I am excited to share with you that our highly anticipated new initiative: the Florida Entrepreneurial Nexus is now live.
Our vision for Nexus is to support the innovation ecosystem in the great state of Florida. Through Nexus, we now have a digital, central hub for assets to connect with one another to bolster the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Florida.
Now that our platform is live, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your continued partnership and support as well as provide some additional information so you may begin sharing the great news in your networks.
Nexus Background:
Florida boasts an impressive entrepreneurial ecosystem and it’s evident how comprehensive and robust our ecosystems are statewide. However, through thoughtful conversation with partners such as yourself, we discovered that no resource existed at a state level to tie these ecosystems together and elevate them statewide. We also discovered that a need existed for a community to support entrepreneurial assets throughout our state.
In our conversations, it was evident that the biggest struggle that assets faced statewide was the lack of education entrepreneurs and small businesses owners had about resources available to them and where best to go for support. It became clear that the Florida Entrepreneurial Nexus could be a tool not only for aspiring and existing small business owners, but also for assets to serve as a community for them and also a resource to better connect them with the right clients looking for support. And so the idea for the Entrepreneurial Nexus was born.
We Need Your Help!
1. Join Nexus!
If you are not part of Nexus already, we hope you will be! Please consider joining by creating a free profile. Visit www.floridanexus.org and join today.
2. Claim your Profile:
If your organization is already part of Nexus, we thank you! Please visit the platform and claim your organization's profile. To do so, go to https://floridanexus.org/, and create your verified user account. Once you are logged in as a verified user, find your organization, click claim org, then click start claim request. Once you claim the organization you become its Verified Manager. Verified Managers have the ability to edit profiles and post content as an organization.
3. Spread the word!
We need your help spreading the word! Our marketing team has created apromotional toolkitdesigned to help spread the work about this new program/initiative. In this toolkit you will find informational flyers and social media posts with copy. Know of an asset we’re missing? Encourage them to visit Nexus and submit their information to be listed.
We’re defining an asset as the following:
Innovation partners, including tech runways and alliances
Economic & business development organizations
Business consulting/mentorship providers
Financial and funding partners, including banks, lenders, angel investors, and venture capital funds
Questions and more information:
In close, we are very proud of the Nexus platform and appreciate your organization’s participation. We hope it proves valuable in better connecting aspiring and existing business owners with the resources they need to launch, grow and thrive. We encourage you to continue contributing to the ecosystem and to join the Florida SBDC Network and other small business owners from around the state at the 2024 Small Business Success Summit. The Summit will be held on August 19-20 in Ponte Vedra Beach. We hope to see you there!
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at bbyerts@uwf.edu with any questions you may have.
Sincerely, Beverly Byerts Director of Strategic Partnerships
