A new grant program aimed at assisting Central Florida-based technology companies is now available. IDEA Fund Partners, a North Carolina-based venture capital firm, is offering the FL IDEA program in partnership with the Community Foundation of Central Florida, Rollins Crummer School of Business, Orlando, Inc., and the Metro Orlando EDC.

Based on the already successful NC IDEA program which has awarded over $2.1 million in grants to 57 companies in North Carolina, the Florida IDEA grants program awards up to $50,000 per recipient. The funds help to support business plan research and development, reduce risk of early failure of companies and advance projects to the point where the company is ready for angel or venture capital investment. In addition to the funds, recipients will also receive mentoring from successful entrepreneurs and experienced investors; use of MBA interns; access to attorneys, accountants and marketing consultants; public recognition and access to growth capital.

Applications are currently being accepted. The deadline for applying is Friday, August 26. For more information about Florida IDEA grant, visit www.floridaidea.org or contact grants@floridaidea.org.

Orlando has received a great deal of praise nationwide lately. The region has been named a "top comeback city" and the city "leading Florida out of economic recession". Here are a few of the recent accolades Orlando has received:

Orlando is "leading Florida out of the economic recession" and "one of the fastest growing cities in the country" according to Reuters.

Kiplinger named Orlando as a top "comeback city". The article recognizes cities who are seeing an "upward bounce" in their economy.

Forbes named Orlando as one of the "best cities for minority entrepreneurs" and one of "the next big boom towns in the U.S."

Orlando was ranked the top U.S. large city for business friendliness by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine in the annual American Cities of the Future issue.

Author William J. Holstein named Orlando as one of nine communities in the U.S. that will bring about the next wave of economic growth, in his book The Next American Economy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognized Florida last month as the top state in the nation for workforce training programs in its Enterprising States report.

For more Metro Orlando rankings, click here.

From Walt Disney to Glen L. Martin, Metro Orlando has a long history of entrepreneurial activity and is among top locations for innovative companies and entrepreneurs.

This week during National Small Business Week, a one-of-a-kind Central Florida resource (and one of only two such centers in the nation) moved into a new 22,000-square-foot home at Orlando Fashion Square Mall, ensuring easy access and plentiful parking for those taking advantage of its services - a one-stop center for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The move also comes with a new name: National Entrepreneur Center (NEC).

Since its start eight years ago, the center and its service providers have been involved in $125 million worth of loans, coached 70,000 businesses and assisted in more than 700 new business launches.

Designed to provide a single location where small businesses can access a variety of business resources, technology, research tools and professional mentors, some of the services available to your business through the NEC include: one-on-one business coaching, low-cost seminars, networking events, access to software and business resources, certification assistance for minority-owned businesses, connections to procurement opportunities, marketing and publicity counseling, and much more.

Talk about economic development ... In the first ten years of its existence, the UCF Business Incubation Program, which has been recognized among the best in the nation, nurtured the growth of over 100 new high tech companies in Central Florida. Together, these companies were responsible for creating 1,653 jobs that resulted in more than $70 million in earnings and nearly $200 million in total economic output annually.

The influence of our hometown university's business incubation network on the strength of its client companies is also evident through the spate of honors garnered by current and past clients in recent weeks. Consider the following:

• Small Business Development Center at University of Central Florida client Fernando C. Pereira, president of Pegasus Transportation, was named the North Florida District's 2011 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• Hometown Health TV, LLC - a client of UCF's Business Incubation Program in Leesburg / Lake County - received a national award for community programming from Communitas Awards organization.

• And, four companies shepherded by the University of Central Florida Business Incubator Program - one current client and three graduate companies - were recently named among the 50 Florida Companies to Watch by GrowFL, UCF, The Edward Lowe Foundation and ACG Florida. They are OptiGrate Corp., which manufactures high-tech components for military systems, optical telecommunications, entertainment systems and sensing devices; Alinean, Inc., which develops online tools to promote business-to-business sales; DISTI Corporation, which provides industry leading 2D and 3D graphical user interface software and services worldwide; and Engineering & Computer Simulation, Inc., a leading provider of educational games and simulation, interactive performance assessment tools, mobile learning environments and enterprise-wide information management systems.

