Orlando, also known as The City Beautiful, ranked in the top-ten “start-up friendly” cities in the nation, as listed by Entrepreneur Magazine in August 2009. The magazine credits intergovernmental and private cooperation as the engine for mining local talent and building opportunities for entrepreneurs. East Orlando sits squarely in the center of the high-tech corridor that is currently taking shape and will stretch from Gainesville to Tampa. Careful, coordinated planning by three state universities and medical industry giants such as the Burnham Institute, Nemours Children’s Hospital, and M. D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute resulted in East Orlando’s current perch in the center of an innovative, one-of-a-kind research and development region.

Entrepreneurs can count on continued development in this region, because a highly educated workforce will require all the services that a thriving metropolis can offer. Florida ranks fourth in the nation in terms of high-tech employment, with 20,000 doctoral scientists and engineers and more than 276,000 high-tech workers, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center.

In East Orlando, Research Park is home to the UCF Business Incubation program which provides entrepreneurs with support services and networks of professional resources. Tom O’Neal founded the program in 1999 and over the last decade has helped more than 100 emerging companies create a half-billion dollars in revenue. These companies over the years have created more than 900 local jobs. In fact, Business Week named Orlando “one of the most fiercely competitive” communities in the world. That’s right, the world.

East Orlando can also boast a blooming multimedia and digital design industry. Currently, web development and simulation dominate the digital media industry in our region; and our community offers unrivaled education opportunities in this field, including several choices among public and private schools. Graduates from any number of local programs find themselves in a burgeoning business environment; one that is abuzz with intellectual stimulation and creative challenges.

Bio Identity is a start-up company that sells biometric systems that can be used in schools, fitness clubs and other institutions that track its students, members or visitors. Victor Flores, CEO and Co-Owner of the company, has a deep history in information technology. He says, “This new form of security requires no plastic cards or magnetic strips, therefore it is considered green technology” Flores is also a leader at the Orlando Chapter of NSHMBA-National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and he serves on the East Orlando Chamber of Commerce Education Committee. Flores says he chose East Orlando because of its commitment to small businesses: “I decided  to start Bio-Identity Security Technologies in East Orlando mainly based on the community vision for growth and expansion,  particularly  the opportunity for new business development and culture setting.”

Entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and digital-media gurus will all feel at home in East Orlando. The region we live in may seem down now to many, but the future holds opportunities for any business-minded person. Entrepreneurs will find plentiful access to resources not available anywhere else. Perhaps East Orlando is just the right place to be; because although national, state, and local economic indicators are tipping on the low side, we can be sure that for us there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Article by Evelyn Cichanowski