collect any personal identifiable information.”

“We put users in different types of audiences based on the sites they’ve visited, and categorize them based on the industry standards,” Conway continued.

We’re living through a major reckoning in the advertising industry, explained Conway. The cookieless infrastructure on which Bidtellect is built will go a long way to ensure it remains a major player in the industry, despite the constant change in the space.

The technical prowess of Bidtellect cannot be understated. Their system handles five million decisions a second to serve the eight billion requests it receives each day. Conway measures their data in petabytes (for context: there are 1,024 terabytes in a single petabyte). All this happens within the milliseconds it takes for a website to load.

Bidtellect has recently begun to focus on the digital television space. “There was always a move toward connected TV, but the pandemic really accelerated that trend,” said Conway. In response, Bidtellect is creating tools to place targeted ads to consumers based on their behavior. “Everyone cutting the cord has become such a growth area for AdTech,” he noted.

Few technologists can boast about having as broad and deep a set of experiences as Conway. In the late 1980s, he was a programmer at NASA, working on small satellite systems and technology in support of deep space travel. He then started working on tech to map the human genome, before stints developing E-ZPass and SunPass systems and even helping the EU supercharge their interoperability. In 2011, he landed in the ad industry, which eventually brought him to Bidtellect.

Conway sits on South Florida Tech Hub’s Board of Directors and also heads the organization’s Higher Education subcommittee. He is bullish on our mission of promoting South Florida as an internationally recognized tech hub.

He asserted that we have reached a certain tipping point in the maturity of our tech ecosystem, now that so many major players have decided to relocate to our region. “I think we’ve already made South Florida a tech hub. Now our job is to help that hub grow.”

Education is an important challenge our region is confronting, according to Conway. “The need for talent has become abundantly clear,” he said, underscoring the positive efforts of local universities to create a strong talent pipeline.

 

 

Learn more about Tech Hub’s Talent subcommittees. They’re a huge part of our work to develop South Florida’s tech hub.

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10
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Industry leaders and researchers brought together for the FAU Data Science Conference

Read Time 3 Minutes

Back in person for the first time since the pandemic, the Florida Atlantic University Data-Driven Science & AI Conference brought together industry leaders, students, and researchers from multiple industries. This is the fourth conference for the Schmidt College of Science and the first year the conference attracted support from the National Science Foundation!

“The conference was reshaped this year to meet the growth of the Schmidt College of Science as well as the dynamic tech, data and AI community we work with in South Florida,” said William Kalies, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Conference Chair. “The funding provided by the NSF enabled us to conduct this conference again and provide opportunities for our local industry to interact with our researchers and students to spark future collaborations, internship and career opportunities.”

Throughout the day-long event, participants had the opportunity to attend two panel discussions, six themed minisymposium sessions, ranging from the use of AI in chemistry and molecular medicine to the urban applications of data science, enjoy a student research poster competition, learn about opportunities in the community through Tech Hub South Florida, and had multiple opportunities for learning and networking.

Twenty-six students from FAU High School and FAU’s undergraduate and graduate programs exhibited their research at the conference. Three students, Kayla Ahlness, Dawn Raja Somu, and Deepika Regmi, earned recognition for their studies from faculty judges.

The conference included two sponsored panel sessions by South Florida Tech Hub, including the Health Tech panel that discussed, “Digital Transformation and Data-Driven Insight in Healthcare” with leaders in healthcare technology. This panel had a packed room of students, researchers and faculty interested in hearing about “Where We Are and Where We’re Going” in healthtech.

Meggie Soliman, Director of Strategic Innovations at DSS, Inc. opened up the conversation with a presentation and followed by moderating the discussion with panelists, Pete Martinez, CEO of Sivotech Bioinformatics and former IBM executive, Yenvy Truong, Founder of LSM Group, and  Christopher Kunney, Chief of Strategy & Business Development at DSS, Inc.

The Tech Career & Internship Experiences panel discussion paired recent FAU alumni with their mentors to discuss how they secured an internship and their current full-time industry positions. They also answered students’ questions and shared advice.

Panelists included Rich Viens, Chief Financial Officer at PeakActivity and former intern Valeria Tineo, now the Incoming Account Executive of Organizational Business Development at Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lakshamana Sankarakuttalam, Senior Manager IT, Enterprise Intelligence at Office Depot alongside recent FAU Alum and current Master’s student,  Jose Delgado, Software Developer at Office Depot.

