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.

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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.

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