While Orlando consistently ranks as one of the top places in the nation for business, now Orlando also ranks as the least expensive city in the nation for entrepreneurs to launch a business, according to a new report by The Boyd Co. of Princeton, N.J.

The University of Central Florida (UCF) ranks among the nation's top research institutions according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. UCF joins Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Johns Hopkins, and Stanford in this impressive ranking.

During the last year, UCF researchers were awarded a record $133.3 million in external research funding. Much of the research that takes place at UCF is commercialized and brought to the marketplace thanks to the nationally renowned UCF Business Incubation Program which has helped develop 100 companies with an economic impact of $200 million.

GrowFL, a program of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida, helped Florida companies create more than 400 jobs throughout the state in 2010, the program's first year of operation. Based on proven business support strategies referred to as "economic gardening," this State of Florida-funded initiative targets companies in the second stage of growth that are most likely to create jobs.

The Metro Orlando EDC works closely with partners statewide to promote availability of the free suite of support services available to qualified second-stage companies through GrowFL. The Florida Economic Gardening Institute, which is based a UCF, was created by the Florida Legislature in 2009 to help stimulate Florida's economy.

This month, GrowFL and ACG Florida, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation and funding support from the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, announced Florida's inaugural class of "Companies to Watch". This award recognizes privately held Florida businesses that employ up to 99 employees, have between $750,000 to $50 million in annual revenue or capital, and are notable for "positively impacting Florida's future." Together these small but growing companies generated $423 million in annual revenue and 510 net new jobs in 2010.

Of the 50 companies named "Companies to Watch" across the state of Florida, 16 of the winners are from Metro Orlando, including: Alinean, Inc.; Bari Furniture; Carter-Health; Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS); Impact Lighting, Inc.; Industrial Lighting Products, Inc.; Innovative Data Solutions, Inc.; JVI Appraisal Division, LLC; Millennium Luxury Coaches; OptiGrate Corp; PlusOne Solutions, Inc.; Power Grid Engineering, LLC; THAT! Company; The DiSTI Corporation; The Kimball Companies; and VaxDesign Corporation.

Award winners will be honored at a celebration on February 17 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. Click here for more information.

When it comes to playing video games, each gaming platform offers something different for players. Realizing the business potential for creating content for different systems, three friends who worked together at a local simulation company decided to strike out on their own in 1994 and create n-Space.

n-Space is Florida's largest headquartered game development company with over 100 employees based in Orlando. They create games from concept to completion, working on existing game franchises as well as original concepts.

Over the years, n-Space has created over 30 titles for every platform and partnered with nearly every major game publisher and was one of the first developers for the Nintendo Wii. A few of the recent games they've worked on include: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized (Nintendo DS); TRON: Evolution - Battle Grids & TRON: Evolution (Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS); Hannah Montana: The Movie (Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3); and Toy Story 3 (Nintendo DS), which is currently one of the top selling video games. Up next? 3D games.

To learn more about n-Space, click here to watch Dan O'Leary, CEO and co-founder of n-Space.

For many students, the idea of playing video games for homework is a dream come true. For others, it's a reality.

Thanks to 360Ed - a City of Orlando-based digital media company with the goal of getting students as interested in education as they are in games and movies - students have a fun, interactive hands-on approach to learning.

Created by video game industry veterans in 2006, 360Ed is "taking content that may not be interesting and adding production value to it in order to make it engaging," explains Ben Noel, president and CEO of 360Ed.

One of their first projects was partnering with the Florida Virtual School to create "Conspiracy Code", an American history adventure game complete with ongoing instructor feedback for 10th graders. In the game, students use characters to solve clues and each clue acts as a history lesson.

360Ed also teamed up with the Florida Department of Health and the University of Florida College of Medicine to develop Burn Center, an interactive 3D game-based technology used to train medical professionals at trauma centers, hospitals and universities across the country. The purpose of the program is to improve the triage and care of critically injured victims of burn, bomb and blast disasters.

Below, Ben Noel explains Burn Center.

From a fry cook at Mickey D's to the co-founder, president and director of Orlando-based Vidaroo, Mary Spio has revolutionized film distribution and video interaction.

Spio began her studies at Syracuse and Georgia Tech as a rocket scientist. Since then, she has not stopped reaching for the stars. At the age of 29, she created Boeing Digital Cinema and began engineering a technology to deliver videos and movies via satellite.

