IDEAS Named Florida Companies to Watch Award Recipient

IDEAS has been recognized as a recipient of the 2013 Florida Companies to Watch^SM award, an honor presented by GrowFL at the University of Central Florida. In its 3^rd year, Florida Companies to Watch is presented by GrowFL at the University of Central Florida in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation. Fifty companies from across the state of Florida received their recognition and were treated like rock stars at an awards event on Thursday, October 24 at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida.

“We are honored to have been recognized for this award,” noted Bob Allen, Principal Executive of IDEAS. “We’ve done some tremendous things in our twelve years as IDEAS and we appreciate being recognized for those accomplishments and we plan on using this award as a springboard to even greater things in the future.”

Florida Companies to Watch is an awards program that celebrates privately held second-stage companies headquartered in the state. To be eligible, applicants must employ between 6 and 99 full-time equivalent employees and have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue or working capital in place. Awardees are selected for demonstrating the intent and capacity to grow based on employee or sales growth, exceptional entrepreneurial leadership, sustainable competitive advantage, outstanding corporate culture, inspired community giving and other notable strengths. This year Florida Companies to Watch attracted more than 600 nominees, and 106 companies were selected as finalists. IDEAS was chosen along with 49 other finalists to receive the distinction of being named as one of the 50 Florida Companies to Watch of 2013.

The impact of these companies on Florida’s economy is immense, and this year’s honorees are examples of such companies in the state. During 2007-2009, Florida’s resident companies averaged more than 110,000 second-stage establishments according to YourEconomy.org, an online resource of the Edward Lowe Foundation. Those second-stage companies employed nearly 2.5 million workers.Florida Companies to Watch is unique because of its focus on second-stage companies and the wide-ranging industries they represent.

About GrowFL: GrowFL provides strategies, resources and support to second-stage companies for next level growth. By supporting companies with Strategic Research and peer-to-peer CEO mentoring, GrowFL helps companies overcome obstacles to growth and leads them towards prosperity. Based on the philosophy of Economic Gardening – to grow existing businesses in a community, region or state – GrowFL is the program of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida and is a critical component to the state’s economic development strategy and Florida’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. During the pilot program from 2009-2011, GrowFL helped more than 400 companies create 1,400 new jobs and had an annual economic impact of $510.4 million. At the beginning of 2013, that number has grown to nearly 700 companies supported by GrowFL. For more information: GrowFL.com.

About the Edward Lowe Foundation: The Edward Lowe Foundation inspired the creation of the Companies to Watch program to celebrate second-stage entrepreneurs and their companies. Established in 1985, the Edward Lowe Foundation is a Michigan-based nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through recognition, education and research with a focus on second-stage companies—those that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth. The foundation also encourages economic gardening, an entrepreneur-centered strategy providing balance to the traditional approach of business recruitment. For information, visit www.EdwardLowe.org.

About IDEAS: Located in downtown Orlando, IDEAS is an Innovation Studio using the central premise that powerful stories create powerful experiences. IDEAS creates products for healthcare, corporate, government, and entertainment clients worldwide as well as creating its own intellectual property.