Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund will be taking their 8th bus road trip this Spring in Florida, spending one day each in Orlando, Tampa, the Space Coast, Miami, and San Juan. Steve, cofounder of AOL and Chairman and CEO of the DC investment firm Revolution, formed the Rise of the $150MRest Seed Fund to invest in and celebrate emerging startup ecosystems across the US. At each stop the ROTR bus engages the startup ecosystem with events and meetings and finishes with a startup pitch competition. The winner of each stops pitch competition receives a $100K investment from the ROTR seed fund. Some reaction from our elected officials received by the Orlando Economic Partnership:
“By investing in our innovation infrastructure and building on our existing economic strengths and diversification of workforce and industry, we will drive job creation,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “Rise of the Rest will serve as a catalyst to further promote innovation and encourage a culture of entrepreneurship in our region.”
“Rise of the Rest will have an immense impact on Orlando, both in terms of its industry and its economy, at no cost to the city,” said City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “The national attention and funding it will bring to our technology ecosystem and assets is unparalleled, showing the world that, when it comes to Orlando, they don’t know the half of it.”
Applications are open now and I encourage every Orlando startup on a path of scaling to apply here before the 11 March deadline. They expect some 80 to 100 startups to apply and will select the top 8 to pitch. The finalists will be announced on 1 April. Additional information is on our website from the Orlando Business Journal and the Orlando Sentinel.
