\u201cI decided when I was a grad student\u00a0that I wanted to start a company, but\u00a0I was smart enough to know that I\u00a0didn\u2019t know much about how to do that,\u201d\u00a0says Rini.<\/p>\n
In 2000 he joined the Business\u00a0Incubation Program, and within one\u00a0year, Rini Technologies came to life.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The program] helped me avoid\u00a0pitfalls when starting the business,\u201d says\u00a0Rini. \u201cThey really helped me structure\u00a0the company and focus on my initial\u00a0customer-market segment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The groundwork laid more than 20 years ago has sustained Rini Technologies, which today is a 20-employee operation in Oviedo, Florida, that builds heating and cooling systems for the military and even NASCAR. They pivoted their technology from its original use, and now help those on the front lines stay cool while in body armor and bulletproof vests, as well as professional drivers in fire suits. Another product helps keep U.S. Navy scuba divers warm when submerged in cold water for long periods of time.<\/p>\n
To this day, Rini Technologies is a\u00a0pride point for O\u2019Neal. It\u2019s just what he\u00a0had envisioned \u2014 ideas born at Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½\u00a0could come to life and blossom into\u00a0companies that add jobs and economic\u00a0prosperity to the region. But the work\u00a0hasn\u2019t stopped there. In the more than\u00a022 years since that cold October day,\u00a0the Business Incubation Program has\u00a0facilitated strategic and purposeful\u00a0startup growth for more than 600\u00a0companies, leading to $2.4 billion in\u00a0economic impact.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not out of luck that the program\u00a0has been such a success. Just as it teaches\u00a0businesses to pivot when the market calls\u00a0for it, the program has pivoted itself.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2022\/03\/PEG-SPR2022-1200-BusinessIncubator2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
From a Single Incubator\u00a0to Entire Ecosystems<\/h2>\n
On January 11, Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½ President Alexander\u00a0N. Cartwright, Rob Panepinto of the\u00a0Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½ Business Incubation Program\u00a0and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer used\u00a0ceremonious oversized scissors to cut\u00a0the ribbon to a new incubator in the\u00a0heart of downtown Orlando<\/a>.<\/p>\n The space \u2014 the historic Kress\u00a0Building \u2014 is outfitted with room for\u00a0collaboration and individual offices, plus\u00a0floor-to-ceiling windows with views of\u00a0Orange Avenue. StarterStudio, which\u00a0works to raise Central Florida\u2019s profile in\u00a0the eyes of investors, is a partner.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish we could see the change in uses\u00a0as our downtown evolves over time,\u201d\u00a0Dyer said before cutting the ribbon. \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t know exactly what all has been\u00a0here other than the Kress store, but what\u00a0I can tell you is I\u2019ve gotten my hair cut\u00a0100 times in this space,\u201d he said, pointing\u00a0to the back right corner of the building.\u00a0\u201cAs well as bought jewelry in the former\u00a0[C6 by] Bay Hill Jewelers. This jacket I\u2019m\u00a0wearing, I bought in this space,\u201d he said,\u00a0pointing to the opposite corner of the\u00a0building.<\/p>\n From retail to technology and\u00a0entrepreneurship \u2014 it\u2019s the crux of\u00a0downtown Orlando\u2019s story of evolution.<\/p>\n Inside, startups in digital media<\/a> and\u00a0technology industries are filling the\u00a0space. Grouping companies of similar\u00a0industries is all part of the strategy \u2014\u00a0something the incubation program calls\u00a0Innovation Districts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe moved into this Innovation\u00a0District strategy with two main goals in\u00a0mind: to focus our energy on technology companies in very specific industries\u00a0where the university has talent and\u00a0expertise, but that also will be the\u00a0innovative industries of tomorrow\u00a0that the community wants to scale\u00a0and build as we look to diversify our\u00a0region,\u201d says Panepinto, director of\u00a0Innovation Districts Strategy. \u201cThe\u00a0other goal is to use the incubator to\u00a0build community, an ecosystem. If you\u00a0look at other communities\u2019 growth,\u00a0it\u2019s been around clusters of private\u00a0enterprise, entrepreneurs, government\u00a0and universities working together to help\u00a0scale the growth of these companies.\u201d<\/p>\n The incubation program adopted\u00a0the Innovation Districts strategy three\u00a0years ago as the program gradually grew\u00a0from the first incubator site in Research\u00a0Park to eight incubators across the\u00a0region. Under the current leadership of\u00a0Panepinto and Carol Ann Dykes Logue,\u00a0director of Programs and Operations for\u00a0the Innovation Districts and Incubation\u00a0Program, the strategy has transformed\u00a0the use of the Lake Nona Business\u00a0Incubator that, in its opening year in\u00a02018, served clients of all industries.\u00a0Now, it hand-selects early stage, scalable\u00a0businesses in life sciences, healthcare<\/a>\u00a0and medical simulation<\/a> \u2014 companies that can benefit from the specialized resources available in the burgeoning Medical City. It\u2019s what Panepinto refers to as the \u201cecosystem,\u201d and it\u2019s paid off: In fiscal year 2020\u201321, incubator companies in Lake Nona employed 55 people and generated $2.9 million in revenue.<\/p>\n \u201c[We] focus our energy on technology companies in very specific industries where the university has talent and expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n