|
|
|
High-Skill High-Wage |
The Ledger, April 16, 2012
LAKELAND | If you've ever made an online donation to a nonprofit, you might have used Qgiv, but if that name doesn't seem familiar — well, it's by design. Lakeland-based Qgiv makes online fundraising software for nonprofits, faith-based groups and political organizations and has a diverse client base spanning the United States. Though it performs a vital function — helping contributions to flow in via the Internet — Qgiv President Todd Baylis said the company's software...
LAKELAND | One of the problems with Americans is we have become too focused on protecting our wealth and have forgotten how to achieve it, a guest speaker told a group of Lakeland business professionals Tuesday. Scott Faris, who calls himself a "serial...
TALLAHASSEE | Construction money for the new University of South Florida Polytechnic campus and for badly needed repairs to buildings at Polk State College are in the budget following a weekend of negotiations between the Florida House and Senate. The House, which had no money for Public Education Capital Outlay funds in its original budget, has agreed to $289 million, about the amount of the fund the Senate....
The Ledger, September 05, 2010
LAKELAND | The first entrepreneurs to be accepted into the University of South Florida Polytechnic's business incubator program share a common dream of starting their own companies. But to call them "dreamers" might trivialize their personal stakes in the startups. Most have invested too much money and too much of themselves for this opportunity to be a whimsical experiment.
The Ledger, September 05, 2010
William Wakeman III has done this kind of thing before - starting and running companies. A 57-year-old financial planner and president of his own firm, Wakeman almost seems overqualified for Blue Sky West, like a veteran at boot camp. He's developing a program tailored for nonprofits, an online platform that would allow...
The Ledger, September 05, 2010
Meet Tom Reid and JB Thomas - longtime friends, first-time business partners at Blue Sky East. Their burgeoning venture, Outpost Media, provides a media management and distribution system for hotels and other tourism businesses to better showcase themselves online. That might include shooting and customizing
photos and video for travel websites, consumer devices (such as iPhones and iPads)...
The Ledger, September 05, 2010
Mike Mutz is a college kid who makes T-shirts - not exactly the profile that springs to mind when you think of entrepreneurs in high-tech fields. At 20 years old, Mutz is the youngest face at Blue Sky West and probably has the least business experience, though it was his life experience as a devout Christian doing mission work that ultimately led him here. Mutz's fledgling company, Design the Difference...
The Ledger, September 05, 2010
Blue Sky West has a doctor in the house: 45-year-old Brian Jurbala, an orthopedic surgeon with a thriving practice in Lakeland. The Pennsylvania native studied chemistry and biomedical engineering at Penn State and earned his medical degree from Temple University, but he's here at the incubator to address a gap in his education: How do you turn a medical invention into a full-fledged company?
The Ledger, August 11, 2010
LAKELAND | U.S. Sen. George LeMieux visited Lakeland's WellDyne RX on Tuesday, calling the pharmaceutical services firm an example of Florida's business potential. LeMieux toured WellDyne's roughly 60,000-square-foot facility off Swindell Road, where the company processes and fills mail-order prescriptions using advanced robotics.
The Ledger, July 27, 2010
The University of South Florida Polytechnic's plan for a business incubator on its new campus has been approved by the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. The subcommittee has approved $200,000 for the project, which U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., sought, as part of a broader spending bill that funds the U.S. Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration.
The Ledger, July 14, 2010
LAKELAND | Land clearing for the University of South Florida Polytechnic's new campus, and construction of infrastructure like power lines and utilities, is expected to start this fall. Construction should start on its first building - the Science, Innovation and Technology...
The Ledger, June 27, 2010
LAKELAND | Jean-Pierre Emond has traveled the Canadian Arctic, befriended the Inuit and evaded a polar bear. He speaks three languages, has a doctoral degree and once owned an herb farm. When he's not helping to steer the growth of the University of South Florida Polytechnic, Emond runs a high-tech company specializing in pharmaceutical shipping...
The Ledger, March 25, 2010
LAKELAND | Most people hear "incubator" and think of chicken eggs or newborn babies, but at the University of South Florida Polytechnic the term refers to a method of nurturing new businesses and entrepreneurs.
The Ledger, March 24, 2010
LAKELAND | Mayor Gow Fields won't dive into alligator-infested waters. The city won't use ice cream, glow sticks or temporarily name itself Googleland. But it's still trying to try to lure Google and its experimental super high-speed fiber optic network. If it's all the same, leaders of the Connect Lakeland effort said Wednesday at the Greater Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, cities will be judged on what they have to offer and their degree of community support...
FSC Southerner, March 12, 2010
Local site, YLakeland.com, was developed by college students in collaboration with the Lakeland Economic Development Council (LEDC) to promote local activities and combat homesickness by encouraging student involvement in the community.
The Ledger, January 22, 2010
LAKELAND | Damien Lamendola took a circuitous and impressive route to Lakeland, and he thinks it's an ideal location for his ambitious business plans. Lamendola, 54, is owner and chief executive of WellDyneRX, a company that manages prescription
health benefits for unions and employers. It competes with companies such as Caremark.
The Ledger, December 04, 2009
LAKELAND | The University of South Florida Polytechnic has hired a new director, Jean-Pierre Emond, who will assume leadership in February of the Division of Technology and Innovation. He also will be
a professor there.
The Ledger, September 26, 2009
LAKELAND | Craig Hardwick thought Lakeland was just an exit off the interstate before the University of Florida student got a summer
internship here. And then he discovered Common Ground Park.
Hardwick found common ground in Lakeland thanks to a local Summer Leadership Program, donating $1,000.44 to the city-owned Common Ground Park.
