The Florida Venture Forum/Venture Education Foundation and Space Florida are pleased to announce the top two winners of the 2017 Florida VentureTech Showcase and Space Florida’s Accelerating Innovation prize, held at the FAU Tech Runway in Boca Raton on November 16, 2017. A total of 17 Florida-based companies from across the state and a variety of industry sectors were selected to present before an audience of investors, deal professionals and entrepreneurs.
A panel of judges reviewed each selected company’s presentation and supporting materials. The top two winning companies, which each received $25,000, were:
Weintraus, Inc., Daytona Beach (www.weintraus.com), Weintraus’s mission is to build a reusable and re-supply capable space tug having the ability of capturing, servicing, refueling, and maneuvering multiple spacecraft in orbit. Weintraus aims to do this with Hercules’ ability to scale into different markets from the same spacecraft platform.
Tellus, Inc., Deerfield Beach (www.4tellus.com ), provides comprehensive solutions to extend healthcare beyond the hospital walls. Their tools are SaaS based applications designed to help their clients leverage the use of mobility allowing patients to interact with providers without taking a trip to the hospital.
The 17 presenting companies were selected from a statewide pool of more than 70 applicants by a committee of active Florida venture capitalists and other investors. Space Florida provided the Accelerating Innovation prize money totaling $50,000. To date, Space Florida supported capital accelerators, have attracted over $134 Million in funding and investments for the participating companies.
“Space Florida congratulates the grand prize winners and all participating companies in the 2017 Florida VentureTech Showcase,” said Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello. “With each of these capital acceleration events, we continue to see the signs of a thriving start-up, early stage and capital formation ecosystem across the State of Florida. Space Florida is pleased to continue its partnership with Florida Venture Forum/Venture Education Foundation in promoting Florida-grown companies.”
“The Forum’s third annual Florida VentureTech Showcase was a true testament to the quality of investor-worthy companies that these capital accelerator events continue to attract,” said Kevin Burgoyne, President and CEO of the Florida Venture Forum. “We congratulate our winning companies – Weintraus, Inc. and Tellus, Inc., and thank Space Florida for its continued support.”
About Space Florida: Space Florida was created to strengthen Florida’s position as the global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration and commerce. As Florida’s aerospace and spaceport development authority, we are committed to attracting and expanding the next generation of space industry businesses. With its highly trained workforce, proven infrastructure and unparalleled record of achievement, Florida is the ideal location for aerospace businesses to thrive – and Space Florida is the perfect partner to help them succeed. www.spaceflorida.gov
