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Nurturing Business for All
One of the most exciting developments for entrepreneurs is the program designed to nurture minority’s and women’s start-ups. It’s hard enough to start a business from scratch, but if you’re a minority, the odds of failing increase. To support this crucial segment of the Tallahassee-Leon County population, the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce and the Capital City Chamber of Commerce offer advocacy, training, and development to underserved small businesses while also serving as a liaison between members and other resources such as potential investors.
Another community resource is the Florida A&M University (FAMU) REACH: Research, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Hub innovation ecosystem. With $1 million in federal funding, REACH is working to stimulate entrepreneurship in underserved rural and urban communities.
Antonio Montoya, executive director at Domi Station, says that Tallahassee is a great place to start and grow a business because of its supportive and tight-knit entrepreneurial community. “Our local start-up community is very accessible and collaborative, and we make it a point to make everyone feel welcome and supported,” he says.
Jake Kiker, one of the original founders of Domi Station, agrees. “Given the diversity and level of educational attainment already present in Tallahassee, coupled with a preeminent university in FSU, one of the country’s top historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in FAMU, and an innovative community college in TCC, we knew that we possessed real competitive advantages to make it a reality,” Kiker says.
“From working extensively with groups like the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to supporting the weekly Women Wednesdays (founded by one of our first entrepreneurs, Barbara Wescott), diversity and inclusion are not things that we simply strive for at Domi — they’re an invaluable part of our culture.”
Domi Station entrepreneur Barbara Wescott is now CEO and founder of Swellcoin, a buy-local cashback app designed to restore and increase small and local business spending. Having launched her start-up in Domi, she is uniquely qualified to help other women grow and share their talents. Women Wednesdays, a collective for women to get together and co-work, share ideas, and listen to inspiring speakers, was born from this effort. “The thing that inspires me is the accessibility of today’s technology,” Wescott says. “The opportunity for an everyday person to build something really big and wonderful exists, so get going and get connected to people who can help because they’re here.”
Good for the Economy. Good for the Environment.
Take a ride down one of Tallahassee’s canopied roads or go kayaking at a nearby spring and you’ll see why Tallahasseeans are so protective of their natural resources. Tallahassee also has awesome weather, and with it, a high concentration of experts in the preeminent school of meteorology in the nation, housed in the Florida State University’s Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science. It’s only natural for these assets to evolve into ways to do business that capitalize and celebrate the environment. This includes:
• WeatherTiger, the brainchild of Erica Staehling and Ryan Truchelut, is a meteorological consulting firm using big data to provide customized agricultural, hurricane, and long-range temperature and rainfall forecasts and full-spectrum decision support for commodity, weather risk, public safety, and retail markets. Their technology can forecast global temperature anomalies and precipitation six months out.
• Oyster Aquaculture at the Tallahassee Community College Wakulla Environmental Institute teaches entrepreneurs the basics of farm-raising oysters, a new but increasingly popular form of aquaculture. Classes cover crop management, rules and regulations, and lease setup for operating and working an oyster lease.
• WeatherSTEM combines comprehensive weather stations powered by live data and then installs them in schools, golf courses, and other weather-dependent facilities around the country.
• RMS HWind Scientific, now a division of RMS, was founded in Tallahassee by meteorologist Mark Powell and is the world’s leading provider of tropical cyclone wind field data.
• Tall Timbers Research Station, one of the nation’s leading land trusts, is a pioneer in the study of fire ecology and prescribed fire for land management. Internationally recognized for and instrumental in training and educating firefighters in prescribed fire training, its work has implications for controlling wildfires such as those in California and preserving delicate natural ecosystems. Most recently, it has partnered with Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to study the physiology of fire and prefire management activities.
• The Florida State University Meteorology program is one of the largest and most esteemed programs in the country, accounting for more than 30% of the weather experts at the National Hurricane Center in Miami and scores of other forecasters and meteorologists throughout the world.
Tallahassee Start-Ups
Hucksters Mobile Market Moving fresh food market collects recovered produce from businesses and brings it to food-insecure areas
DiaTech Diabetic Technologies Insulin delivery with enhanced malfunction detection
Creative Conduits Leverages existing voice technology (aka Amazon Alexa, Google Home) to help businesses reach and engage with their customers
Footy Training Training on your own, against professionals or anyone in the world
InnoHealth Diagnostics DNA-based diagnostic tool for tropical diseases
One Fresh Pillow A pillow subscription service
NeuroJungle Restoring brain-tobody command and control
Pinnacle Education Helping K-12 education use big data to drive improvements
FSUTutorMe On-demand tutoring connecting off-campus tutors with students in the city
Nhu Energy Flexible power and energy control systems for microgrids
Slash Pine Tech Responsive web apps, systems integrations, and IT consulting
Woven Futures Curates meaningful artisan pieces that foster a global community
NewSci Provider of insight-as-a-service to the education, health care, and nonprofit markets
Vale Food Co. Healthy food restaurant