The conference featured mini sessions highlighting everything from “The Impact of AI in Financial Market Investment Strategies” to “Topological Data Analysis Algorithms in Robot Motion Planning.” The final keynote talk of the day was Daniel Uribe, MBA, Co-Founder & CEO, GenoBank.io, and active Tech Hub member. His talk was titled “BioNFTs: Enabling Decentralized Consented Genomics in the Metaverse” discussing the biodata provenance journey with an ethical risk analysis of who benefits, who is at risk, and who decides on the biological assets (biosamples + biodata) and the introduction of Biological Non-Fungible Tokens or BioNFTs that resolve in a public blockchain.

This year marked the return to an in-person event for the first time since 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last conference was held virtually in 2020. The last conference was successfully supported by the local Boca Raton company, TechStrong Group and Media Ops, which ensured it could be attended virtually. We are already looking forward to 2023!

Student Kerry-Ann Bartley shares how the M.S. in Data Science and Analytics program in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science provides training in analytic tools, preparing students with transferrable real world skills.
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10
Jun, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

In urgent need of some home improvement supplies? iDrop’s got you covered

Read Time 3 Minutes

With the South Florida housing market continuing to be one of the most active in the US, home improvement is a big business. It’s also a growing one, with an estimated market value of over $1 trillion globally by 2027.

While home improvement can often involve time consuming, stressful tasks, one South Florida company is working to make it a bit easier.

Meet Melbourne-based startup iDrop, which has developed an on-demand home improvement delivery platform. They just launched a same-day delivery app that enables DIYers and professional contractors to get small to medium-sized products and materials delivered right to their door in as soon as two hours.

The app provides users with a real-time – and really accurate – inventory of their local Lowe’s stores across 16 South Florida locations. With just a few taps, weekend warriors and seasoned pros alike can have just what they need delivered right to their doorstep.

iDrop was founded by professional construction and tech industry veterans who identified a gap in the industry for reliable delivery services.

“At iDrop, we believe that home improvement projects should be completed seamlessly and efficiently,” said co-founder and CEO Josh Wetherington.

“There is nothing more frustrating than forgetting or miscalculating materials like screws, pipes and small tools, and then having to put everything on hold to go pick up one more item,” Wetherington continued. “That’s why we created an app that can get you the materials you need as soon as possible and without interruption.”

So far, iDrop has raised a $900,000 friends and family fundraise. The startup is based out of Groundswell, a community of digital nomads, innovators, and entrepreneurs in Melbourne.

The startup prides itself in guaranteeing fast and frictionless delivery that helps users improve their homes efficiently and effectively. Superusers of the iDrop platform can subscribe to iDrop Unlimited to get free delivery on every order over $50. The service costs $12.95 a month or $98 on a yearly basis.

Once an order is placed, a local iDrop driver (AKA a “Dropper”) is dispatched to pick up the items and bring them to a user’s home within two hours. 

This gig-economy aspect of the platform plays a crucial role in enabling economic development regionally by providing flexible employment opportunities to South Floridians. In an era of rapidly rising inflation and stagnant wages, these extra gigs can help soften the blow of economic uncertainty.

Locating the company in South Florida was a strategic move, Wetherington explained to South Florida Tech Hub. “South Florida’s tech and innovation ecosystems continue to accelerate, and we saw this as the perfect place to build on that momentum and launch iDrop,” he said. “With the area’s real estate market also booming, there’s a high demand for home improvement projects.”

“More people are turning to gig work, specifically in South Florida, and it’s our mission to support the growth of the convenience and local gig economy in every possible way,”  Wetherington continued. “We’re providing the highest quality of services to our users while also offering competitive opportunities for local gig drivers – this is a commitment we have made and will continue to provide as we plan to grow in the coming months.”

Learn more about iDrop by visiting their website, iDropMaterials.com. Download the iDrop app by visiting the App Store or Google Play on your mobile device.

04
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga addresses startup founders at pitch clinic

Read Time 3 Minutes

“We are so proud to have the Florida Atlantic University’s Tech Runway in the City of Boynton. The opportunity to support our entrepreneurs and events like these drive the innovation that we want to see in our community,” said Mayor Ty Penserga as he addressed a group of founders, investors, and mentors at a pitch clinic in collaboration with South Florida Tech Hub. “Our entrepreneurs and small businesses are always welcome,” he continued.

Raised in Palm Beach County and a graduate of FAU himself, the high school chemistry teacher spent almost three years on the City Commission prior to being elected as Mayor in March 2022. Mayor Penserga says he is focused on bringing more jobs to the city, reported a recent WPTV news highlight.

