Upsurge Florida Podcast

On this episode Scott and Allen sat on a call with Ron Tarro from New World Angels to discuss their deal flow, what they look for in early-stage startups, what they expect from the startups, and how they support them.

On this episode Scott and Allen sat down with Charlie Lewis from BlueWave Investment Partners an Angel investment group. Scott, Allen, and Charlie talk about how central Florida has changed over time and how hard it used to be for entrepreneurs to get access to early-stage funding. In addition, Charlie talks about his journey working as an angel investor and the lessons he learned.

On this episode Scott and Allen talked with Aaron Burnett from Spaced Ventures. Spaced Ventures is an early-stage equity crowd funding platform addressing the investment gap within the aerospace industry. Scot, Allen, and Aaron talk about how Aaron got started in the aerospace industry, regulatory changes, investment opportunities, industry challenges, and the future of the space coast.

On this episode of the Upsurge Podcast, our hosts Scott and Allen sit down with Jim Thomas from Kirenaga Partners and Central Florida Tech Fund. They discuss Central Florida's tech scene and its explosive growth, mentioning the benefits of Central Florida's location, access to universities, and innovation research parks. On the topic of investments, Jim talks about Kirenaga goal to serve pre-revenue early-stage tech and what they look for when making deals and how they pride themselves in being supportive of their investments. Listen to this investors unique perspective to learn more about why you should consider investing in Central Florida technology.

On this episode, Scott and Allen jumped on a call with Saxon Baum from Florida Funders. Florida Funders is a venture Capital fund with a hybrid model VC fund and angel investor network focusing on Fintech, Cybersecurity, Software, digital health and education tech. While on the call Scott, Allen, and Saxon talk about past Central Florida deals and the regions unique qualities.

Allen and Scott sit down for a call with Marcus Adolfson, a Floridian who recently opened a VC firm called Tampa Bay Ventures. Listen in as Marcus shares his own experiences building and then selling an e-commerce company while providing answers to Scott and Allen’s questions about his new firm, its entrepreneurial focused approach, the lack of efficiency in the local Angel/VC space, and the future of Florida Tech companies.

Allen and Scott sit down for a call with Dave from Florida Seed Funders to talk about the VC process from the perspective of the investor and founder. Allen, Scott, and Dave share their experiences overcoming common pitfalls investors and founders find themselves in, the importance of structure provided by entrepreneurial accelerators, VC firms like Florida Seed Funders; and where they view the future of tech going in the state and the advantages Central Florida has.

Scott and Allen had a call with Kathy Chiu from Deepwork Capital to discuss the current investing landscape in Central Florida and what investors look for in early-stage tech companies. Scot, Allen, and Kathy discuss funding gaps, four important qualities an early-stage tech startup should have, and where Kathy sees Central Florida in the next decade.

About the Podcast: 

On this show, we talk to angel and seed funding investment experts, share real stories, and offer practical guidance on how to make informed investing decisions within the Florida startup ecosystem based on your investing style preferences. Plus, we’ll connect others with education, and events to help you take your investments to the next level.