Congratulations to IWEC Vice-Chair Carmen Castillo, CEO & Founder SDI International, for her selection to panel of esteemed participants on important panel, “Diversity in Entrepreneurship Forum” at the Naples National Startup Competition.
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Southwest Florida Business Today
Prayer Deck, a Naples based startup, has been selected as a semi-finalist in the SUP-X®: The StartUp Expo national startup competition in Fort Lauderdale in March. The company will receive a free booth at the international conference and will be considered for the finals to compete for $50,000 in cash prizes. Fifty startups from ten states and 25 cities have been selected to compete including 31 from Florida.
SUP-X: The StartUp Expo is the largest startup conference in the state of Florida and one of the largest in the country. The two-day, international conference and expo will be held on March 6th and 7th at the Broward Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. The conference is expected to attract approximately 1500 attendees from over 35 states and a dozen countries this year. The purpose of the conference is to better connect and educate investors, entrepreneurs and service providers from throughout North America while further growing and enriching the Florida entrepreneurial ecosystem, explained conference founder Bob Fitts of Miami.
“We’re excited to have these outstanding startups represent their communities in our startup competition,” said Fitts. “We have startups coming from all over North America and the Caribbean. The exchange of ideas, learning opportunities and chance to form relationships make for a great experience for them. It will be interesting to see who wins, but it should be a very valuable experience for them regardless.”
In addition to its startup competition, SUP-X features a “Diversity in Entrepreneurship Forum” that seeks to address the needs of those typically under-served and under-represented in the startup and venture capital communities. The event also has some 18 panels, speeches and keynote addresses on topics such as the importance of good design, minority access to capital, FinTech and blockchain, raising capital and becoming a better angel investor. Speakers include Scott Decker, CEO of MDLive; Carmen Castillo, Founder, President and CEO of SDI International, the nation’s largest Latina-Owned Business; Albert Santalo, founder of CareCloud; and Shelby Gogulski of Jacksonville and Rachel Zietz of Boca Raton, two superstar teen entrepreneurs who recently appeared on Shark Tank. Approximately 100 startups and corporate sponsors will exhibit at SUP-X as well.
Several Naples area organizations have partnered with SUP-X to ensure its success and to promote southwest Florida’s involvement in the event, including Tamiami Angel Funds and FusionPointe.
Tickets to SUP-X range from $59-$399. More information about SUP-X may be found at http://www.sup-x.org/ or by contacting info@sup-x.org
