EUSTIS, Fla. – Steven Perezluha, the 20-year-old Longwood cyclist First Green Bank sponsored recently in the 30th annual Race Across America (RAAM), finished 11th overall in the 3,000 mile marathon event.
Ken LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said Perezluha pedaled his bicycle from Oceanside, Calif. to Annapolis, Maryland in 10 days and eight hours.
Forty-one elite international cyclists competed in the event, LaRoe said. Perezluha placed fourth among 18 American cyclists competing in the event and ninth among cyclists who are younger than 50 years of age, LaRoe said.
Perezluha was honored with a special award – named after 5-time reigning RAAM champion, Jure Robic, who was tragically hit and killed by a car this past year while he was training for RAAM -- for the fastest rider through the hilliest section of the race, in climbing feet per mile, from Cumberland, MD to Hancock, MD.
“Steven Perezluha is a remarkable young Central Floridian who is just beginning his career and we were proud to sponsor his entry,” LaRoe said. “He is an inspiration to us all and a rising star in the sport,” LaRoe added.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Maximize Angel Investments Orlando founder aims to fund home-grown business startups, create jobs
ORLANDO, Fla. --- The most efficient way to spur the local economy and create new jobs is to grow your own. That’s the motto of William C. De Temple, chief executive officer of Maximize Angel Investments Orlando, Inc., and he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
De Temple founded Maximize Angel Investments Orlando www.MaxAngelInvestments.com after meetings with Gordon Hogan, director and Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.
“Central Florida has a vibrant network of startup entrepreneurs and support groups,” De Temple said. “The biggest need now is capital to launch some of these newly emerging enterprises and help them grow into large companies with international markets,” he said.
Already, De Temple has recruited 22 angel investors, each of whom has committed $50,000 annually to fund startup ventures.
But it’s not just money, De Temple is quick to add.
“Capital is the most critical single need, but successful angel investing requires a much broader approach,” De Temple said.
“We have a rigorous selection protocol to determine which companies have the greatest potential to grow quickly, efficiently and sustainably,” De Temple said. “We also have stringent requirements of our angel investors. With their knowledge and experience, they need to play an active role coaching entrepreneurs and overseeing the growth of companies we invest in,” he said.
De Temple has more than 30 years of experience in angel investing. When he launched his first company in Vancouver, B.C., angel investors helped fund its growth. When annual revenues topped the $12 million mark in 1984, he and his investors sold the company and monetized their investment. DeTemple then relocated to southern California.
There, he launched three more companies with angel investment capital and sold them. With the proceeds, he became an angel investor himself.
“I have personally invested in six companies, and I’ve been very pleased with the results so far,” De Temple said.
De Temple modeled Maximize Angel Investments Orlando after the Tech Coast Angels network in Southern California, the most successful angel investment network in the U.S.
“I was frustrated with the state of the art here in Central Florida,” De Temple said. “Angel investing isn’t a benevolent effort. It’s a sound business strategy with definitive goals and objectives and it’s based on the most fundamental principles of capitalism,” De Temple said.
“What makes Central Florida unique and worth the effort here is the entrepreneurial community and the network of support services that have grown from the UCF Business Incubation Program,” he said. “We have created a fertile field here, and now it’s time to plant some seeds,” De Temple said.
Maximize Angel Investments Orlando is focused on startup and second stage growth companies located in the Central Florida triangle that runs from Palm Coast in Flagler County down to Palm Bay in south Brevard County to west of Lakeland. Orlando is the hub, De Temple said.
“I’m talking to Chambers of Commerce in each community. I’m talking to the Economic Development Commissions, law firms, CPA firms and individual Angels that I get referred to. I’m making everybody well aware of what we are doing,” De Temple said.
In September, Maximize Angel Investments Orlando will host a seminar featuring Dave Berkus, the rock star of the angel investment movement who has more than 70 successful angel investment startups to his credit. Registration for the event is $249.
De Temple has published a book, How to Raise Capital Quickly, available free at www.RaiseCapitalQuickly.com.
De Temple founded Maximize Angel Investments Orlando www.MaxAngelInvestments.com after meetings with Gordon Hogan, director and Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.
“Central Florida has a vibrant network of startup entrepreneurs and support groups,” De Temple said. “The biggest need now is capital to launch some of these newly emerging enterprises and help them grow into large companies with international markets,” he said.
Already, De Temple has recruited 22 angel investors, each of whom has committed $50,000 annually to fund startup ventures.
But it’s not just money, De Temple is quick to add.
“Capital is the most critical single need, but successful angel investing requires a much broader approach,” De Temple said.
“We have a rigorous selection protocol to determine which companies have the greatest potential to grow quickly, efficiently and sustainably,” De Temple said. “We also have stringent requirements of our angel investors. With their knowledge and experience, they need to play an active role coaching entrepreneurs and overseeing the growth of companies we invest in,” he said.
De Temple has more than 30 years of experience in angel investing. When he launched his first company in Vancouver, B.C., angel investors helped fund its growth. When annual revenues topped the $12 million mark in 1984, he and his investors sold the company and monetized their investment. DeTemple then relocated to southern California.
There, he launched three more companies with angel investment capital and sold them. With the proceeds, he became an angel investor himself.
“I have personally invested in six companies, and I’ve been very pleased with the results so far,” De Temple said.
De Temple modeled Maximize Angel Investments Orlando after the Tech Coast Angels network in Southern California, the most successful angel investment network in the U.S.
“I was frustrated with the state of the art here in Central Florida,” De Temple said. “Angel investing isn’t a benevolent effort. It’s a sound business strategy with definitive goals and objectives and it’s based on the most fundamental principles of capitalism,” De Temple said.
