An Entrepreneur's Resource guide - Orlando Chamber of Commerce

AN ENTREPRENEUR’S RESOURCE GUIDE
About the Host
Orlando, Inc.
75 South Ivanhoe Boulevard
Orlando, FL 32804
Phone: 407.425.1234
www.orlando.org
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, 2008. 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.
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AN ENTREPRENEUR’S RESOURCE GUIDE
Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF)
315 East Robinson Street, Suite 660
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 407.649.4780
www.bbif.com
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
288.1081 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 32789
Phone: 407.691.1125
www.rollins.edu/entrepreneurship
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.
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AN ENTREPRENEUR’S RESOURCE GUIDE
CEO Nexus
P.O. Box 3660
Winter Park, FL 32790
Phone: 407.590.6101
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 32801
Phone: 407.420.4848
www.disneyec.com
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.
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AN ENTREPRENEUR’S RESOURCE GUIDE
Engineering & Computer Simulations
11825 High Tech Avenue, Suite 250
Orlando, FL 32817
Phone: 407.823.9991
www.ecsorl.com
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 32114
Contact: Michael A. Zaharios, zaharim@daytonastate.edu
www.flvec.com
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 (www.flvec.com). 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.
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AN ENTREPRENEUR’S RESOURCE GUIDE
University of Central Florida
UCF Business Incubation Program & UCF Venture Lab
12201 Research Parkway, Suite 501
Orlando, FL 32826
Phone: 407.882.1120
www.incubator.ucf.edu
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.
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