In 2002, she launched One2One Living--a specialty media company which targeted singles including a nationally distributed magazine and a strong web community presence. The growing success and publicity of One2One Living received national recognition, attracting shows like ABC's The Bachelor into partnership.

With the growing trend of her evolving interactive video technology, Vidaroo has found extraordinary success. Mary Spio is now currently the president of Vidaroo, her Internet-based video production and distribution company based in Orlando, Florida. Vidaroo works with large corporations such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft XBOX, Clear Channel, and several other businesses to deliver customers custom video content.

So what else has she not accomplished? How about her induction to the prestigious list of "100 History Makers in the Making" along with rapper Jay-Z and Oprah Winfrey. Mary Spio's leadership, innovative talents and technology has allowed her to conquer astronomical heights and create a legacy in the film and video distribution technology industry.

To read more about Orlando's digital diva Mary Spio, click here

Studies demonstrate that companies with a significant international portfolio grow faster, are more profitable and are less susceptible to domestic downturns. Many Florida businesses have taken that lesson to heart. Recent statistics indicate that our state is home to more than 42,000 exporters, the second highest number in the United States. In 2008, Florida companies exported more than $54 billion worth of goods - making it the fifth largest exporting state in the country - and over $30 billion worth of services were sold to companies in over 200 countries around the world.

International trade is big business and an economic engine for many Florida companies. Are you one of them? Would you like to be? If so, the State of Florida has several valuable resources available.

To help our companies connect with buyers worldwide, Enterprise Florida has established the online Florida Export Directory. This new site provides a means for Florida exporters to gain international market exposure free-of-charge through a searchable, web-based directory. An aggressive advertising, public relations and trade show promotional campaign is planned to promote the Florida Export Directory to foreign buyers interested in sales, agent/distributorships, licensing/franchise agreements and joint venture opportunities.

Metro Orlando companies interested in expanding their business into markets worldwide are encouraged to take advantage of this free promotional tool. Go get started, go to www.FloridaExportDirectory.com. First check to see if your company is already listed. If not, click the "Register" button to begin the registration process.

Enterprise Florida has also launched a new trade promotion initiative - the Target Sector Trade Event Grants program - designed to help companies showcase their products through U.S. Certified trade exhibitions and select Florida trade shows in key markets worldwide. Through this program, eligible small companies (500 or less employees) can qualify for event-specific grants that will enable them to participate in major international product exhibitions worldwide, opening up opportunities which they otherwise might not be able to afford. Particular emphasis is given to companies in the following sectors: Aviation & Aerospace, Clean Energy, Financial & Professional Services, Homeland Security & Defense, Information Technology, Life Sciences, Boating/Marine Industry, and other targeted manufacturing sectors.

Applicants must be nominated - and approved - by their local economic development organization, so you can begin the process by contacting the Metro Orlando EDC's international business development team, Irma.Stenman@OrlandoEDC.com.
Expanding into international markets can be vital to the success of a company's growth strategy, particularly during difficult economic times. We encourage you to explore the potential of these valuable resources.

Orlando's own Waymon Armstrong, president and CEO of Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. (ECS), was recognized by President Barack Obama as the National Small Business Person of the Year in Washington, D.C. this week. Armstrong received the top award given during the U.S. Small Business Administration's annual celebration of National Small Business Week on Thursday. He was then invited to the White House for additional recognition from the President.

"Waymon's commitment to his employees and to his business demonstrates the qualities that make small businesses such a powerful force for job creation in the American economy and in their local communities," said Karen Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. "It's the same qualities that will lead us to economic recovery."

ECS is a software development and solutions company that uses cutting edge technology to help government and private clients prepare for natural disasters, medical emergencies, and times of war. Armstrong started the company in 1997 through the University of Central Florida (UCF) Incubation Program. Today ECS employs close to 50 and has been recognized for corporate growth and innovation by Inc. 500, Deloitte Fast 500 and Washington Technology Fast 50, as well as receiving Florida's IT Florida award in 2008. CEO Armstrong was also recently named Florida's Small Business Person of the Year and was a finalist for Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007 and 2009.

