5 Things to Know: UCF’s Business Incubator in Daytona Beach

5 Things to Know: UCF’s Business Incubation Program in Daytona Beach

By Nicole Griffin Volusia County

PUBLISHED 8:43 PM ET Aug. 16, 2019 PUBLISHED 8:43 PM EDT Aug. 16, 2019

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The UCF Business Incubation Program, located right next to the Daytona Beach International Airport, is helping spur economic growth across Volusia County.

Here are five things you should know about the incubator:

1) TechFit

TechFit, a company that started in Colombia and moved to the incubator this year, is one of the program’s latest success stories.

TechFit uses technology to work with doctors to create custom-fitted 3D printed surgical implants.

They were recently selected to work with the Mayo Clinic, and they’ve already invested $1,000,000 in Volusia County and created new high-paying jobs.

“Our team is now six people, highly paid job engineers, and we hope the team keeps growing,” said Mauricio Toro, CEO of TechFit. “Our goal is 10 people by the end of next year”

2) More Businesses

TechFit is not the only success to come out of the business incubator. Nineteen businesses have used the incubator program over the last eight years to grow. Some of those include First Response Disaster Team, DeLand Bakery, and GRD Biomechanics.

“We help with business strategy, we help them with connections and with business-model planning,” said Connie Garza, the site manager of the UCF Business Incubation Program.

This morning I took a tour of the UCF Business Incubation Program in Daytona Beach. over the last 8 years, they’ve helped 91 businesses locally and create 400 new jobs in our community! #News13Volusia @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/zCuMb0Tydv
— Nicole Griffin (@NicoleNews13) August 16, 2019

3) More Jobs

Over the last 8 years, businesses in the incubator program have created 400 more jobs in Volusia County.

“Most of the jobs that the companies have created in this program are people who have been local, especially students that have graduated from the six universities we have around town,“ Garza said.

4) More Money

While the county has invested thousands into the incubation program, the site manager claims the investment pays off.

“The county has invested a lot of money into this program and with every dollar that the county has invested into this program, we have returned $6.52 dollars in taxes that comes[sic] from the companies’ revenues,” Garza said.

5) More Demand

Right now, there is a waitlist to get into the incubator. Toro said his TechFit looked all over the country for a place to call home but decided Daytona Beach is the right place to grow a business.

“We want to catch the wave before it starts, and I think Central Florida and the Florida high-tech corridor are happening, so the amount of technology businesses that are moving into the area makes it a no-brainer to be here,” Toro said.