James Klausner stood in the lobby of the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center on Tuesday as potential investors meandered by.
He was among more than a dozen people pitching businesses — in his case, Solar Fuel — to people who could help make his dream a reality.
“We need to move from just being a start-up,” he said.
About 125 investors, UF and Santa Fe College faculty members, entrepreneurs and scientists gathered Tuesday to discuss innovation in Gainesville.
The conference was part of a citywide effort to promote the Florida Innovation Hub at UF. The sixth annual Innovation Showcase featured speakers and start-up companies pitching to investors.
David Day, director of the Office of Technology Licensing, said the showcase allowed investors to meet the minds behind 14 Gainesville technology start-up companies.
“Relationships will be formed that lay the groundwork for more in the future,” Day said.
Day and Jane Muir, the director of the Innovation Hub, also announced the Innovation Gainesville Angel Network, iGAN.
Innovation Gainesville, run by the chamber of commerce and the council for economic outreach, created iGAN, which Innovation Gainesville Vice President Ann Collett said would allow investors to browse company information online.
“We pair people with money with companies that need it,” she said.
Klausner hoped his start-up would get some of that money.
A UF professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Klausner said he helped design a process to convert solar energy into liquid fuel.
He said Solar Fuel got its start from grant money, but it will need investments for its next phase.
“Funding is our biggest challenge,” Klausner said. “Without funding, we can’t move the technology forward.”
Contact Shelby Webb at swebb@alligator.org.
Paul Laikind, Max Wallace and Mitch Jacobson answer questions from the audience at the Celebration of Innovation Showcase at the UF Hilton on Tuesday.
