Orlando Transportation Engineering and Technology Startup Accomplishes First of Several Upcoming Strategic Moves
ORLANDO, Fla. – InNovo Partners, a transportation engineering and technology startup in the UCF Business Incubator near downtown Orlando, has been granted the first of several pending certifications that help position the government contractor to become a highly sought-after strategic partner and eventual prime contractor.
Co-founders Melissa Bollo Gross and Claudia Paskauskas announced today that the Office of Supplier Diversity has designated InNovo Partners as a certified woman-owned business enterprise (WBE). State agencies actively seek WBEs, like InNovo Partners, and other certified minority vendors to participate procurement opportunities. Regional and local government entities, as well as private businesses also look to work with state-vetted woman-owned businesses to diversify their vendor dollars.
“We see this [WBE certification] as an opportunity to help to encourage and foster women to innovate and contribute to the engineering and technology field,” said Gross. “This certification is a vehicle for InNovo, as a woman-owned company, to help influence a new direction in the transportation industry.”
Founded in January 2017, InNovo Partners extracts meaningful business intelligence from big data to help local, state and federal agencies make informed decisions on the planning, operation and funding prioritization of transportation systems.
According Paskauskas, the WBE certification is the first of several steps to strategically position InNovo Partners to win more contracts.
“The WBE certification was an important first step for InNovo,” said Paskauskas. “We are pursuing a few other opportunities to further enhance our position in the market. For example,
InNovo Partners is in the final stages of approval to become a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise under the unified certification program by the Florida Department of Transportation, which will provide us with similar opportunities within the State of Florida market.”
For more information about InNovo Partners, visit innovopartners.com.
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For more information, media contacts:
Melissa Bollo Gross, President, InNovo Partners, 407-222-5507, mgross@InNovopartners.com;
Claudia Paskauskas, CEO, InNovo Partners, 407-432-4866, cpaskauskas@InNovoPartners.com.
Michael Weiss, Site Manager, UCF Business Incubator – Orlando, 321-281-8384, michael.weiss@ucf.edu.
About InNovo Partners
InNovo Partners, LLC, founded in January 2017 by Melissa Bollo Gross and Claudia Paskauskas, is an Orlando, FL-based transportation engineering, technology and planning consultant for the government. As an innovator in the application of technology in the transportation industry, InNovo Partners helps local, state and federal agencies make informed decisions on the planning, operation and funding prioritization of transportation systems. For more information, visit innovopartners.com.
About the UCF Business Incubation Program
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth / impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has helped hundreds of local startup companies reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. Participating companies sustain more than 3,600 local jobs and have had a total impact of $1.51B on regional sales and $2.48B on regional economic output. During the last fiscal year, the program has returned $7.95 for every $1.00 invested in the program. For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.