FAU Tech Runway, based in Boca Raton, is an incubator and accelerator space for startups and entrepreneurs offering resources, mentorship and early funding opportunities through their TRIN Investors Network. A $50,000 grant was approved last year to open the satellite location in Boynton Beach.

“FAU Tech Runway is excited to open a satellite office in Boynton Beach and be part of the City’s effort to help entrepreneurs,” said Joshua D. Glanzer, Associate Vice President of Media Relations and Public Affairs at Florida Atlantic University.

In collaboration with South Florida Tech Hub, FAU Tech Runway, and the City of Boynton Beach, and sponsored by New World Angels, the “Tech Hub Pitch Clinic” was held within the newly renovated 1,850-square-foot, ground-floor innovation and collaborative office space at City Hall at Boynton Beach Town Square which also offers a library, café, and cultural center.

The pitch clinic was the first event of its kind within the space since completion of the renovation. Sponsored by New World Angels, guests were welcomed with lite bites, drinks, and a goody bag to take home.

Coaches for the evening included Ron Tarro, President at New World Angels, Jessica Miley, Managing Director at New World Angels, Tahl Milburn | Angel Investor at New World Angelsand Tech Hub Startup Committee Member, and Kuralay (Kuka) Elemesova, Founder at Old Bay Capital and Mentor at FAU TechRunway.

The startups and founders to pitch were:

– Synchronyx | Tamar Sapir

– ShowUp | Garrett Kellner

– Roomaters | Aaron Caplan

– DiaM Life Inc. | Lorenna Feliz Santos

– Berzus (Bancumbre) | Alejandro L Blanco Ardila

– CoinCustodian | Juan Carlos “JC” Carrion

 

Aaron Caplan, Founder of Roomaters, told Tech Hub, ” The local pitch clinic was very helpful in getting constructive feedback by real investors, but without the added pressure that having capital on the line brings. It felt like a very safe environment to practice your pitch, no matter what stage you’re at in the startup journey.”

After positive feedback during the event, Aaron also added that the feedback was great because he had “been putting a lot of effort and practice into it [his pitch] lately and happy to hear that it’s being noticed.”

“Having a strong pitch is vital for an entrepreneur seeking funding from potential investors. Pitch clinics, like the one give entrepreneurs a platform to practice their pitch in a safe, judgment-free setting while receiving feedback and guidance from active investors,” says Jessica Beaver, Director of FAU’s Tech Runway. She continued, “We look forward to co-hosting more of these in the future with South Florida Tech Hub, providing additional early-stage startups the opportunity to receive feedback and guidance from veteran investors.”

Photos here. 📸

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03
Jun, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

El Al Israel Airlines will relocate its Americas HQ from NYC to Broward

Read Time 3 Minutes

The internationally recognized airline, El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL), just announced that it will be relocating it’s headquarters for the Americas (north and south) from New York City to Broward County. Currently located in New York City and long Island, NY, U.S. operations will be moved to the City of Margate, FL. The move is set to happen August 1, 2022.

“Broward County’s unparalleled quality of life, cultural offerings and proximity to a diverse and thriving talent pool make Broward an ideal location of choice. Broward County looks forward to welcoming El Al Airlines’ U.S. headquarters to our community,” said Broward County Mayor Michael Udine.

The 32,164-square-foot building located at 5297 W. Copans Road is owned by a Limited Liability Company managed by Kenny Rozenberg, one of the wealthiest American Jews and the father of Eli Rozenberg, who is yet to be 30 years old and the controlling shareholder of El Al airline. “Israeli law demands that only a citizen of the Jewish state may own an Israeli airline,” stated an article in the Israel Hayom newsletter. Both Eli and Kenny have both become Israeli citizens within the last few years.

Although, El Al’s main headquarters will remain in Ben Gurion Airport in Israel’s Central District, the U.S. Headquarters in Broward will be managed by Marc Cavaliere, El Al’s senior VP for the Americas who joined the company in November.

Cavaliere is an airline and travel industry executive specializing in commercial development, international sales and marketing, and tourism growth. He brings with him over three decades of experience working for brands such as South African Airways, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines among others according to his LinkedIn page.

“With all of the continued attraction and growth to the tech sector, medicine sector and business in general, we have gotten an equally strong response from Israel and from the home office so we are going to have a lot of opportunities,” says Cavaliere at a recent celebratory photo shoot with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. “We will continue growing not only our administrative side, but also this [Broward] is our base for all of the Americas,” he continued.

