AN ENTREPRENEUR S RESOURCE GUIDE

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2 About the Host Orlando, Inc. 75 South Ivanhoe Boulevard Orlando, FL Phone: Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) is focused on connecting entrepreneurs to success by advancing an agenda of Business Innovation and Growth. Providing information, infrastructure and connections needed by entrepreneurs and growth-oriented companies to survive and thrive through each stage of business, initiatives advanced by Orlando, Inc., include entrepreneurial education, policy and legislation, peer networks, access to new market opportunities, and the creation of a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. This is accomplished by fostering connections between all stakeholders -- companies with a few employees to thousands of employees, service providers, educational institutions, policy makers, capital markets, and others. Orlando, Inc., also addresses targeted priorities for economic prosperity and job growth which include Innovation and Economic Development, Talent & Workforce, and Business Climate & Competition by working with local and state policy makers as well as community and business leaders. These efforts are crucial to creating the most effective business infrastructure. Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) is one of four lines of business of the Central Florida Partnership and is a Five-Star Chamber the highest level of achievement awarded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Leslie has served as President and CEO since November, Prior to Orlando, Inc., Leslie has worked in the areas of software development for the military, new product development in Europe, Middle East and Africa for AT&T, established her own telecom consulting business and taught Entrepreneurship for an MBA program. She is an alumnus of Florida Tech in Electrical Engineering and also holds an M.S.E.E. and MBA. Presented by Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) Page 2

3 Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) 315 East Robinson Street, Suite 660 Orlando, FL Phone: The Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) is a non-profit 501C4 CDFI (Certified Development Financing Institution) and CDE (Certified Development Enterprise) that specializes in providing loans to small and minority business owners. In addition, the BBIF assists businesses in building their management capacity through technical assistance services. Currently, the BBIF administers two loan programs, the Black Business Loan Program (BBLP) and the Economic Gardening Pilot Loan Program (EGPLP). The Economic Gardening Business Loan Pilot Program was created in 2009 through Florida Statute within the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. The Economic Gardening Business Loan Pilot Program (EGBLP) supports those small businesses that are in the best position to use the loan to continue making a successful long-term business commitment to Florida. Inez Long has 26 years of combined experience in the financial services and business sectors. She began her professional financial services career in banking in the areas of Credit Administration, Real Estate Finance, and Commercial Lending. She worked in banking with First Union and SunTrust banks in Orlando, Florida. Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship Rollins College 1000 Holt Avenue Winter Park, FL Phone: The Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, located within the Rollins MBA Program, is a catalyst and thought leader in the advancement of successful entrepreneurship. Core to its mission is to prepare the advanced students of the Rollins MBA program for entrepreneurial thought and action. The Center connects students in a meaningful way with advanced entrepreneurs, and likewise, brings together entrepreneurs for peer-to-peer networking. This results in real-world insights providing advanced action learning for both students and entrepreneurs which is critical to the Center's success. The Rollins MBA is ranked first in Florida and 22nd in the nation for graduate entrepreneurial education by Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review. Cari Coats is Executive Director of the nationally-ranked Rollins Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship at Rollins College and President of C2 Advisors. Coats is active at her alma mater, the University of Central Florida. In 1994, she was named UCF s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Coats is an adjunct instructor in the Devos Sports Business Management Program at UCF. Presented by Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) Page 3

