Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 7/19/2013

Venture capital funding soars in Florida

Venture capital funding in Florida soared in the second quarter of 2013, thanks to large investments in two Miami-based companies. According to findings of the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association released on Friday, investment in the state totaled $155.8 million, up from just $11.29 million in the first quarter and the highest amount recorded in the survey since the third quarter of 2007. Read more from the Miami Herald and see the MoneyTree report.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Water challenges at SFWMD

Daniel O'Keefe, new chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, discusses what's coming up for the District.

» Water challenges at SFWMD

Citrix in top 25 for work-life balance

Work anywhere. That’s the motto of Fort Lauderdale-based software company Citrix Systems, which makes it possible to work anywhere with its online tools. Citrix is among Glassdoor's top 25 companies for work-life balance for 2013, said Glassdoor on Friday. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Orlando pushes for 'greener' long-term future

Developed during the past year, the GreenWorks project seeks to make Orlando the greenest city in the Southeast by 2040. The long-range plan could affect the way garbage is collected, how close people live to parks, how much they pay for water and even the amount of shade in their neighborhoods. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

» FRIDAY PREVIEW: Coming next week to FloridaTrend.com:

NLP Logix: On a whim, Matthew Berseth decided to enter an online contest and his success ended up steering his business.
If the Shoe Fits: Shoes for Crews sells to employees of restaurants, supermarkets, health care companies, hotels, casinos and manufacturers.
Crawford Entertainment: Seminole County native Chad Crawford has found a niche with his syndicated television and multimedia program, “How to Do Florida with Chad Crawford.”

» You'll find all these stories first on the Daily and Afternoon Pulse e-mails.

Out of the Box
Headline

The Conchologists of America’s “Greatest Shell Show on Earth” opens for business this weekend at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. “If you’ve never been to one of these, you have to see it,” says the Sarasota Shell Club’s Peggy Williams, who will chair this annual — and biggest — shell convention in the United States. Nearly 40 hardcore dealers in the external skeletons — or exoskeletons — of countless varieties of sea slugs have traveled from as far away as South Africa, Indonesia and Australia.