Broward County is also the home to Spirt Airlines (NYSE: SAVE), a JetBlue subsidiary, Norse Atlantic, Silver Airways, and Jet Linx. With an overall growing Israeli and Jewish community from Miami to West Palm Beach, El Al felt that they could be central to the growth. It’s understood that the airline will be hiring approximately thirty employees from sales to marketing to administration.

“We are honored that El Al Airlines has chosen to relocate its U.S. headquarters to Greater Fort Lauderdale, joining hundreds of aviation and headquarters operations in the area. We are thrilled to welcome this iconic company to our community,” said Bob Swindell, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Broward County’s official public/private partnership for economic development.

“There’s nothing better than seeing firsthand the impact people’s philanthropic dollars can have, especially when it comes to supporting the land and people of Israel,” said Michael Teichberg, Jewish National Fund-USA Director, North Dade and Broward. “South Florida is home to vibrant Jewish and Israeli communities, and EL AL’s decision to relocate its corporate headquarters to South Florida will mean more employment opportunities for locals and, hopefully, the addition of more flights to Israel from South Florida airports. We’re looking forward to seeing the positive impact EL AL’s new focus on our region will yield.”

 

 

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31
May, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Broward-based CERA reacts to mass shooting mayhem this month

Read Time 3 Minutes

“It has sadly been a very deadly month from coast to coast due to gun violence, ” says Edward McGovern, Founder & CEO at CERA. “Nineteen elementary school students and two teachers were killed by an alleged lone gunman days ago in Uvalde, Texas. A doctor was killed and five other churchgoers were injured in a Laguna Woods, CA shooting. Ten innocent lives were taken at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, NY in what is believed to be a racially-motivated crime.

It has been nearly 10 years since Sandy Hook, slightly over 4 years since Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and 23 whole years since Columbine. How and why is this still happening?”

It is a more difficult task to stop the bad guys from having intent to kill and pulling the trigger. What we CAN control is effective response of critical incidents.

It is quite disheartening to learn that a Tops grocery store employee is claiming a 9-1-1 operator hung up on her when she called to report the shooter, according to the New York Times. She alleges that she was whispering so that the shooter would hopefully not hear her on the phone. This is just one example of the weaknesses in our current communications systems that we are solving.

Critical Event Response Applications, or CERA, is a public safety app that “creates a direct line of communication between law enforcement, emergency medical providers, and individuals on the ground.” CERA greatly assists in containing the scene, neutralizing the threat, and treating and evacuating the injured and in danger. Simply put, it eliminates the chaos and confusion during a critical event to be able to save more lives in a time when time is of the essence.

CERA enables people to report threatening situations and injuries directly to law enforcement officers who have the CERA app with a tap of a button, instantly giving law enforcement the exact location of the threat and getting the information directly into the hands of police and fire as efficiently as possible.

As communities and public safety officials search for solutions to this epidemic of violence, we need to start prioritizing how we are going to address it. We cannot solve our response difficulties using the same antiquated technology that are general multi-purpose tools. In other words, the tools we need to address active killer events are not the same tools used to report a theft, the dynamics are completely different. We need to commit resources to our children’s safety with school attacks much like we committed to their safety when it comes to a fire.

The last school fire in the US that killed 10 or more children was 1958 in Chicago. Why? Because we addressed the specific issue using technology, resources and laws. From fire-codes to inspections to fire drills, we effectively took on a unique problem, committed to make changes and succeeded. It is also possible to change many of the outcomes in targeted violence cases.

Our hearts are saddened to see all of these senseless mass murders. We are praying for all of those affected by these tragedies. Parents are now fearful of sending their kids to school each morning. Shoppers and grocery store workers are worried if a trip to the supermarket or a day at work will be a death sentence. We can do better, but it only works if we join forces to do so.

Please click on the image below to see Edward’s response to the Uvalde massacre on CBS Miami.

25
May, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

Miami Hack Week’s team SpotX, an AR gaming startup, acquired by San Fran company

Read Time 3 Minutes

Yesterday at the Lightship Summit in San Francisco, another South Florida startup made headlines as it was announced that the team from SpotX Games, a Miami-based augmented reality gaming startup is now part of the Niantic family.

Founded in January 2022, SpotX Games was aligned with Niantic’s mission to deliver fun, real-world gameplay adventures using augmented reality and encouraging community participation to makes Web3 and NFTs accessible to all.

The small and mighty team of five – Galina Fendikevich, Traci Levine, Jackson Harris, Chris Daniels, and David Woodward – met at Miami Hack Week. Chris, a Miami Tech original and founder of The Shrimp Society, an organization that helps early stage founders, sponsored a “hack” house that brought together coders and creatives from a variety of backgrounds.