4 CEO Nexus P.O. Box 3660 Winter Park, FL Phone: www. ceonexus.com As a public-private initiative, CEO Nexus can measurably improve access to resources essential to overcoming the inevitable obstacles your fast-growing company will face challenges that can accelerate progress or inhibit growth. CEO Nexus services specifically designed for fast-growing companies include: CEO ROUNDTABLE NETWORK CEO MENTOR NETWORK CEO EXPERIENCE EXCHANGE Steve Quello is founder and President of CEO Nexus, a market research consultancy serving CEO s and related senior management of second-stage businesses, designs and manages market development programs including the PeerSpectives CEO Peer Learning Network distributed throughout Florida. Disney Entrepreneur Center 315 East Robinson Street, Suite 100 Orlando, FL Phone: The Disney Entrepreneur Center provides a single location where small businesses can access a variety of business resources, technology, research tools and resident support organizations who can provide: Free One-on-One Business Coaching, Low-cost Seminars, Powerful Networking Events, Access to Business Building Tools and Resources, Certification Assistance for Minority Owned Businesses, Connections to Procurement Opportunities and Publicity Opportunities. This one-of-a-kind resource is available to any small business and is continually evolving to serve the needs of our dynamic and diverse small business community. The Center is a unique, public/private partnership dedicated to the education, support, and development of our small business community and is funded entirely through sponsorship support. Since inception, the Center s service provider organizations have trained, counseled, and assisted the small business community in record numbers. These resident organizations, and the businesses they serve, have received international attention, national recognition and provided significant economic impact. Jerry Ross is an entrepreneur and businessman with two decades of experience. Jerry was selected in a nationwide search to become the Director of the Disney Entrepreneur Center located in Orlando, Florida. The Entrepreneur Center is a unique public/private partnership, and is home to business support organizations who are dedicated to the development and growth of businesses throughout Florida. Presented by Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) Page 4

5 Engineering & Computer Simulations High Tech Avenue, Suite 250 Orlando, FL Phone: ECS creates high impact solutions to improve training and education across the spectrum of corporate, academic and military training domains. Design professionals and engineers work closely with clients to provide solutions that can be tailored to people from diverse backgrounds and that are capable of providing graphic simulated experiences that can be shared with geographically dispersed teams of people. The lines of business within ECS are: Advanced Learning Technologies Products and Services Virtual Worlds Commercial and Government Individual and Collective Staff Training Systems Integration LVC Gaming Interoperability Professional Services / IT Services Waymon Armstrong is the founder and President of Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. (ECS). Since its inception in 1997, the firm is dedicated to utilizing PC based game technology in an advanced distributed learning environment. Waymon was named as a 2007 & 2009 finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young for the State of Florida. ECS was awarded the 2010 Florida Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Florida High Tech Corridor Council Virtual Entrepreneur Center 1200 West International Speedway Boulevard Daytona Beach, FL Contact: Michael A. Zaharios, zaharim@daytonastate.edu Whether starting a new business, looking to expand an existing business or considering relocating a business, entrepreneurs searching for information that will support their business needs can visit the Florida High Tech Corridor Council Virtual Entrepreneur Center ( Created as a robust and easy-to-use one-stop online resource, this Web portal is maintained by FHTCC in partnership with local economic development organizations. Updated regularly with new information, the Virtual Entrepreneur Center catalogs local, regional, state and global resources for starting and growing a business. FLVEC.com provides links within each Corridor county to all of the latest business resources such as local permitting codes and forms, statewide corporate registration information and federal trademark law. FLVEC.com services are available in all 23 counties within Florida s High Tech Corridor. Whether specializing in law, accounting, IT, communications or other products and services, businesses from across the Corridor can list their information on FLVEC.com at no charge to help entrepreneurs find the best products and services for starting or growing a business. (Continued) Presented by Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) Page 5

6 University of Central Florida UCF Business Incubation Program & UCF Venture Lab Research Parkway, Suite 501 Orlando, FL Phone: A University-driven community partnership providing early stage companies with the enabling tools, training and infrastructure to create financially stable high growth/impact enterprises. Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 130 emerging companies (including nearly 80 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With six current locations across the metro Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is collaboration in economic development between UCF, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, Lake County, the City of Leesburg and the City of Sanford, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC). Dr. Tom O Neal currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Research at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Director of UCF Business Incubation Program. He has a long history as an entrepreneur and has assisted in the formation of several spin-off companies for technologies developed by UCF. He serves as a core team member of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and established partnerships for the Incubator with both the University and the Central Florida community to provide tools and resources that enhance the prospects for the success of developing companies. He also assembled a distinguished Advisory Board for the Incubator consisting of Central Florida business professionals. Presented by Orlando, Inc., (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) Page 6