Hesperos, Inc. Among GROWFL 2018 Florida Companies to Watch

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(ORLANDO, Fla.)  Hesperos, Inc. has announced that it has been named one of the 50 statewide companies expected to see significant growth over the next several years by GrowFL. The 50 companies were selected from more than 500 nominees for Florida Companies to WatchSM, a statewide program managed by economic development group GrowFL, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation. The company’s management team, competitive market position and strong community involvement were among several factors evaluated for the award.   

“We are honored to be among the 50 companies named to the 2018 Companies to Watch by GrowFL,” said James J. Hickman, Chief Scientific Officer of Hesperos. “This recognition builds on several other recent achievements for Hesperos, including the recent receipt of a $4M Phase IIB grant focused on increasing capacity of our novel human-on-a-chip technology and preparing the system for regulatory approval, as well as two others focused on supporting a new platform to test Alzheimer’s drugs.” Hesperos is actively seeking to work with Florida based pharmaceutical companies in addition to their national and international collaborations.

“These stand-out companies are all led by entrepreneurs, and have demonstrated their capacity and intent to grow,” said Dr. Tom O’Neal, GrowFL executive director.  “They also all have critical intellectual property or a niche position that gives them a competitive edge in their markets,” he said.

The Finalists represent a unique group of scalable, high-growth enterprises that are already located within Florida. These high growth enterprises are an important segment of our economy and their numbers have been steadily increasing, which contributed to Florida’s ranking of 24 on the 2018 Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship. Companies named to the list will be officially recognized February 9, 2019 at the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa, FL.  Tickets are on sale now for the awards ceremony. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.growfl.com/flctw18/about-flctw/

This is a strong group of companies that deserve this special recognition given annually to the state’s top second stage companies,” said Dr. Chris Morton, GrowFL Chairman of the GrowFL Advisory Board, CEO of NanoPhotonica and a 2015 Florida Companies to Watch honoree.  Second-stage companies are defined as those with 6 to 150 full-time employees and between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue. There are many programs and incubators promoting start-up businesses; GrowFL is the only Florida program that focuses exclusively on second-stage companies.

About GrowFL:

GrowFL provides strategies, resources and support, including strategic research and peer-to-peer CEO mentoring and leadership development, to second-stage Florida companies.  Created by the Florida legislature in 2009 and grounded in the philosophy of Economic Gardening® —  growing existing businesses in a community, region or state — GrowFL is a critical component of the state’s economic development strategy and Florida’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.  GrowFL is certified by the National Center for Economic Gardening through the Edward Lowe Foundation.  Website: growfl.com

About the Edward Lowe Foundation:

Established in 1985, the Edward Lowe Foundation is a national, nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through research, recognition and educational programs, which are delivered through entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs).  The foundation focuses on second-stage companies — those that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth. In addition, the foundation has a second mission of land stewardship and is committed to preserving the natural resources and historically significant structures at Big Rock Valley, its 2,000-acre home in southwest Michigan.