HyperValidation

HyperValidation Founder/CEO Rajiv Menon had a great time speaking to the "Leveraging AI for Business Innovation" MBA class at Rollins College (Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College) with Dr. Jay Liebowitz. The discussion spanned some history, current state and the upcoming launch for AIAR - the world's first AI-powered fully self-driven startup accelerator!

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Informulate

Cool event alert - 8/28/24! Want to be a part of strategic conversations at your organization? How does innovation and strategy go together? Join Orlando-based innovators as two rock star founders - Jonathan Maricle and Roi Ewell - share their innovation experiences in strategy, business models and funding. RSVP now:

Innovation Stories Join us to learn how 2 influential leaders innovate in their industry.

Non-Profit and Business Leaders building social enterprises are invited to join us on August 23rd for a one-day workshop with Rally Maker-Mentors as you move your ideas to the next steps!

What can you expect?

Working one-on-one with Rally Maker-Mentors to:
Clarify Your Specific Problem Statement
Perfect Your Impact Strategy
Discover Customer Segments
Validate Your Business Model

Interested? Apply Here by August 9th> https://bit.ly/RWAPP

Congratulations to our Champion team this past Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge 2024! From day 1 to day 3 this team was ENERGETIC and motivated to WIN! Over 3 long days of innovating, this team pitched the idea of Sick Seats. Their idea was a solution to the challenge statement (provided by the Orlando Magic) of "Legendary Guest Experience". Sick Seats is an app where you can bid to upgrade your seats post-halftime. This idea would generate revenue for the Orlando Magic and enhance the fans' experience in-game.

Team Members:
Reese Kelsey - Team Lead
Rachel Flasterstein
Alec Jones
Jamal Whorms-MonDésir
Ethan Stein
Bharat Katyal 💡
Russell Tretter

They chose not to miss out on , don't miss out next time! Stay tuned for .

Wow! What a weekend!! The Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge 2024 was most definitely a success! Last weekend was filled with so many talented individuals, innovative ideas, rockstar judges, awesome mentors, great organizers and the list goes on!

We want to take a moment to thank our Partners:

University of Central Florida

Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship at Rollins College / Rollins College

National Entrepreneur Center

Valencia College

Full Sail University

CareerSource Central Florida

Florida High Tech Corridor

Orlando Innovation League

Orlando Devs

leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners

Orlando Tech Community

StarterStudio

Seminole State College of Florida

A Special Shoutout to our Mentors:

Daniel F. Perez, MBA

Cameron Ford

David Metcalf

Marie Heikkinen Webb

Justin Driscoll

Wes Allen

Isabella Johnston

Jan Edwards

Kyle White

Bob Reed

Jack Henkel

Jack Prosceno

Stephen Shapiro

Michelle Stenger

A big Thank You to our Judges:

Kendel Fiorentino

Belinda Ortiz Kirkegard

Esu Ma'at

And last but not least, thank you to the Organizing Team!

Rajiv Menon

Ashley Capielo

Ashley Elliott

Roger Osorio

Andrew Bekemeyer

Zachary Webster

Olivia Wiggins

Katie Dallas

We could not have done it without ALL of you!

And our biggest Thank You goes to all of our participants at the Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge 2024.

Here are our winning ideas and teams:

In 3rd place *Drumroll* Shooting Stars!

An employee recognition program where guests and employees can recognize employees and give them points to redeem for incentives. Improving how to create a Legendary Guest Experience.

In 2nd place *Drumroll* 3D Magic Moments!

An app that turns live-action sports highlight reels into 3D animated characters meant to engage children and youthful adults. Improving In-App Engagement.

In 1st place, our OMIC2024 Champions *Drumroll* Sick Seats!

An app that allows guests to upgrade their seats via bids post-halftime! Improving Legendary Guest Experience.

Stay tuned, many pictures to come!

Meet one of your 2024 Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge Mentors: Kyle White!!

Kyle is a serial consumer packaged goods (CPG) entrepreneur, advisor, and sales executive based in Orlando,FL. Kyle founded Yaupon Brothers American Tea where he was able to bring the first large-scale american grown tea product to the market. He was able to help bring Yaupon Brothers to outlets such as Whole Foods, Walmart, QVC and hundreds of independent retailers. Yaupon Brothers was also a top 10 global trend for Whole Foods in 2023. Kyle and Yaupon Brothers have been featured in Forbes Magazine, Bon Appetit, Men's Health, The Washington Post and Fast Company.

Kyle is currently the Director of Business Development for Builders+Backers. Builders+Backers is a full stack venture group that trains early-stage entrepreneurs as well as invests in companies across the country. Builders+Backers currently runs programming in 21 states and has helped over 1100 entrepreneurs. Builders+Backers partners with the likes of The Walton Family Foundation, Heartland Forward, The George Kaiser Family Foundation, The Ford Motor Fund, Newlab, The Global Entrepreneurship Network and Capital One to deliver its programming.

