Check out all of the great networking opportunities coming up at Groundswell Startups!
Groundswell Startups is proud to announce a collaborative partnership with the University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering that will bring companies on Florida’s Space Coast access to the most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer in academia.
Make-Print, a Melbourne-based software startup, took home the $5,000 second place prize from the 2021 Embry-Riddle Launch Your Venture Competition. The annual pitch competition is amongst the most prestigious in Florida for student-led startups. The state-wide competition is focused on disruptive technologies impacting the aviation, aerospace and engineering industries. The prize money is often the first dollar these student-led startups receive to explore their idea and launch their company.
Mindstamp, a Melbourne-based software startup, took home the $25,000 grand prize this past week from the 2021 Crummer Rollins Venture Plan Competition. The annual Rollins Venture Plan Competition is amongst the most prestigious in Florida. Companies selected as finalists have a track record of success, generating over $55 million in revenue and raising over $36 million in investment capital since the competition started in 2012.
2021 is a year of growth for Groundswell Startups and their expanding ecosystem. The recent completion of the 8,500 square foot Tomahawk Robotics building marked a milestone for Space Coast startups and paved a pathway for growth for other companies to expand. Recently, Critical Frequency Design, Givr Packaging, and Alertgy all moved to buildings adjacent to Groundswell Startups to meet the growing demands of their customers, and to provide more space for their employees.
The opening of the new 8,500 sqft Tomahawk Robotics building has created a pathway for tech expansions in the Groundswell Startups Community. Located in the South Melbourne expansion area, the Tomahawk Robotics building marks a new milestone for the Space Coast startup ecosystem.
Groundswell Startup’s first collaborative Idea Stage Accelerator Cohort, in partnership with StaterStudio, wrapped up this past month with a Pitch Night. Seven founders, who over the past ten weeks worked to test their ideas, conduct market research, and build sustainable revenue and business models, pitched their ideas to a socially distanced audience of mentors, community partners, and fellow Groundswell companies.
The facts are simple:
For so many nonprofits this year, best laid plans had to change to respond to the impact of COVID-19 on communities. Club Esteem, a nonprofit organization offering free after-school and summer programs to economically disadvantaged children in grades 1 through 12 who live in the South Melbourne/Palm Bay area, that meant cancelling their annual Rock the Casbah fundraiser, and shifting the way they delivered their services from face-to-face sessions to virtual tutoring and curbside food pickup.
It all started in February of 2019 when Brevard Achievement Center (BAC) reached out to Shannon Landin, CEO/Founder of Codecraft Works, to collaborate on a technical training program. Together, they piloted a program funded by Vocational Rehabilitation, Fibonacci, focused on bringing technical skills to individuals with disabilities, with the goal of removing barriers, ensuring access, and practicing inclusion for all people. As a referral from BAC, Landin met Carl, who joined the program’s first cohort and made an impression on everyone he interacted with along the way.