GrowFL (growfl.com)

» Manager: Florida Economic Gardening Institute, a state-funded program housed at the University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization

Tom O'Neal

» Launched: November 2009

» Annual budget: $1.5 million (an additional $2 million was appropriated for 2010-11)

» Services: Counseling, advice and referral networks along with more sophisticated technical assistance. It also offers loans through a component managed by the Black Business Investment Fund.

» Scorecard: GrowFL has assisted more than 1,000 Florida companies with coaching, mentoring and peer-to-peer consulting. Some 160 businesses have participated in the technical assistance portion of the program, in which a team of advisers is assembled to solve a specific technical problem for a fast-growing business.

» Job creation: The program has helped create at least 420 jobs — based on a survey of 65% of 160 businesses helped by GrowFL. That amounts to an investment of about $3,571 per job — a bargain compared to incentives the state sometimes uses to lure companies from outside the state to create jobs locally.

Working Regionally

GrowFL works closely with economic development organizations in each county to facilitate executive roundtables and other events to engage stage 2 companies. Examples include:

» The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce’s 2nd Stage Business Development Initiative, which hosts quarterly CEONexus Forums, where third- and fourth-stage CEOs share their experience with 30 to 40 second-stage entrepreneurs. CEO Nexus Forums are open to top executives at second-stage companies. PeerSpective Roundtables, a peer-to-peer mentoring group of 12 CEOs from non-competing industries, meet monthly to share experiences. More information is available at secondstagebusinessdevelopment.com.

Michael Corbit

» Michael Corbit, economic gardening coordinator for Florida’s Research Coast Economic Development Coalition, helped organize a series of boot camps, seminars and workshops in each county in his region to give small- and medium-sized business owners and operators exposure to various financial, legal, marketing and networking resources. Companies have also received research, marketing and technical assistance in addition to one-on-one coaching. “They share their strategies and plans, where they would like to grow, how they would like to grow, where they’re struggling, and I coach them on what they should do and who they should connect with,”says Corbit. More information is available from Michael Corbit at mcorbit@tcjobs.org or by calling 772/335-3030 ext. 438.