The Levan Center of Innovation looks abroad to bring start-ups to South Florida
By Katelin Stecz
There’s a thrill associated with theme parks that fades as adulthood looms. The fond childhood memories of overpriced hotdogs and rollercoasters with questionable maintenance fade and are replaced with the excitements of adulthood – new kitchen appliances, perhaps, or that home improvement project you’ve finally started. For entrepreneurs, it might be the titillation of a funding round or the exhilaration that comes with opening a new office. At the Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation, the “World’s First Theme Park for Entrepreneurs,” those are the type of thrills the Center hopes to give you.
“We call ourselves ‘the world’s first theme park for entrepreneurs’ because there’s a ride everywhere within the 54,000-square-feet that has a return on investment for all of the stakeholders,” says Executive Director John Wensveen.
The product of a public-private partnership between Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and Broward County, the Levan Center’s goal is to promote economic development and encourage innovation in South Florida by helping international entrepreneurs in every stage of their start-ups. Opened in April 2022, the Center has since served more than 120 founders representing 85 start-ups, companies such as Euler AI from the Cayman Islands and CyCommSec from Poland.
From the initial idea phase to global expansion, the Center offers a variety of programs for start-ups in South Florida. One of its more interesting programs is the Country Desk Model, which aims to facilitate international commerce in the region.
Wensveen, also the chief innovation officer at NSU, founded the Country Desk Model when he was recruited during the Center’s development. The Model helps international entrepreneurs relocate their companies to South Florida and advises them on how to succeed in the American market, offering up services like market research, regulatory compliance, legal support, and networking opportunities. So far, the Country Desk Model has partnered with the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, and the Netherlands, with half a dozen more countries from Europe and Latin America in the works. Entrepreneurs from these countries have access to all the resources the Levan Center provides.
However, an international entrepreneur doesn’t necessarily have to be affiliated with the aforementioned countries to have access to the Levan Center. Hoping to appeal to all potential international clients, the Center offers both unpaid and paid services that start at $150 per month for virtual access and range up to $3,000 per month for physical space.
It also puts on a Global Showcase – a “Shark Tank”-like experience – where entrepreneurs have access to extensive networking and investment opportunities. The Levan Center invites companies affiliated with its partner countries to a workshop where they can learn new skills, refine their pitches, and then pitch their start-up to a live audience of potential investors and clients. Businesses like Metrica Sports, a Dutch sports technology company that works with coaches to analyze game film, have signed on as new clients after attending one of the showcases, cementing their presence in sports-heavy South Florida. The next showcase will be in October.
Wensveen says the Country Desk Model and the Global Showcase are vital to the Center’s mission as it imports new entrepreneurs and, more importantly, new ideas to the South Florida economic innovation sphere. “There’s a growing innovation ecosystem, and I think that’s where South Florida can truly make its mark,” says Wensveen. “This is the Wild West – even though we’re in the southeast – where it’s truly a land of opportunity, and we’re only at the beginning stages.”
