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Silicon Beach Pitch Event
📅 Date: Wednesday, November 19
⏰ Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
📍 Location: UNF, Coggin College of Business Room 42 – Stein Auditorium
Here’s the play:
⚡ 5-minute pitches
⚡ 3-minute Q&A from audience + judges
⚡ Judges reveal their Top 3 picks and share who’s most investable right now
But wait… it gets better.
Here’s the twist: this time the entire advisory squad — yes, all 5 advisors — are powerhouse women. CEOs. Executives. Leaders. Absolute bosses. 💪
We’ve had incredible women innovators pitch at Silicon Beach before, but now the entire panel is stacked with trailblazers. This is history in the making, people.
If you are interested in pitching – email jasone@silicon-beach.ai to lock it in.
Who should attend?
Technologists 🖥️
Product managers 📊
Programmers 👩💻
Entrepreneurs 💡
College students (yes, University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Flagler College – this is your playground!) 🎓
Even high school students who binge-watch Shark Tank – absolutely! 🦈
We’re building an innovation community here in Jax. Bring a friend (or three). Trust me… You don’t want to miss this.
Three of the companies that pitched in September are in funding conversations. and lets not forger Silicon Beach alum Suture Shield snagged a $1M term sheet at the DisruptIT Conference!
Silicon Beach Invited to Speak at University of Florida
We are excited to share that Silicon Beach has been invited to speak at the University of Florida as part of the Warrington College of Business and the Engineering Aerospace Entrepreneurship programs, in conjunction with the Blackstone LaunchPad initiative.
This opportunity highlights the growing recognition of Silicon Beach’s role in advancing entrepreneurship, innovation, and collaboration across industries. We are honored to engage with the next generation of leaders, innovators, and change-makers at UF, sharing insights on building ventures, fostering innovation ecosystems, and creating pathways for impactful entrepreneurship.
At Silicon Beach, our mission is to accelerate innovation and support founders who are shaping the future. Being part of programs like this reinforces our commitment to empowering students, entrepreneurs, and communities to unlock new opportunities.
Stay tuned for more updates from this exciting event, and join us in celebrating another milestone for Silicon Beach!
Prior Events
October 2025
BOARD OF ADVISORS - JAX
Silicon Beach was honored to be part of this amazing event and to share the stage with such an inspiring group of innovators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.
A huge thank you to Matthew Chang and the entire BA.X team for hosting an unforgettable experience here in Jacksonville.
The energy, collaboration, and forward-thinking spirit in the room were incredible — a true reflection of what makes this community so special.
Grateful for the opportunity to connect, learn, and contribute to conversations shaping the future of business, innovation, and leadership
We were honored and excited that Silicon-Beach.ai had been invited to participate as a Judge in the Orlando Magic Venture Challenge!
The semi-final round was hosted at the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business.
There were some amazing pitches: Good Luck to the winning team in the finals in Orlando!!
We’re honored to be nominated for the PS27 Ventures Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builder of the Year Award.
It’s been an incredible journey working with founders, innovators, and community leaders across Florida—especially through Silicon-Beach.ai—to help startups grow and bring their visions to life.
I’m deeply grateful to everyone who’s collaborated, shared ideas, and helped build a stronger innovation community here in Jacksonville and beyond.
A huge thank you to PS27 Ventures for the recognition—and best of luck to all the amazing finalists! This nomination only strengthens our commitment to supporting and growing this vibrant ecosystem.
August 2025
During the recent disruptIT Conference and Jacksonville Venture Competition (JVC) Competition, Suture Shield—a Silicon Beach alum—secured a $1 million term sheet for their breakthrough medical device, which supports robotic surgery.
Equally exciting, another Silicon Beach alum, SparrowPay Inc., an innovative payment platform we’ve been working closely with, is now negotiating funding terms with an investment syndicate.
Dr. Bowers & Matt Chang
Congratulations Dr. Bowers
Wendi Burkhardt & Jason Engelhardt
June 2025
Last night was LEGEND—wait for it—DARY.
The Silicon-Beach.ai Pitch Event at the University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business brought the heat, the hustle, and a whole lot of future-shaping ideas.
Huge high-five and tailored suit-level thanks to:
👔 Martin Luytjes & Caleb Garrett – UNF Coggin School of Business
💼 Stephen Strum, MBA ~Financial Advisor~ – Northwestern Mutual
🌆 Carlton Lamar Robinson, DBA – JAX Chamber
🚀 Dave Eyerly, Stephanie Marquardt & Matisse VerDuyn – AcceleratePV
🏛️ Gregory Grant – City of Jacksonville, JSEB
Your support helped turn this into a true celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.
We had 8 stellar presenters from Poland to Chicago to Tampa. Then—plot twist—Dr. Steve Bowers showed up post-surgery (yes, after operating on someone!) to share an incredible update on his robotic surgery safety solution—total boss move.
🎤 Despite some early tech gremlins with Zoom and AV, over 100 guests in-person and 30+ on Zoom stuck it out and brought the energy. And get this—after the pitches, I had family offices, angels, and investors from San Francisco, D.C., and NYC pulling me aside to say, "Jacksonville’s onto something big."
The Top 4 (because it was just too close to call 3):
🥇 Actual HealthCare Solutions – “Most investable now” with immediate real-world impact
🥈 Permit Rockstar – Clear pitch, confident answers, total mastery of their space
🥉 SparrowPay Inc. – Real-time payment disruption we’ve all been waiting for
🏅 BestDefense, Inc. – Cybersecurity for the giants, solving problems before they hit the news
Bonus nod to Robocor – no direct ask, but gave us all a thrilling glimpse into what’s coming next in robotics.
A sincere THANK YOU to every founder who pitched, every attendee who stayed, and every person who asked the kind of thoughtful questions that show this community is serious.
We’re just getting started.
Let’s keep building something awesome right here in Jacksonville—and beyond.
April - 2025
It’s been a busy and exciting time at Silicon Beach!
We have been working diligently with our clients—securing new distribution partnerships, expanding customer relationships, and negotiating strategic development deals.
This week, we’re proud to be presenting at HITLAB (Health Innovation Technology Lab) in New York City, where innovation and impact take center stage.
We're also actively supporting seed funding closings for multiple startups, including several standout firms that pitched at our April Silicon Beach event.
On the sales front, our national team continues to deliver by connecting our clients with new growth opportunities—offering a cost-effective, performance-driven model that scales without the burden of fixed costs.
Looking ahead:
📍 June 17 – Our next Silicon Beach event is set for the University of North Florida in City of Jacksonville
📍 August 28 – Stay tuned… we’re nearly ready to announce an incredible location!
If you’re building something great and want to pitch in June, now’s the time—reach out directly and we’ll get you on the agenda.
