INNOVATE® Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is an independent state agency serving Jacksonville (Duval County), with limited services in Clay, Nassau, and Baker counties. In addition to providing public transportation options in Jacksonville, the JTA designs and constructs bridges, sidewalks, and highways through the JTAMobilityWorks and Safe Routes to School program....

ELEVATOR PITCH At Civilized Coffee it is not just about sourcing and roasting great coffee—it is about creating a culture around the brand. Northeast Florida has a very strong environment and support system for Coffee and Tea. Their reason to take this small business global was to bring awareness to...

In a world of chaos, our happiness is being tested everyday. According to the World Happiness Report, the United States is the unhappiest it has ever been. Finding innovative ways to protect and sustain our happiness levels is the basis of The Positive Life Company.   We believe that, through...

Urban SDK streamlines government and IoT data to automate performance measures and discover insights in real-time, helping to transform cities’ mobility, transportation, and safety operations. Established in 2018 by Justin Dennis and Drew Messer, Urban SDK is a digital government intelligence platform combining real-time location data with predictive analytics. It...

ELEVATOR PITCH Peoplr is a team of Human Resources experts who tackle all kinds of headaches and turn them into great business results by providing flexible and cost-effective strategies that address a company’s human resources needs. From start-ups to thriving Fortune 100 companies, Peoplr has each client covered with expert...

WHO WE ARE Phase Eight Theater Company is the latest arts organization to be formed in Jacksonville, Florida. It is recognized as a boundary-pushing and socially progressive theater group. They’ve presented fourteen productions in its first two and a half years of existence having performed for hundreds of audience members....

“People have asked me why i started Espero Biopharma in jacksonville when there is no industry and few talent locally”   Here are the reasons. Few American cities of any size are home to so many facilities, among them Ackerman Cancer Center, Baptist Health, Brooks Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Hospital,...

Now celebrating its 65th year in business, Jacksonville-based Holmes Custom designs, manufactures, and retails personalized products across 8 web brands. How does a business that was started in the 1950s stand the test of time? There’s only one way: Innovation. What began as a rubber stamp manufacturer in a garage...

When innovation is combined with creativity, it not only captures attention, it can create an experience that can lead to change. Castano Group specializes in designing and producing these experiences: multimedia, multisensory engagements that change the way people communicate with brands in digital and physical environments. Castano Group was launched...

Formerly known as Florida Junior College, Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) was founded in 1965 to serve the Northeast Florida region as the first integrated public, postsecondary educational institution in Duval and Nassau counties. The College is comprised of four campuses and three centers, providing necessary accessibility for our...

Closing Bear is a fast-paced title company that offers title insurance and closings for anyone buying or selling real estate. Simply put, Closing Bear does all the paperwork when someone buys or sells property … but they do it better than anyone else. , Closing Bear launched in June 2019...

Headquartered in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, Inventory Source is an industry leading and longest-running dropship automation tech company paving the way for cutting-edge e-commerce automation and fulfillment services.     Inventory Source was brought to life in 2002 by seasoned e-commerce experts that believed small and medium-sized online business owners could...

Meet Hazlnut, the company helping to bring new-age technology to the small businesses in their community. Today, people expect to have access to restaurants and retail stores on the web. Hazlnut is an all-in-one integrated solution that helps companies develop relationships with their customers through beautifully designed websites and custom...

We provide holistic, fully-orchestrated programs to help harness and deploy innovation. Similar to the platypus, we believe that the greatest innovations are an amalgamation of seemingly disparate insights and ideas, that together create surprisingly, unexpected outcomes enabling organizations to deliver their own toxic blow and outpunch the competition. We live...

Artists First We believe that by empowering artists the world can be a better place. We help artists thrive by giving them access to today’s leading-edge technology and abundant resources to create. We are a passionate collective of artists and industry experts with many years of first-hand experience producing ambitious...

Our team has embraced the challenge of bringing the TEDx experience to Jacksonville because we believe our city’s greatest assets are the ideas and dreams of its citizenry. Ideas have the power to reshape minds and change the way people act. Dreams are the birthplace of the possible. But, too...

With the entrepreneur, small business owner, and business professional in mind, we provide you an opportunity to grow, to shine, and to succeed. Our fully furnished innovative spaces give you the creative and productive flow you need to achieve your goals and get work done. Founder, Mike Januzzi discovered an...

Memorable moments come in many different shapes and sizes. Airstream Ventures partners with events, companies, and non-profits to create those moments and unique experiences that connect the community on a deeper level. In July of 2018, Alan Verlander and Joel Lamp decided to take a risk and leave their current...

Renaissance Jax: Building a Future of Innovation in North Florida Renaissance Jax is the North Florida Affiliate Partner for the world’s biggest youth robotics competition platform, FIRST Robotics. Between 2013 and 2018, we’ve grown from 120 to over 4,000 students who design, build, and program robots for competition each year....

As the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital transformation sweep rapidly across the globe, people often focus too much on the technology. Sometimes we need to ask the question … “Why?” Why are we doing this? Just because we can do something with technology isn’t always a good reason that...

Jane Shirek stands out in the photography industry not only for her widely praised talent but also for her years of experience working with all types of people and clients in many cities and countries.  As a photographer, she brings out the very best of everyone she photographs. Jane has...

OUR STORY Chef Tom Gray is one of North Florida’s most lauded and respected chefs, with two James Beard Award nominations as well as countless awards and accolades. He began his career in his hometown of Jacksonville at the age of 15 at a local country club, with culinary school...

The Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub was chartered in 2015 by the Jacksonville business community under the leadership of Gary Chartrand. These leaders noticed that there was a disconnect between the skills that students would need to be ready for the careers of the 21st century, and the experiences that...

Each year in November, teams come together to invest their time in themselves to better their companies. Emotional intelligence, public speaking and teamwork are all elements that go into creating a successful leader. When small businesses begin to tackle big issues, PS27 Ventures, a Jacksonville venture capital firm, works with...