South Florida has some innovative companies seeking investors in 2018 — and they’re offering everything from freshly prepared meal delivery to custom prescription medications.
Next week, eight regional companies will be among those presenting at the Florida Venture Capital Conference from Jan. 30-31 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale.
The conference, which is open to the public, will feature keynote speaker Ryan Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Chewy.com, an online pet supplies company acquired by PetSmart last year for $3.35 billion. On Jan. 30, he will talk about growing Chewy and the challenges along the way.
The companies were chosen from more than 100 applications, according to Florida Venture Forum, which last held the statewide event in South Florida in 2015, in Hollywood.
Those eligible will compete for a $100,000 prize from Space Florida, the state’s aerospace and spaceport development authority based on Merritt Island. The “Accelerating Innovation Award,” the first prize offered at the conference, is geared toward companies with space technologies as well as information technology, health technology, communications, cyber-security, agriculture and related industries.
The 2018 event is “one of our best groupings of companies in our history. The companies have average annual revenue of around $5 million, which puts them solidly in the growth category,” said Kevin Burgoyne, the Miami-based president of the Florida Venture Forum. “Companies that have presented have gone on to raise over $3 billion in equity capital. [Selection] is a big shot in the arm for any company.”
Here are the local companies making presentations:
Fort Lauderdale-based Catered Fit, a prepared meal delivery service that provides mix-and-match meal plans for healthy eating. The company, which operates in Florida and California, is looking for funds to open kitchens in other states.
Pompano Beach-based Prescriber’s Choice provides customized medications to doctors who want to choose them for their patients.
Deerfield Beach-based Tellus provides claims processing technology aimed at reducing fraud, waste and abuse in the health-care industry.
Pembroke Park-based 7Pets manufactures and distributes highly absorbent and odor-eliminating cat litters under the brands of “Garfield” and “Hello Kitty.”
Miami-based GlobalShopex enables small- and medium-sized U.S. merchants to sell to more than 200 countries.
Miami-based Moocho is a free college-targeted app that lets students pay with their mobile phone for meals and other purchases around campus, and earn rewards.
Coral Gables-based Sensentia leverages artificial intelligence to provide answers to health-care benefit questions from patients and care providers.
For more information about the conference, visit flventure.org.
Article Source: Sun-Sentinel
By: Marcia Heroux Pounds, Contact Reporter
Contact: mpounds@sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6650, Twitter: @marciabiz
Read Original Article
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-florida-venture-capital-fort-lauderdale-20180123-story.html
