When most people think of Gainesville, they think of the University of Florida, Gator Football, bars, clubs, binge drinking, and…that’s about it. It’s a damn shame! Today, Gainesville offers a myriad of unique opportunities for entrepreneurs, programmers, designers, prototypers, media persons, and virtually any other creative mind. The problem is, you didn’t know that, and you’re missing out. At present, Gainesville sports 3 startup incubators, a hackerspace, a monthly entrepreneur social, recurring startup events/competitions, and UF even offers a quality student organization called The Entrepreneurship Club (TEC). It’s time to spread the word, so read on and tell all your friends!
Via: Gainesville Hackerspace
A great place to start your foray into entrepreneurship is any startup event/competition you can find. Over the past year alone, Gainesville has hosted two 3 Day Startup events and a Startup Weekend competition. Both of these events are very similar in nature. In each event, participants gather on a Friday afternoon/evening to pitch whatever ideas they have for companies or innovations. Then participants vote on the best ideas, team up, and begin building the company. It’s that quick! By Sunday evening, each team is expected to have an outline of their product/service, direct customer validation, and a prototype. The events technically last 54 hours but by the end of it, it feels like it’s been a week. Participants learn a great deal about the reality of building products as well as the dynamics of working with others at the event. You might just discover your founding team at the next 3 Day Startup or Startup Weekend.
After getting a taste of startup life at a startup event, you might enjoy attending some meetings with The Entrepreneurship Club (TEC). TEC routinely (each week) brings in a real Gainesville entrepreneur, or someone involved with local entrepreneurship. The TEC guest will provide a TED-like presentation about his/her history building a company and then follow up with questions from the audience. TEC meetings are a great place to peer into your future as a Gainesville entrepreneur, as well as meet other up-and-comers. Not a student? Don’t worry, come sit in on a meeting anyways. They have yet to kick me out. Recent TEC speakers include: Augi Lye (Trendy Entertainment), Kristen Hadeed (Student Maid), Amir Rubin (Prioria Robotics), Julian Miller (eMotion Technologies), Aidan Augustin (Feathr), and other distinguished guests. Fun fact, Sam Tarantino and Josh Greenberg, the founders of Grooveshark, got their start in TEC.
Via: Gainesville Hackerspace
Whatever you do, don’t go it alone. Startup life is lonely enough even when you’re surrounded by friends and colleagues. Instead, join Gainesville’s Hackerspace. There you will discover an entire community of people who are building web apps, 3D printers, Arduino-everything, you name it. To be clear, in the nerd world “hacking” is not a bad thing, it does not mean you’re breaking into computers, or networks, or bringing down power grids. Hacking is analogous to prototyping. Hacking is using whatever is at your disposal to build whatever is on your mind. Even if you aren’t a programmer or an electrical engineer, this is a community you want to belong to. Whenever you decide to start your business, this is where you will find your engineers. Moreover, the idea of building a robot with whatever you can find is not so different from the idea of building a company with whatever you can find – it’s all about hacking.
Once you’ve scouted the community, it’s time to take the plunge and build your business. One truth in the startup world is that working from an office, and having the professional network that goes with it, is a big boost. To that end, Gainesville offers 3 unique opportunities to “hatch” your company. These opportunities come in the form of “incubators,” – programs that provide you with office space, professional advice, business networks, and other miscellaneous resources to hatch into a full-fledged money-making machine.
ParkSmooth
First on the list is the Center for Innovation and Economic Development (CIED ). The CIED was my choice for an incubator when I started a company called ParkSmooth, and it was a positive experience – one finds a constructive mix of business types and backgrounds at the CIED. The CIED is a branch of Sante Fe College and sits at the intersection of University Ave. and NW 6th Street.
Next on the list is Founders Pad. When Grooveshark consolidated offices, a particularly large room was left vacant. Between Grooveshark leadership and other partners, that room was morphed into an open-space incubator called Founders Pad. Not only does Founders Pad offer a unique space in Downtown Gainesville, but companies accepted to the program also get access to Grooveshark’s meal plan and legal counsel. That’s a pretty good deal when your largest business expense is keeping yourself alive.
Via: Gainesville Connect
Lastly, there is UF’s Innovation Hub which you can find on SW 2nd Ave., just 2 blocks from the UF campus. The Innovation Hub feels more like a laboratory than it does a startup center, but a number of up-and-coming companies call the iHub home, including: Feathr, eMotion Technologies, and MonkeyWish. When you’re ready to file those articles of incorporation, be sure to tour all 3 facilities to see if an incubator is right for your venture.
Building professional networks is an important aspect of building a successful business. As you enter the world of startups and entrepreneurship through competitions, prototyping, and daily work at an incubator, so too should you make use of your social time. Once each month the startup community in Gainesville descends upon a bar downtown in an event known as Startup Hour. The event was launched by Augi Lye (Trendy Entertainment) and Ted Astleford (UF Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation). Currently, Startup Hour takes place on the 3rd Thursday of every month at Cellar 12. The event is free and open to the public, so make sure you join us at the next Startup Hour to meet your future startup buddies.
Now I ask again, what does Gainesville mean to you? Is this a world you have never seen? It’s just around the corner waiting with open arms, you just need to take the first step. The opportunities in Gainesville are increasing by the day because Gainesville is a burgeoning hub of entrepreneurial activity. Right now you have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a part of an exploding center of innovation, don’t let it go to waste. Whatever your interest, whatever your career goals, one thing should be clear: Gainesville is here to stay, and so should you.
(Photo: sociaLynne)
