Written by Marco Santana

Originally published on orlandotechnews.com

Five Orlando startups celebrated a milestone on Wednesday, marking the conclusion of StarterStudio’s latest pre-seed accelerator program cohort.

The Demo Day companies pitched their businesses to a panel of experts as they took the final step in the program.

StarterStudio leads entrepreneurs through obstacles they may face as they prepare to pursue funding.

But, more than that, it also highlights potential shortcomings, StarterStudio’s Dawn Haynes said.

“You are going to understand whether or not the business is a little bit like Swiss cheese and it has a lot of holes in it,” she said. “One of the things we try to do very much is … make sure there aren’t any holes or major holes in their business.”

StarterStudio has been leading accelerator programs for more than a decade, offering three versions that target businesses in different stages of their timeline: Idea, Build, and Pre-Seed.

The pre-seed version has a specific goal in mind, Haynes said.

“It prepares them for investor conversations,” she said.

Early stage accelerator programs tend to lean heavily into building a pitch deck or learning how to present your company.

But StarterStudio’s pre-seed program targets meeting with investors, said Bob Reed, director of programming.

As the program gains experience, its effect has improved, he said.

“What has happened is that our game has gotten better,” Reed said. “We are doing better.”

It has been roughly 20 years since Rodrigo Costa graduated from Valencia College.

At the time, he said, programs like StarterStudio and its local counterparts just did not exist.

Now, however, the programs have him confident in his decision to start his business DeTask in Orlando.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of startup you have,” he said. “You can have opportunities today to go to market and launch.”

The Demo Day provided a glimpse into this diverse entrepreneurial landscape, featuring the companies MedEd Cloud, DeTask, City of Gamers, SpaceLoon and Aesthetics HQ.

DeTask uses artificial intelligence and data to foster stronger employee motivation programs in businesses.

Costa said the connections within the ecosystem give the region a chance to really bloom into something special.

“This is how Silicon Valley was built,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for you to make connections.”