“What makes Central Florida unique and worth the effort here is the entrepreneurial community and the network of support services that have grown from the UCF Business Incubation Program,” he said. “We have created a fertile field here, and now it’s time to plant some seeds,” De Temple said.
Maximize Angel Investments Orlando is focused on startup and second stage growth companies located in the Central Florida triangle that runs from Palm Coast in Flagler County down to Palm Bay in south Brevard County to west of Lakeland. Orlando is the hub, De Temple said.
“I’m talking to Chambers of Commerce in each community. I’m talking to the Economic Development Commissions, law firms, CPA firms and individual Angels that I get referred to. I’m making everybody well aware of what we are doing,” De Temple said.
In September, Maximize Angel Investments Orlando will host a seminar featuring Dave Berkus, the rock star of the angel investment movement who has more than 70 successful angel investment startups to his credit. Registration for the event is $249.
De Temple has published a book, How to Raise Capital Quickly, available free at www.RaiseCapitalQuickly.com.
Cuhaci & Peterson Architects awarded contract to design interior build-out for Social Security Office in Venice
ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, LLC, based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, was recently awarded a contract to design the build-out for the interior of a Social Security office at Venice Commons, located on East Venice Ave. and Capri Isles Blvd. in Venice.
Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson, said the build-out includes 8,150 square feet of space.
Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson, said the build-out includes 8,150 square feet of space.
UCF’s Dr. Tom O’Neal Testifies before the Subcommittee on Science and Space of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Sometimes, the biggest new things can come in the smallest packages. That’s the thrust of testimony Dr. Tom O’Neal delivered to the Subcommittee on Science and Space of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in Washington recently.
Dr. O’Neal, associate vice president of Research in the Office of Research and Commercialization at the University of Central Florida, appeared before the subcommittee to provide insight into the commercialization and potential for NanoScience technology.
“Science is on the verge of revolutionary breakthroughs in NanoScience,” Dr. O’Neal explained.
“We can look forward to orders-of-magnitude increases in computer efficiency, human organ restoration using engineered tissue, “designer” materials created from directed assembly of atoms and molecules, and the emergence of entirely new phenomena in chemistry and physics,” he said.
Dr. O’Neal said the effect of nanotechnology on the health, wealth, and standard of living for people in this century could be at least as significant as the combined influences of microelectronics, medical imaging, computer-aided engineering, and man-made polymers developed in the last century.
The future is not that far away. Already, nanoscience has ‘infiltrated’ or enabled new devices or improvement in older devices, Dr. O’Neal said.
“For example, Photonic band gap materials are nano devices that enhance telecommunications,” Dr. O’Neal said. Another example is “Photo-thermal-refractive (PTR) glass, a nano structure material, that is used to bend light at different angles by using nanoparticles and Bragg gratings,” he said.
The University of Central Florida is emerging as one of the leading research centers contributing to the advance of nanotechnology.
UCF Stands For Opportunity: The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the second largest in the nation with more than 56,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu.
Dr. O’Neal, associate vice president of Research in the Office of Research and Commercialization at the University of Central Florida, appeared before the subcommittee to provide insight into the commercialization and potential for NanoScience technology.
“Science is on the verge of revolutionary breakthroughs in NanoScience,” Dr. O’Neal explained.
“We can look forward to orders-of-magnitude increases in computer efficiency, human organ restoration using engineered tissue, “designer” materials created from directed assembly of atoms and molecules, and the emergence of entirely new phenomena in chemistry and physics,” he said.
Dr. O’Neal said the effect of nanotechnology on the health, wealth, and standard of living for people in this century could be at least as significant as the combined influences of microelectronics, medical imaging, computer-aided engineering, and man-made polymers developed in the last century.
The future is not that far away. Already, nanoscience has ‘infiltrated’ or enabled new devices or improvement in older devices, Dr. O’Neal said.
“For example, Photonic band gap materials are nano devices that enhance telecommunications,” Dr. O’Neal said. Another example is “Photo-thermal-refractive (PTR) glass, a nano structure material, that is used to bend light at different angles by using nanoparticles and Bragg gratings,” he said.
The University of Central Florida is emerging as one of the leading research centers contributing to the advance of nanotechnology.
UCF Stands For Opportunity: The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the second largest in the nation with more than 56,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu.
VOLUSIA LAW FIRM OPENS FLAGLER COUNTY OFFICE TO SERVE GROWING CLIENTELE
PALM COAST – The Port Orange-based law firm of Rue & Ziffra has opened an office at 389 Palm Coast Parkway, Suite 4, in Palm Coast.
The addition of the 2,400-square-foot Flagler County office is designed to help the firm meet the growing needs of clients in that area, according to Rue & Ziffra President Allan L. Ziffra.
“The expansion into Flagler County marks the opening of our third office,” Ziffra said. “It was a natural place to expand with a number of clients residing there and with the number of Flagler County fund-raising efforts our firm participants in.”
“As when we opened our Orange City location in 2009, we hope the addition of this office will make it easier for our clients to meet with our attorneys,” he said.
For more information or to schedule an appointment at the Palm Coast office, call 386-439-0249.
The addition of the 2,400-square-foot Flagler County office is designed to help the firm meet the growing needs of clients in that area, according to Rue & Ziffra President Allan L. Ziffra.
“The expansion into Flagler County marks the opening of our third office,” Ziffra said. “It was a natural place to expand with a number of clients residing there and with the number of Flagler County fund-raising efforts our firm participants in.”
“As when we opened our Orange City location in 2009, we hope the addition of this office will make it easier for our clients to meet with our attorneys,” he said.
For more information or to schedule an appointment at the Palm Coast office, call 386-439-0249.
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