Sincere congrats to Waymon Armstrong, who is also an involved and dedicated EDC supporter. Below, watch him explain why he chooses to do business in Metro Orlando.

When Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a list of companies selected to receive awards from the U.S. Department of Energy for ambitious research projects that could fundamentally change the way the country uses and produces energy last week, it was good news for Central Florida. Among those receiving grants is Orlando-headquartered Planar Energy Devices, Inc., which will use the award for further development of their solid state lithium battery. They are the only award recipient in Florida.

Through a partnership between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, the University of Colorado, and the University of California San Diego, Planar is seeking to develop an ultra high energy, long cycle life, all solid-state lithium battery that can be manufactured using low cost techniques. The Florida High Tech Corridor Council also played an integral role in assisting Planar establish a 3-way partnership between the participating Florida universities.

The potential of this local company's innovations is far-reaching. For example, Planar's battery technology could one day soon revolutionize the auto industry by providing a lighter weight, longer lasting battery designed to reduce automobile reliance on fossil fuels. The Department of Defense is also interested in applications as a power source on the battlefield and numerous other industries are interested in the ramifications of the technology.

Funded through DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the grants are awarded to projects that could produce advanced biofuels more efficiently from renewable electricity instead of sunlight; design completely new types of batteries to make electric vehicles more affordable; and remove the carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants in a more cost-effective way.

CEO's of small but growing Central Florida companies could have been singing the memorable Fiddler on the Roof tune this week during the Grow FL Second-Stage CEO Summit. This first-ever event, designed specifically to address the needs of companies with 10 to 50 employees and looking to grow, was held at the Embassy Suites in downtown Orlando on Wednesday. Over 240 attendees made this fast-paced and interactive event standing-room-only.

Making the right connections can be a critical success factor in the evolution of smaller companies. This event -- presented by the University of Central Florida's Florida Economic Gardening Institute in partnership with the EDC and other community partners including CEO Nexus, Disney Entrepreneur Center, Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Manufacturers Association of Central Florida, Orlando Inc. and Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship - was designed to encourage just that. Volunteers from established local companies, many of them EDC investors and board members, served as "concierges" or "ambassadors" who worked to ensure the second-stage company CEOs met with representatives of companies they were looking to connect with through one-on-one matchmaking sessions. Second-stagers were also given one-minute of time behind the microphone to share their company's story in a series of "rapid fire" pitches.

If you are a company in the second-stage of development - 10 to 50 employees; generating at least $1 million but not more than $25 million in annual revenue; and looking to grow - the EDC can help connect you to GrowFL. For more information, contact Kerry Symolon.

A rash of entrepreneurial Central Florida companies are taking advantage of federal and state grant programs to help them grow. This is good news for the region's economy, as it ultimately translates into job creation and community investment. Interestingly, all of these companies are either current or former clients of the UCF Business Incubation Network.

NR Electronics, a growing Seminole County company located in the UCF Business Incubator in Winter Springs, has been certified as a U.S. Small Business Administration 8(a) Business Development Program participant. In layman's language, that makes the firm eligible to participate in a wide range of federal government contracts. This Metro Orlando-based international exporter company procures and distributes obsolete and hard to find electronic components -- ranging from microchips to circuit breakers - worldwide. The SBA 8(a) certification is an incentive program available to minority business entrepreneurs.

Two UCF Technology Incubator clients, Acudyn Inc. and United Materials and Systems, have been selected for Phase "0" program assistance through Enterprise Florida. This program awards small businesses with up to $3,000 to help them prepare proposals for Phase 1 grant funding, which is available through federal agencies such as the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Transportation, and NASA, as well as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Acudyn is a scientific research and engineering company specializing in the advancement of energy and automation technologies. United Materials and Systems is developing advanced polymer derived ceramic material applications.

Three other local companies are among five in the state of Florida to have secured Phase 1 grants, which can amount to $100,000 and support efforts to test the technical feasibility of a new product or service idea. Red Lambda Inc., based in Longwood, is a network security company that specializes in computer system firewalls and intellectual property right protection. NeoCytex Biopharma, co-founded by UCF Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya, is developing novel therapeutics to promote the repair and rejuvenation of damaged tissues. And Datanautix Inc., located in UCF's Winter Springs Incubator, has pioneered innovative analytical tools and data to help their clients with operational improvements in call center and back office operations.

