When Vinny Olmstead co-founded Bridgevine in 2003, Florida’s venture capital market was anemic. Olmstead says he had to go to New York and Pennsylvania to raise cash for the Vero Beach-company, which functioned as an Expedia-like concierge selling subscriptions for internet and cable TV services to consumers.

“It’s getting better,” says Olmstead, who sold the company for $75 million last year and now serves as managing director of Vocap Investment Partners, a venture capital fund with offices in Atlanta and Vero Beach that invests in early growth stage tech companies.

Better, indeed.  Florida-based companies raised approximately $2.9 billion from 261 venture capital deals in 2019, according to a report from the Florida Venture Forum, a statewide group that connects venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

That’s about nearly 60% more than in 2018, when Florida companies closed 276 deals worth $1.8 billion, and 564% growth since 2006, according to data from PitchBook, a Seattle organization that monitors venture capital activity across the nation.

Olmstead was one of many veteran entrepreneurs and business leaders sharing advice with attendees of the 29^th Florida Venture Capital Conference in Orlando this week. Others included: Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO of Orlando-based payment processor Fattmerchant; Alon Mozes, cofounder of Miami-based Neocis, which develops robotic surgery systems for dental surgery; Patrick Goddard, president of Miami-headquartered Brightline Trains; and Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams.

The Jan. 30-31 conference, also spotlighted 14 startups from across the state selected by a committee of active equity investors.

Other key takeaways on Florida’s venture industry:

» Magic Leap, the Plantation–based maker of augmented reality headsets, accounted for $780 million (27%) of the total VC invested in 2019

» The bulk of financing is still centered in South Florida (129 deals were completed in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area in 2019)

» The media early-stage VC deal was $3.5 million

» The software industry dominated the VC market and accounted for 27% of deal volume

» 15 Florida-headquartered venture funds have been created since 2015