Besides spending time as a commercial real estate developer, I also try to stay up on the trends of Central Florida’s technology growth. In talking with the up and coming Web 2.0 developers in town they have all voiced a similar concern. There appears to be a lack of viable capital for tech start-ups in the early stages of their development. Companies in this early stage are typically seeking what is commonly referred to as seed money or a friends and family round of financing. Ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000, this seed money isn’t large enough to get institutional venture capital firms salivating, but it is, nonetheless, a vital component to the growth of these small entrepreneurial companies.
Now, Florida does have a handful of successful venture capital and private equity firms that invest in emerging technologies once there are in later stages of development, but where does that leave the computer science whiz kid coming out of UCF with the next killer web application. I can tell you where. Flying west to San Francisco, Portland or Seattle and into the arms of willing and able early-stage venture capital firms like Garage Technology Ventures, whose own investment criteria states for a company to be considered for funding it must be based in California or Western US.
Can you blame them? I don’t own land further away than 100 miles from my home. I, like other investors, want to be able to keep an eye on my equity. With that rule in mind it is clear that in order to retain the best and brightest programmers, computer engineers, web developers and creatives coming our of our local schools we need to establish an early-stage venture capital firm that focused on Central Florida. To that end, I and a few partners will be spending time over the next year working to build a firm equipped to empower, educate and fund the young talented entrepreneurially minded tech-heads of Orlando.
It appears others are becoming aware of the need for early-stage venture capital in Central Florida as well. As Beth Kassab of the Orlando Sentinel pointed out today, Florida Venture Forum, the organization that hosts an annual conference for start-ups and venture capitalists, is going to host their first-ever early-stage venture capital conference in our fair city in May of ‘08. Florida Venture Forum’s goal since its first conference in ‘92 has been to help ensure the success of entrepreneurial ventures by offering expert counsel, educational advice and managerial assistance, and to provide a venue where start-up companies can brush shoulders with firms looking to invest in the next big thing.
It is exciting that a group like FVF is focusing on Central Florida. I hope that the buzz of their conference and the continued voices of those in need of early-stage financing help create an environment in Orlando for the development of a healthy and vibrant technology corridor. Ultimately I’d love to see the best and brightest tech-heads ditching the soggy climate of the Pacific Northwest and adding their considerable talents to Orlando’s digital future.
As one of the proud sponsors of Orlando’s first Bar Camp, I was stoked to find Wes Smiths write up of the event in the Orlando Sentinel. 