And in other good news, former UCF Incubator client Engineering & Computer Simulations Inc. (ECS) has been selected to receive the U. S. Small Business Administration's 2010 Florida Small Business of the Year Award. Based in Orlando, ECS is a leading provider of "serious games" used in training by the military, emergency responders, and others.

Congratulations to each of these dynamic companies, and to our partners at the UCF Incubator. Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 130 emerging companies create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1600 new jobs. Incubator facilities are located in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties.

The nurturing of Florida-based businesses, especially those in the second-stage of development (who historically have the greatest potential for percentage growth in revenue and employment), is the goal behind Florida's Economic Gardening Stimulus Plan, which was announced earlier this year. This plan, titled GrowFL, is now taking root ... and Metro Orlando is leading the way.

Funded by the Florida Legislature for a one-year trial period, the GrowFL program will be based at the University of Central Florida's new Florida Economic Gardening Institute (FEGI). Designed to serve as a statewide resource center for established Florida companies with 10 to 50 employees, the program will help qualified companies within this size range expand and create additional jobs. Already up and running, the GrowFL Center provides free businesses consulting and access to proven tools purchased for this purpose.

For companies within Metro Orlando who want to apply for technical assistance, the Metro Orlando EDC serves as the single point of contact. The EDC team is already working to identify companies that qualify and to lead them through the assessment process. Our effort serves as the pilot for what we expect will be a statewide network of regional organizations serving as local facilitators for the GrowFL program.

Recognizing that direct assistance programs such as this are a key to economic recovery, the EDC is working closely with our counterparts statewide to encourage Legislative support for the continuation of this program beyond its first year pilot status. We are also encouraging expansion of the definition of a qualified company to include companies with 50 to 100 employees, which would be consistent with the successful economic gardening program in Littleton, Colorado.

Two local companies are already on the verge of being selected for full assistance through GrowFL, and we expect between 30 to 50 additional local companies to receive some level of assistance this year. Ultimately, with the right nurturing, one of these "stage 2" companies could become this region's next Lockheed Martin or Darden Restaurants or HD Supply, which, we all know, bloomed from much more humble roots in our community.

To apply, visit www.GrowFL.com.

Attraction, retention, creation. Those "big three" strategies in economic development are all equally important to growing and diversifying an economy.

Here in Metro Orlando, the creation component of this three-pronged approach most often begins when an entrepreneur with a good idea finds his or her way to the University of Central Florida's Business Incubation Network. Since its founding in 1999, this UCF program, which was named best in the nation in 2004, has helped more than 100 emerging companies (including nearly 70 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs.

And more is on the way. Last week, UCF, the City of St. Cloud and Osceola County broke ground on its Business, Technology and Research Center, which will be located at Stevens Plantation in St. Cloud. Upon opening in early 2010, the new 14,000 square feet facility will be the 8th in the University's Incubator Network. In a reflection of true partnership, Osceola County has committed $675,000 in funding to the Incubator over a five year period, and the county's economic development team will work closely with UCF in marketing this great new resource.

The UCF Business Incubator - Lake County/Leesburg is another recent addition to the network. This facility, whose newest client is Green Solar Solutions, focuses on supporting growth of companies in three of Lake County's targeted industry sectors: clean tech, agritech, and life sciences. Along with mentoring and management counseling, incubator clients are provided with office furniture, equipment, and other resources to help get them off on the right foot. The Small Business Development Center and Florida High Tech Corridor Council are also partners in this Lake County-based program.

The network is growing in Seminole County as well. Already home to a facility in Winter Springs, UCF announced plans to open the UCF/Sanford Business Incubator at 110 West First Street. The 4,000-square-foot space will be located in the center of Sanford's historic district. Like the others, this program will focus on emerging business enterprises that exhibit potential for growth and development. The Sanford facility is slated to open in September 2009.

According to Tom O'Neal, executive director of the Incubator network: "Our job is to help businesses create jobs. Business incubation is an efficient strategy to help improve the local economy, and the benefits are long-lasting."

The Metro Orlando EDC works closely with O'Neal and each of his facility directors to support growing companies throughout the incubation period and beyond. Our shared goal is ensuring the right environment and resources necessary to help companies build and stand on their own, eventually resulting in thousands of new jobs for citizens throughout Metro Orlando.

