Small Businesses Meet with Government Agencies at Tech Grove

By Shane Klestinski, Associate Editor

 

Central Florida Tech Grove hosted the Orlando Supplier Development Exchange in Orlando, Florida, July 10.

 

The event aimed to unite Florida small businesses with local, state and federal entities and show how to effectively network to secure government contracts. Many attendees were busy initiating their networking efforts before the program even officially started.

 

The formal presentations that opened the event featured brief information sessions from various local, state and military representatives. This beginning portion covered “need to know” information and “good to know” tips for small businesses pursuing opportunities with government agencies. The exchange provided a mix of civilian government representatives, as well as officials from U.S. Army Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation and the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Support Division.

 

Gabriel Olinger, a former Air Force medic and founder of Global Training Solutions (GTS) described his business as a virtual reality-based medical training platform that designs training simulations for medics and nurses to respond to emergencies. Olinger said GTS’ main benefits included reduced training time and improved patient outcomes through repetitive, complex scenarios, as well as potentially reducing PTSD in first responders through training.

 

Olinger trained as an EMT prior to his military service and related a story about his first ride-along experience as a trainee. He and his trainers encountered a situation where they provided medical attention to an elderly man was bleeding to death. In that early phase of his career, Olinger said the experience was “very overwhelming,” and despite the previous classroom preparation he’d received, he felt unprepared. Since that moment, he has wondered what could help future trainees in the field.

 

“We’re implementing cognitive load monitoring to see how students do throughout the training process, and as they improve, we add different stressors,” Olinger said. “For example, we use different scents like the smell of blood, burning plastic, and aviation fuel. We also use different sounds and lighting to affect trainee stress levels.”

 

Donna Williams, executive director for the Florida Office of Supplier Development, said that event coordinators intended the event for a general audience of small business owners and entrepreneurs. However, it also offered value for modeling and simulation professionals who may be looking for civilian business contacts in addition to defense agencies.

 

“It’s really about the exposure and the education on governmental contracts,” Williams said. “If businesses are more familiar with Defense Department-type partners, this event would also give them some exposure to state government procurement, as well as some local procurement options. The benefit of coming to events like this involves learning what new ideas are out there [and] there is always an interesting new business idea that you’re hearing about when interacting with small businesses.”

 

Olinger explained that, considering the state of current virtual reality technology, his team has locked on to the idea of creating a training platform to prepare people and expose them to stress over time.”

 

“We’re preparing a demo in the next couple weeks, so we’re out here to try to connect with different stakeholders to see what local government agencies are looking for, meet the community, and get our name out there.” Olinger said. “Although we have access to this information on our own, it’s really important get out here and hear from certain individuals directly and learn about different programs we can register through to do business with the state.”