The Ledger, September 16, 2009
LAKELAND | Attention entrepreneurs and innovators: The University of South Florida Polytechnic wants to make your business plan a reality. With two local business "incubators" just weeks away from opening their doors, USF Poly is ramping up its search for applicants who wish to pair with the university for research and development partnerships. USF wants to hear from both established and fledgling companies...
Polk County Business Journal, September 14, 2009
The term "RFID" might still be unfamiliar to much of the business world, but Polk County is already well-acquainted. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the technology behind the SunPass toll collection devices, and it's playing a growing role in the supply chain industry, where it could eventually replace the barcode as the go-to tracking tool. Some observers also expect RFID to lead the charge in improving food and drug safety. All of this bodes well for Lakeland...
The Ledger, August 26, 2009
Business people usually say specific goals, in numbers and time terms, need to be set in order to succeed. Dr. David Misch took a different approach - quality over quantity - and much success has followed, although he hesitates to call it that. Misch founded the Center for Retina and Macular Disease in Winter Haven in 1991.
Polk County Business Journal, July 19, 2009
You can't deny that USF Polytechnic's campus alongside Interstate 4 will forever change Polk County. You can't build something that involves a world-famous architect and the potential to nearly quadruple enrollment without leaving a significant mark. But what could the economic impact of the new campus be on the county?
LAKELAND | University of South Florida Polytechnic Chief Executive Officer Marshall Goodman can start taking deep breaths again now
that Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a state budget that includes $16.4 million for its new campus.
Tampa Bay Business Journal, May 15, 2009
The first of what will eventually be 700 workers are on the job at WellDyneRx Inc.’s new facility in Lakeland. WellDyne — a pharmacy benefit management company that administers drug benefit programs, processes claims and operates a mail-order pharmacy — opened the $20 million, 66,000-square-foot operation in March. It will provide 100 jobs by the end of this year and another 578 jobs...
Tampa Bay Business Journal, May 15, 2009
Tampa General Hospital has doubled the number of pharmacists on its staff since 2001 and is looking for more. So is the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital. There’s a continuing shortage of pharmacists nationwide, and Florida, with its above-average number of senior citizens, ranks among the states most in need of professionals...
In response to recent media inquiries regarding travel by USF Polytechnic's CEO, the office of University Advancement is contemplating a new children's video game, "Where in the World is Marshall Goodman?"
LAKELAND | Despite the state's budget woes, the University of South Florida Polytechnic fared better in the new state budget plan than it has in the past two years. The state's proposed budget includes construction
money and additional funding for future faculty members.
LAKELAND | David Robinson can't wait for USF Polytechnic to embark on its new mission. "We need to wake up," says 45-year-old Robinson, an information technology entrepreneur who presides over three companies with about 30 employees and the largest data bank for
private use in Central Florida.
Maddux Report, May 01, 2009
Good things can come in small packages, even when it comes to architecture. That's the message architect Tim Hoeft of Straugn Trout architects in Lakeland would like to get across with his company's newest "green" project. The project is a 4,151-square-foot branch office for Magnify Credit Union
The Ledger, April 08, 2009
LAKELAND | Marshall Goodman and Tom Patton aren't talking about hatching baby chickens with the business technology incubator both want at the University of South Florida Polytechnic. Their focus is nurturing entrepreneurial businesses by creating a place where USF Poly professors and students can work with businesses in developing innovative technology.
Tampa Bay Business Journal, March 27, 2009
University of South Florida Polytechnic signed a collaborative agreement with France’s Euromed Marseille School of Management. USFP also agreed to host students from Polytech Marseille. The agreements are designed to help USFP align with institutions that operate with the polytechnic vision, a release said.
Tampa Bay Business Journal, January 30, 2009
WellDyneRx Inc. will create more than 670 jobs when it opens a new facility in Lakeland, more than tripling the Colorado company’s prescription mail order capacity. WellDyneRx said Monday it is building a $20 million southeastern operations center that will be able to fill more than 30 million mail order prescriptions annually, the Lakeland Economic Development Council said...
USF Magazine, December 17, 2008
Since his arrival, USF Lakeland CEO Marshall Goodman's tagline has been "Dream no small dreams." Lakeland and Polk County listened and responded. President Judy Genshaft recently accepted two gifts totaling $10 million, given to support the construction of USF's new campus in Lakeland. Two of the region's premiere economic development organizations, the Central Florida Development Council and teh Lakeland Economic Development Council (LEDC), each gave $5 million...
The Ledger, August 25, 2008
WellDyneRX, a mail-order pharmacy and benefit management firm, has selected Lakeland for an expansion that could bring 670 new jobs. The $20 million expansion is the first for Centennial, Colo.-based WellDyne, which will do the bulk of its hiring in 2009 and 2010, with salaries averaging roughly $42,000. The private company is leasing a 66,000-square-foot facility off Swindell Road, near County Line Road, that will serve WellDyne clients nationwide...
The Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Foundation has donated millions of dollars to a number of small colleges throughout Florida. Now, it's Florida Southern College's turn. On Thursday, John Rinker, president of the West Palm Beach-based foundation, was at a groundbreaking
ceremony for a sleek new $1.5 million technology center off Ingraham Avenue equipped with dozens of computers...
Maddux Business Report, September 12, 2007
By: Melissa Wells
Right under our nose, yet largely out of sight, international flavor and fragrance companies do big business in the bay area. Every three years the world's top noses meet for something called the World Perfumery Congress. Held in ritzy Cannes, France, it's a chance for...
|
|
|