INNOVATE® Jacksonville

Founded in 2013 as a non-profit organization, Code on the Beach continues to be North Florida’s premier software development conference. Over the course of 7 years, we have featured hundreds of speakers from around the globe. We have covered everything from programming languages to product management to UI/UX design principles...

Office Evolution provides flexible shared workspace to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startup companies. This is done by providing turnkey workspace solutions in the form of coworking, private offices, meeting space, and other business services. Office Evolution plays a key role in building Jacksonville’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through creating a collaborative community...

“Artificial intelligence (AI) has made its mark and has begun transforming every industry, government, and the lives of everyone on the planet,” states Ted Willich, NLP Logix Chief Executive. Ted is one of three founders of the company. He, along with Matt Berseth and Robert Marsh, started the company in...

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...

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...

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....

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...

SORBOTICS is a market leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) software technology startup. They have developed the industry’s 1st AI operating system IIoT software platform that solves industrial enterprises biggest pain points. SORBA is the world’s most Advanced, Enterprise, Industrial IoT platform that enables engineers, data scientists, operators, and maintenance teams to...

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...

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 Essential Culture Podcast Network (ECPN) is a podcast-based media platform for Northeast Florida. Through strategic collaborations with Jacksonville-based media institutions, our network provides a series of cultural programs available to be downloaded on multiple streaming platforms. Listeners can subscribe to shows dedicated to subjects centered around business, advocacy, entertainment,...

Ours is a story of true innovation, perseverance, and grit, which eventually led the company to be one of the two dominant forces in workforce management. ,     Beeline is a Jacksonville-based company just exiting its teenage years. Beeline isn’t a household name; in fact, most of the Jacksonville...

ELEVATOR PITCH Rethreaded provides a second chance at life through employment for survivors of human trafficking. Women have employment opportunities in different facets of the company, including production, inventory, sales, marketing and finance/admin. Through its own enterprise and its distribution company that partners with like-minded businesses, Rethreaded’s mission is to...

Our unique recipes combine tradition and creativity with superior ingredients and finely curated flavorings. We promise true love with every bite. We are a small-batch, handcrafted, artisan toffee maker, creating uniquely flavored, all-natural toffee. Our incredibly indulgent dark chocolate almond toffee is made with ingredients such as orange, key lime,...

When shopping for back-to-school supplies, more consumers are turning to online shopping instead of going to the mall. One entrepreneur is looking to encourage young students to become first-generation college graduates with an online shop, BlendedDesigns.com. Encouraging students with backpacks that say, “I can do anything,” founder and CEO Casey...

Haskell, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida since its inception in 1965, is a leading global architecture, engineering, construction, and consulting firm with $1+ billion in annual revenue, 1,500 employees, and 20+ office locations around the globe. The company was founded by a single visionary named Preston Haskell who saw inefficiencies in...

Find Fun Faster with intoGo! The app showcases everything fun to do in our region by tapping simple categories such as Brunch, Cool Date Ideas, Family Fun, and Local Events. intoGo is our cities easiest and most detailed mobile resource for where to go and what’s going on. ,  ...

A dedicated group of seasoned financial advisory professionals who coordinate the various skills and background of each team member to meet the needs of their client base. The Forbes Gilham Group of Wells Fargo Advisors takes a different approach to the needs of business owners and families. They have ability...

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...

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...

Craig Mandeville, CEO of Jacksonville, Florida-based healthcare technology provider Forcura founded his company for personal reasons, hoping to lessen the time his wife spent driving back and forth to her employer’s home healthcare agency. In her role at the time, Heather Mandeville helped patients who were leaving a hospital transition...

THIS IS A GOOD SIGN Menuat started 5 years ago with one goal: to help restaurants manage their menus easier online and in-store. Our flagship product Menuat Go is a low-cost, easy-to-install digital menu board which is completely changeable and beautifully custom-designed. Our restaurant owners enjoy the ability to update...

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...

SERENDIPITY DOESN’T SCALE. THAT’S WHY WE BUILT SYNAPSE.Synapse Florida, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization connecting innovation communities across Florida, was founded on the premise that serendipity doesn’t scale. By building a state-wide movement, Synapse is enabling innovation partners throughout Florida to find each other and develop relationships in a way that...