In a brainstorming session, a shared vision came together: to create a scavenger hunt across the different “hack” houses where players were tasked with finding hidden QR codes that held NFTs and collecting as many as they could. Shrimp Games, as it was dubbed, was the talk of Hack Week and motivated the team to stay together and start work on what is now SpotX Games. They ended up placing within the top 5 teams!

“We wanted a fun way to connect with the Hack Week community because of the amount of houses in this event,” wrote Traci Levine in a public blog post. “Taking it a step further, we wanted to ensure social proof by making it non-transferable. If you say you were somewhere then there should be hard evidence to show it.” Traci is an original SpotX team member and now a Software Engineer at Niantic.

Having its footprint in Miami allowed SpotX to tap into the growing Web3 community, experimenting with new concepts and gathering feedback from eager participants. One of these concepts would become Spot@SXSW, an interactive city-wide scavenger hunt to take place during South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Players would track down ‘Spots’ where interactive AR events would be happening in five different categories – music, film, tech, food, and local – to collect coins and rack up points in hopes of winning one of several prizes and earning their own unique NFT featuring a colorful map of their journey across the city.

As SpotX was developing this new game for SXSW, they had a chance to meet Niantic’s John Hanke and Dan Morris. The team impressed with its creative use of blockchain technology and NFTs to engage people while making this emerging technology approachable through a simple web interface, perfect for those who were new to this space or wanted to get involved but didn’t know where to start.

The SpotX Games team officially joined Niantic in February and will be staying in Miami to be part of the Web 3 community here in South Florida. After  ibeing acquired, the team set its sights on building out Spox@SXSW with the support and backing of Niantic. The game was a hit with event organizers, who saw the potential to leverage SpotX’s approach at future events to deliver a more interactive experience.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have them as part of the Niantic family and to see what types of experiences we can build together to unlock the potential and power of Web3 for our community,” says Phil Keslin, Niantic’s CTO.

Learn more about SpotX Games at https://www.spotx.games/

20
May, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Member Spotlight | Digital Resource

Read Time 3 Minutes

Business: Providing companies with custom online marketing strategies for business growth.

Founded: 2014

HQ: Downtown West Palm Beach

Employees: 125

Website: YourDigitalResource.com

 

The digital marketing landscape is the most complicated it has been since the dawn of social media. Facebook’s removal of certain ad targeting options coupled with Apple’s new anti-tracking privacy features have brought uncertainty to the space.

For the last eight years, West Palm Beach-based Digital Resource has been a trusted resource for companies looking to up their marketing game.

While Digital Resource works with businesses of all shapes and sizes across all industries, their typical client is a small to medium-sized business. They specialize in a few industries in particular, including medical services, franchising, and home services. Often, customers come to Digital Resource when they are looking to increase their lead flow and fine-tune how they present themselves online.

Since the pandemic, Digital Resource has been on a supercharged growth trajectory. The company reports that they have been increasing their revenues by $4-5 million each year. They also acquired their first agency, a Nashville-based marketing shop, last month. This growth, combined with an acquisition or two each year over the next few years, puts the company on track to increase their annual revenue from $11 million to $50 million within five years.

“West Palm Beach plays a great role in that growth,” Digital Resource founder and president Shay Berman told South Florida Tech Hub. “It’s a central base to pull talent from north and south.”

“And it’s a growing city,” continued Berman. “We hope to be a part of the positive transition of West Palm from a small to medium city to a large city.”

Berman also expressed excitement about the rise of South Florida’s tech scene. “There’s high quality talent in the area,” he said, noting that technologists from the southern end of the region are increasingly moving to Palm Beach. 

He explained that Digital Resource has benefited from the national and international trend of people wanting to move to our region. “The talent pool is growing on its own by people flowing here to live, and we’ve been able to take advantage of it by being a great option for them as they come into the state.”

When it comes to helping younger companies and startups chart out their most efficient digital marketing strategy, Berman advises that they find the right partner who understands how their business works first and foremost. Then they can try to implement the right marketing pieces. The other way around leads to disaster, he said. 

“The biggest reason why marketing fails is that marketers try to make a specific service or type of marketing fit the business. You have to understand the business, its growth, and how people would engage with it – and market to that.”

Berman underscores that social media is key to digital marketing success. “There are a hundred plus reasons to use social media as a business,” he said. “And you have to first understand why you’re using social media, and connect that to your business’s goals.”

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