Kyle also ran the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship (CFAE) at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. The CFAE was centered around helping companies in the second stage ($1m+ in revenue) scale. Kyle advised 200+ founders while he was at the CFAE, and also served on the board of directors of the VenVelo Angel Fund and The Athena Powerlink Women's Entrepreneurship accelerator program.

Kyle holds a degree in Hospitality Management from the renowned Rosen College of Hospitality at the University of Central Florida.

Experience real-world innovation with innovators like yourself, other entrepreneurial leaders, and the Orlando Magic!

We are sold out but you can get on the waitlist here: https://orlandomagic.com/omic2024

Only 1 day left! We are so excited for this weekend! Innovation mode: ON!

We are sold out but you can get on the waitlist here: https://orlandomagic.com/omic2024

Meet one of your 2024 Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge Mentors: Wes Allen!!

Wes is a Global Partnership Account Executive with the Osceola Magic NBA G League team. The NBA G League is he NBA’s laboratory for experimental rules and developing players, referees, and front office staff for the next level. Having joined the organization in 2022 as a Ticket Sales Representative, he worked his way into the realm of Corporate Partnerships focusing on B2B sales. Wes’s goal is to connect businesses and community leaders with one another to create mutually beneficial relationships – using basketball as a medium. That entails utilizing innovative ideas to grow the Osceola Magic brand and connect their organization with the community.

Experience real-world innovation with innovators like yourself, other entrepreneurial leaders, and the Orlando Magic!

We are sold out but you can get on the waitlist here: https://orlandomagic.com/omic2024

Meet one of your 2024 Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge Mentors: Jan Edwards!!

Jan Edwards is the founder and President of Paving the Way Foundation. She spent 25 years as an executive in sales and marketing working with organizations like Time Warner, Bright House, the United Nations and other international groups, before taking on the worldwide initiative to prevent children from being exploited. She is a Co-Chair for the Central Florida Human Trafficking Task Force and sits on the UCF College of Criminal Justice Advisory Board. Jan works collaboratively with organizations throughout Central Florida and the nation to fight against child trafficking and exploitation.

Since 2017 Paving the Way has educated 29,000 youth and adults, empowering kids to make smart choices online. Their work has been featured in Huffington Post, Marie Claire UK, and local news stations. Jan has been named one of Orlando Magazines Women of The Year, Women on the Rise Community Impact Leader, NGO Leader of the Year, and was the 2023 Victory Cup winner. She is the writer and co-director of the Award-Winning Film, Trapped in the Trade, which was featured on CNN.

Experience real-world innovation with innovators like yourself, other entrepreneurial leaders, and the Orlando Magic!

We are sold out but you can get on the waitlist here: https://orlandomagic.com/omic2024

Meet one of your 2024 Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge Mentors: Marie Webb!!

Marie Heikkinen Webb is a graduate of the Sport Management program from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. During her time at UMass, she was a leader in the Women In Sport Management (WISM) program, and has since served as a mentor for UMass Sport Management students.

She began her career in Minor League Baseball, spending eight years overseeing marketing for teams in both the United States and Canada. Areas of focus included marketing strategy, advertising, community relations and game-day entertainment. After some time with teams in Portland, Maine and Burlington, Vermont, she moved to Ottawa, Ontario with a specific emphasis on rebranding the team and creating a fresh new game atmosphere for fans.

In her last stop in baseball she served as General Manager for a start-up team in New Haven, Connecticut. As one of only four female General Managers in minor league baseball at the time, she established the brand, oversaw all team and business operations for four years and was recognized as one of the region’s 40 Under Forty business leaders.

She transitioned to the NBA 16 years ago to join the Orlando Magic. Now as the Director of Marketing, Marie’s focus is on branding and advertising for the franchise, both locally and abroad, developing strategies to increase fan engagement and drive revenue.

Keeping innovation as a core value has been a priority for her. She was a catalyst for the Orlando Magic Innovation program at its inception, has won the team’s Innovator of the Year award, and leads the organization’s innovative-thinking series called Creative Spark.

Experience real-world innovation with innovators like yourself, other entrepreneurial leaders, and the Orlando Magic!

We are sold out but you can get on the waitlist here: https://orlandomagic.com/omic2024

Only 3 days left! We are so excited for this 3-day event where developers, students, and sports business professionals pitch and develop innovative ideas at the state-of-the-art Orlando Magic offices. Innovation mode: ON!

We are sold out but you can get on the waitlist here: https://orlandomagic.com/omic2024