Congratulations to the winners of our first annual Elevator Pitch Night! After a quick race to the finish, BioFront Technologies and Specialized Crystal Processing, Inc. each received a Technology Commercialization Grant in the amount of $15,000. Close runners up in the competition were BUC Technologies, CanDoTech Consulting, Inc., and NanoVision.
Every ‘Investor’ attending the event received $500,000 in ‘LCRDA bucks’ to invest in up to two companies. After viewing a five-minute presentation by each of the competitors and visiting their informational booths, investors weighed in with their decisions as to which companies they felt worthy of investment.
The better part of responsibility in the decision-making process, however, lay in the hands of our esteemed panel of judges. The time and expertise of Akin Akinyemi, Chairman, Board of Leon County Commissioners; Tom Allen, Capital City Bank and Board Member of the Leon County Research and Development Authority; Chris Eldred, President and Founder, TeligentEMS; Michael Sheridan, Chairman, FBMC Benefits Management; and David Whitney, Entrepreneur in Residence, UF Engineering and Innovation Institute, were much appreciated.
Through the generosity of Hancock Bank, Capital City Bank, the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, Marpan Recycling, TeligentEMS, and Hollimon, P.A., we hosted a prestigious event that we hope will be the first of many. The Tallahassee Democrat was kind enough to cover the event for us; their article is viewable online here:
Thanks to all involved (including our wonderful team of volunteers from Hancock Bank and Capital City Bank) for making Elevator Pitch Night a great success!