3 things to know in #MiamiTech: VuPulse funded, how the Southeast stacks up, pitch contest deadline extended

 
1 VuPulse raises $1 million from Florida Funders 
VuPulse, an ad-tech startup in Boca Raton, announced it has raised Series A funding of $1.025 million led by Florida Funders, along with Bridge Angel Investors. This adds onto the initial investment from New World Angels, who led the Series A Preferred round in June 2018, of $587.5 thousand bringing the total to just over $1.6 million.
Through its Post-Click Intelligence Platform built for enterprise companies, VuPulse aims to make digital marketing and advertising more effective for marketers, more profitable for brands, and better experiences for consumers, the company said. It offers marketers a competitive edge in analyzing, segmenting, and sending consumers from a click to exactly where they want to watch and shop.

Launched in 2015, VuPulse is led by CEO Kevin Hill, who has more than 20 years of experience as a marketing and entertainment industry executive. The company   has more than 15 enterprise customers spanning media, entertainment and publishing.
“As every company goes through the digital transformation, the need to drive revenue from it is growing leaps and bounds. The VuPulse team deeply understands these challenges and has the expertise and drive to address them. Our team has been following the company for a couple of years now and we are so impressed with their customer focus, innovative technology, and growth,” said Kevin Adamek, partner with Florida Funders who will be joining the VuPulse board.
In addition to Hill, VuPulse’s management team includes CTO David Hartmann, SVP Marketing Jason Wolfson and VP Customer Success Brenda Cruz.
2 Miami ranks No. 3 in Southeast for…
Miami is part of the Southeastern U.S., even though it doesn’t feel like it (even to me).
And as a region, the Southeast produces 20% percent of the U.S.’s GDP and is home to half of America’s fastest growing cities and 84 Fortune 500 companies, according to a recently released report.
Yet only 5.3 percent of U.S. venture capital funds was invested in Southeast companies last year, according to the report, a collaboration of four entrepreneurship and venture organizations. Together, Tampa’s Embarc Collective, Nashville’s ModernCapital, Launch Tennessee and HQ1 also created a searchable database to help entrepreneurs find VC funding in Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
The Southeast Capital Landscape also outlines key trends across the region. Data for the report came from PwC MoneyTree Reports, BIP Capital and Crunchbase, and self-reported by accelerators, entrepreneurs and investors in the Southeast. The organizations said they hope it helps entrepreneurs look beyond their metro areas – but still in their backyard — for their funding.
Here are a few findings of the report:

• Miami had the third highest number of investor groups – 27 – behind Atlanta (with 38) and Nashville (29). Louisville (16) and Tampa Bay (with 15) rounded out the top 5. All total, there were more than 200 active capital resources identified throughout the Southeast.
• Florida is home to the largest number of early-stage firms in the Southeast (nearly 24%), which is likely attributed to its fourth-place rankin the United States for the number of accredited investors.
• Healthcare and enterprise technology are the two most predominant industries where firms are investing in startups throughout the Southeast.

View the Southeast Capital Landscape database here.
To be added to the report, firms can fill out this form.
3 Deadline extended for SUP-X
SUP-X has extended the application deadline for the startup competition until June 16. At least $25,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded. Selected participants also receive an exhibit both, an opportunity to pitch and mentoring by CPA and advisory firm Cherry Bekaert.
For more information and to enter, go here.
The SUP-X conference will be July 25 at Broward Convention Center.
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