There's Mosaic, Arcadian Broad and Drew Thomas Magic. If you're not familiar with these names, they're among the folks that made it to the Top 40 in the popular America's Got Talent show. They have something else in common. They all come from a city where creative talent is building ... and in the eyes of Richard Florida (of the popular 'Creative Class' theory), that's one of the key ingredients to economic competitiveness, transformation and innovation.

Orlando, Florida, has become a place where creative talent is flowing and in multiple industries. The region, long known as an entertainment destination, has transformed into a technology hub that's entertaining company leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, workers and young minds alike. Here are some reasons why:

This week, Orlando welcomed its inaugural class of 41 med students at the University of Central Florida's (UCF) new College of Medicine -- the first medical school in U.S. history to offer full, four-year scholarships to an entire class. The new college is one anchor in a new 'medical city' underway - one of only two such developments happening in the world right now. It's joined by the recently opened East Coast hub for The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, and forthcoming openings of the University of Florida Research Facility, Veterans Affairs Hospital, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute and Nemours Children's Hospital. Economic analysts predict that by year 10 of operation, the world's newest life sciences cluster here could create 30,000 jobs and $7.6 billion economic activity.

At UCF, research and patents are on the rise. UCF, now the fifth largest university in the nation, has seen research funding (and subsequent lab space) grow exponentially in the past decade, from $37.5 million in 1999 to the new record high of $122.8 million in 2008. Additionally, UCF's patent portfolio was ranked in the top 10 of 122 universities in the U.S.

Inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs are thriving here. New drugs, therapies and vaccines are being developed ... one scientist is genetically modifying lettuce heads to produce insulin in the quest to develop a cure for diabetes. An entrepreneur has developed ultra-portable personal air-conditioners for military personnel. Another is developing advanced micro-batteries for use in medical, alternative energy and other applications. In addition, the number of incubators has grown rapidly here, opening the door to more entrepreneurs.

A new Photonics Academy was created at a local high school in partnership with Northrop Grumman to encourage student interest in the laser/photonics field. This new academy joins others already in existence, including one focusing on simulation (an industry with a top-ranked cluster in Orlando).

Nation-leading digital media schools in Orlando-- Full Sail University and UCF's Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy -- continue to see enrollment grow in this burgeoning field.

Entrepreneur Magazine recently recognized Orlando as one of best places to start a business. Forbes recently recognized Orlando one of best cities for tech jobs. And Next Generation Consulting ranked Orlando as a top hot spot for young professionals.

Orlando has received a plethora of accolades lately. From a "top place to start a business" to "where the jobs are" to "best place to live" and beyond. Here are a few of the rankings Orlando has received:

Entrepreneur magazine named Orlando as one of the "top ten places to start a business."

Money magazine ranks Lake County, FL #8 on their newest list of "where the jobs are," a compilation of the 25 counties that have experienced the most job growth over the last eight years.

The cities of Lake Mary and Oviedo are named among Money magazine's "Top 100 Best Places to Live" in the magazine's list of America's best small towns.

Forbes names Orlando a "best city for technology jobs", noting: "Where is the tech-sector growth? It's in less-celebrated areas of the country...By region, the fastest gainers turned out to be places like Orlando, Fla."

Florida ranks fourth in the nation in terms of high-tech employment, with 20,000 doctoral scientists and engineers and more than 276,000 high-tech workers, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center.

Orlando is a "hotspot for young professionals" to live and work in the U.S. according to Next Generation Consulting. Since 1998, Next Generation Consulting has studied the relocation patterns of 20-40 year olds. Young professionals increasingly look for quality of life factors when deciding where to live. Next Generation Consulting ranked the cities based on a combined index of opportunities for earning, learning, vitality, around town, after hours, cost of lifestyle and social capital.

For more Metro Orlando rankings, click here.

In the last few years, there has been a multitude of recalls of products, foods and medicines. But there are steps in place that are supposed to make sure this doesn't happen, and that the product, whether food or medicine, does what it is supposed to do. One Central Florida company is making this happen for drug manufacturers.

