UF Innovate hosted its inaugural GatorPitch event on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Miami’s Mana Tech, showcasing six of the University of Florida's best startups to more than 150 attendees from South Florida's dynamic investor and entrepreneurial community.

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University of Florida

GatorPitch showcases University of Florida startups in Miami

Andrea Dautant
November 14, 2024

Clockout receives the ‘Panelists’ Choice’ award at the inaugural event for investors

UF Innovate hosted its inaugural GatorPitch event on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Miami’s Mana Tech, showcasing six of the University of Florida’s best startups to more than 150 attendees from South Florida’s dynamic investor and entrepreneurial community.

“The response to GatorPitch Miami was better than we imagined,” said Melissa Kuchma, assistant director of corporate engagement and tech licensing at UF Innovate. “UF has amazing entrepreneurial talent and startups, and this event demonstrates UF’s innovative capabilities to Miami’s burgeoning investment and startup ecosystem.”

During GatorPitch Miami, a panel of experts – A.R.I.’s Zack Ellison, eMerge America’s Tony Jimenez, and OneSixOne Venture’s Pablo Casilimas – judged each pitch and provided the presenters with valuable feedback. Clockout received the “Panelists’ Choice” award.

“Being awarded the 'Panelists’ Choice' is not only a great honor but also a testament to the potential of our earned wage access solution,” said Juan Jurado-Blanco, co-founder and CEO of Clockout. “The exposure we gained [at GatorPitch Miami] to top-tier VCs and potential angel investors was invaluable, and we’ve already sparked significant interest from investors eager to help us scale.”

Clockout is an embedded earned wage access solution for financial institutions, allowing employees to access their earned wages on demand, improving financial stability and reducing reliance on predatory loans.

“Events like GatorPitch are important to foster collaboration and encourage talent and resources to remain in the state of Florida,” said Kuchma.

UF Innovate selected Miami as the host site of its first startup pitch event because the city is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country, with a significant flow of capital. In 2023, venture capitalists invested $2.41 billion in the Greater Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, 69% of Florida’s venture funding.

Twenty startups applied for an opportunity to pitch in Miami, but six stood out as having the potential to disrupt their markets.

In addition to Clockout, those finalists included Anekabio, Biomine, Fire Bird Drone, Hadrona, and Jex. Each company received one-on-one, tailored mentoring from Etienne Gillard, Mana Tech’s head of ventures, receiving feedback on their pitch decks and presentations.

  • Founded by Vijayendran Chandran, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UF’s College of Medicine, Anekabio is a therapeutic company introducing a safer and more effective therapy for Friedreich’s ataxia.
  • Biomine, co-founded by UF researcher Matias Kirst, aims to create a U.S.-based, sustainable, reliable source of high-value metals critical to supporting the world’s transition to clean energy, using bioengineered crops.
  • Fire Bird Drone, led by UF graduate Istvan Kereszy, operates as a centralized command center using autonomous fixed-wing “drone-in-a-box” units for rapid, data-driven aerial reconnaissance in disaster scenarios.
  • Hadrona, Inc. is dedicated to bringing the clinical benefit of proton therapy to more cancer patients in an economically viable way for clinics. Hadrona is led by Mark Artz, a clinical assistant professor at the UF Proton Health Therapy Institute.
  • Jex, co-founded by UF alum Sebastian Galindo and Saul Vargas, uses AI to streamline hiring, from talent discovery to global payroll.

This inaugural event was sponsored by DeepWork Capital, Bilzin Sumberg, Memorial Healthcare System, One Park Financial, and J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

“DeepWork is committed to fostering innovation from academic institutions and supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Florida,” said Kathy Chiu, managing partner at DeepWork Capital. “This event showcased several companies with significant potential, and we were thrilled to support it.”

UF Innovate plans to host other GatorPitch events across Florida, including Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, to connect UF’s talent pipeline with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs across the state.