Wednesday, February 15, 2023

The Power of Self-Awareness in a CEO

While attending the Florida Venture Forum last week, I had the opportunity to meet with early-stage CEOs from across the State. Most were seeking investments or other types of partnerships, and one meeting led to an interesting dialogue that highlighted a critical element for a scalable leader…self-awareness.


In the midst of a conversation he and I were having over the future plans for the company, from product development, to which markets to scale, to the capital he hoped to raise, he said to me, “And I am probably not the guy to get us there.” He went on to explain that he was primarily an engineer, loved designing new products, and was proud and excited to get the business to this stage, but that maximizing the opportunity was likely going to need someone with a different business background and experience than his. “I believe we have really built something game-changing and getting it out into the market is the most important thing to me.”

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Now Hiring

Lit Thinking is hiring for a lead software engineer.


The UCF BIP is hiring for a Mentoring/First Customer Program Manager and an Incubator Assistant

In the News

Maryann Kilgallon, founder and CEO of Orlando-based Pink Lotus Technologies Inc., will appear in Comcast NBCUniversal's three-part docuseries, "Founding in Color," premiering Feb. 16th on Peacock, the Black Experience on Xfinity, X1 On Demand, Xfinity Flex and the Xfinity Stream app.


Arima Genomics Announces Agreement with Protean BioDiagnostics to Make Arima Gene Fusion Test Widely Available to Clinicians


Volusia County Business Incubator Launches WoW Fridays


Pink Lotus Technologies Inc. Founder and CEO, Maryann Kilgallon featured in Secrets of Successful Women Inventors


USPTO introduces new tool to help creators identify their intellectual property


The Orlando Technology Community Support Grant Program now accepting applications!


Apply to the NAWBO PropelHER Pitch Competition

Upcoming Events

February

16

Small Business Round Table - Kissimmee

Connect with business owners and entrepreneurs at the BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR 2023 hosted by Vice Mayor Olga Castaño. Registration is required.

February

17

Volusia County Economic Development "Q" Breakfast

Join Volusia County Economic Development for the "Q" Breakfast for a conversation on Cultivating Innovation with its Innovation Expert Panel that includes Stephanie Miller, Ph.D., Lou Paris, and Connie Garzon, M.B.A., C.B.A.. This is an excellent opportunity to interact with elected officials, community partners and stakeholders, and to learn more about the state of Volusia County's economy.



February

21

Innovation Stories: Fintech Meets Higher Ed

Another great meetup event hosted by the Orlando Innovation League! This month, two accomplished local innovators, Jacques Fu and Luis Garcia will be opening up about their experiences in innovation with FinTech and Higher Ed. AND... networking will be ramped up this month! This event will open with an hour of structured and unstructured networking. 4 Starbucks gift cards will be awarded to folks who want to continue professional connections post-meetup!


February

22

One Million Cups

1MC takes place every Wednesday morning at our Orlando Incubator.

Sign up to talk about your business and share your accomplishments with the community!


February

23

Military Service to Business Success Summit

As in business, there is always a bottom-line. Our bottom-line is that people do business with those they know, like and trust. What better way to meet that bottom-line than to attend a summit in which you can: get to know and learn from veterans who have built incredible businesses, learn more about the opportunities in the great State of Florida, learn more about Contracting – Federal, State, Local and Military opportunities, and learn more about Commercial Supplier Diversity opportunities.


March

01

Business Ethics 2023

On the first Wednesday of every month, we will explore how Stoicism can help in setting business goals and managing growth. This course is designed for business CEOs, managers, and entrepreneurs in Central Florida. The goal is to focus on stoic leadership.


March

17, 24, 31

Introduction to Web3 and Digital Assets Series

The Introduction to Web3 and Digital Assets series in March 2023 will provide an introduction to accepting digital assets for your business, blockchain, decentralized finance [DeFi], NFT Marketplaces, the Metaverse, and Web3 Wallets.


March

30

2023 Women Who Mean Business Awards Celebration

Join Orlando Business Journal for the annual Women Who Mean Business awards celebration to honor Central Florida's 2023 women of distinction.


April

01

AWS Startup Day Miami

Calling all cloud-native startups! AWS Startup Day Miami is a conference with education for cloud-native startups like yours. The topics are presented through multiple tracks and will be most helpful to specific roles, within companies that are early stage (post-MVP) through mid/growth stage.

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Is the BIP for you?

Our award-winning program provides business development and operational support to early-stage technology and innovation-driven businesses throughout Central Florida. We offer three programs that are each designed to help businesses at different stages.


Click here to see if our Traction, Growth, or Soft Landing Program is a good fit for you!

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