Amaro & Associates, Inc. (dba Comply Shield), a biopharmaceutical technology consulting firm delivers quality assurance testing and validation, quality IT business processes and performance testing to ensure pharmaceutical manufacturing systems function properly through the development of its Total Validation Management (TVM) system.

In a period of stronger pushes toward FDA regulation, this system consolidates multiple processes into one efficient program. The client is then able to create testable requirements, test plans, test scenarios and summary documents, which are not only less confusing but are accurate and complete.

Watch Jorge Amaro, president of Amaro & Associates, explain his company.

Nearly 700 venture capital deals have closed in the State of Florida since 2000, resulting in more than $6.4 billion in total venture capital spending. A new state program hopes to accomplish more of the same. To help lure tech investment to Florida, the State of Florida has created the Florida Opportunity Fund, a multimillion-dollar program that directs investments to high-performing funds committed to seed and early stage businesses. This program seeks to realize significant long-term returns from funds making investments in early stage Florida opportunities.

The Florida Opportunity Fund is a fund of funds established by Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development arm, and managed by Florida First Partners (FFP). The program is designed to build upon investment activities of leading national venture capital investors, such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital and Sycamore Ventures. These firms provide capital to companies focused on developing advanced technologies like surgical robotics design, business intelligence software, defense and aerospace applications, and green methods to create new products out of recyclables.

The first series of applications from state, regional and national venture capital firms to be considered for funds from the program will be accepted through January 30, 2009. Interested participants from the venture capital community should visit www.floridaopportunityfund.com.

Metro Orlando is increasingly recognized as a great location for growing businesses and entrepreneurs...and a new online resource is now available to assist start up and expanding companies located in the region.

The Virtual Entrepreneur Center is a one-stop web portal maintained by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, in partnership with the Metro Orlando EDC and other local economic development organizations. The user-friendly and comprehensive site catalogs local, regional, state and global resources for starting and growing a business. Users can find information ranging from developing a business plan and addressing legal and tax issues to handling challenges related to growth and evaluating a variety of technology options.

The EDC worked with Florida High Tech Corridor Council and Web site developers at Daytona Beach Community College to provide contact links and other resource information from the counties and cities within our four county region. The Disney Entrepreneur Center, a national program located in downtown Orlando, is also a supporter of this entrepreneurial project.

Most of us living in Florida take our comfort for granted. We can even control our own personal environment with the simple flick of a switch -- until we walk outside. But what if there were a way to create a personal air conditioner portable enough to take with you anywhere you went?

This may seem a bit decadent for everyday life, even in our summer heat, but what if your job required you to wear a heavy, barely-breathable suit for safety reasons under harsh environmental conditions? Imagine a solider working in a sealed biohazard suit in a HazMat situation in Iraq, or a firefighter attempting to control an intense chemical blaze.

In these cases a personal air conditioner could actually save lives. The concept of personal climate control, one that has interested the military for decades, caught the attention of Dr. Daniel P. Rini, founder of Oviedo-based Rini Technologies, Inc. (RTI). An expert in cooling technology, Rini's company recently produced the first viable prototype of an ultra-portable personal air-conditioner.

Read more

Dom Meffe is one of those instant-likeables. Maybe it's because he hails from the tight-knit, friendly hometown of Pittsburgh. Maybe it's because he's just a good guy...with a big heart for his family, his employees, his clients and his business. Maybe it's because he tells good stories and draws interesting comparisons to his life and work. Maybe it's because he's someone you can relate to...who admits failures, has had tragedies in his life, and has done good. Or maybe it's because he's a survivor.

Cancer has inflicted a number of people in his family, including himself and his wife, and took his sister's life. And this is what's driven him to do what he's doing now...own and acquire a growing number of nuclear pharmacies to better diagnose and treat chronic conditions such as cancer.

In fact, only one year after founding Orlando-based Triad Isotopes, Meffe, 43, who has been a central figure in the pharma business over the past decade, is heading up what is now the fourth largest radiopharmaceutical services company in the industry. Triad has grown from 24 to 291 people with $90 million in current revenue and projections to double that in two years. That growth has come from 13 strategic M&As throughout the southeast...with many more planned over the next few years. And, Triad is among numerous specialty pharmaceutical companies (CuraScript, Axium, ACS and ICore) that have made their headquarters home in the nation's newest emerging biotech hub of Orlando.

Read more