UpLift, a behavioral health company, announced Monday that it has acquired TAO Connect, a mental health company for higher education organizations. Tampa, Florida-based UpLift offers virtual access to talk therapy, psychiatry and medication management services. It has a national network of nearly 2,000 providers and accepts insurance, including from Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare. Clearwater, Florida-based TAO Connect provides higher education institutions with online interactive programs and tools designed to tackle mental health. It offers modules on a variety of topics, including how to manage the first year of college, how to improve focus, and sexual assault prevention. UpLift’s acquisition of TAO Connect was a mix of cash and stock, but the companies did not share the purchase price. The companies are now launching TAO by UpLift, which gives institutions “access to a comprehensive higher ed mental healthcare solution, and the continuity of care designed to complement institutions’ counseling service offerings, all covered by insurance,” according to the announcement. With the acquisition, UpLift now serves over 170 enterprise customers in the U.S. and Canada. It covers four million people, including more than two million students at more than 120 higher education institutions. “The lack of access to affordable behavioral healthcare is a key driver in America’s mental health crisis and our students are struggling — increasingly anxious, depressed, and battling loneliness all while facing the pressure of academia,” said Kyle Talcott, founder and CEO of UpLift, in an email. “TAO is already on the ground, a 10-year-old, tried and proven, higher ed company with a clinically validated mental healthcare solution providing self-guided tools and resources for students that complements institutions’ counseling service offerings. “ When asked how TAO Connect will fit into UpLift’s operations, Talcott said the company is “thinking about it as business-as-usual in that we are maintaining the great momentum the TAO team has had with serving TAO’s higher education clients.” He added that UpLift has retained most of the TAO team. “We do have plans for both near and long-term product integrations — for example, creating synergies through seamless student referrals and care escalation processes — which our Product and Engineering teams are scoping,” Talcott said. “We are of course beginning to offer UpLift’s clinical services to higher education institutions.” The acquisition comes at a time when 77% of college students battle mental health problems and 53% are unable to receive care, according to the American College Health Association. In addition, a recent survey looked at the reasons students didn’t seek care and found that 51% thought it was too expensive, 27% said wait times were too long and 27% said they couldn’t find care. Dr. Sherry Benton, founder of TAO Connect, said the company has shared goals with UpLift, and the acquisition helps achieve those goals. “Like UpLift, TAO Connect was conceived to fulfill the increasing demand for more accessible and better mental healthcare treatment options and solutions, including telehealth,” Benton said in an email. “As part of UpLift, we can now be more effective in servicing the higher ed market’s unmet needs, providing a continuum of mental health care that includes team-based therapy and psychiatry.” UpLift’s acquisition of TAO Connect comes after the company acquired Minded in November. Minded is an online psychiatry provider focused on women. In July, UpLift also announced it raised $10.7 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to more than $22 million. Source: https://lnkd.in/eyeyZZZa

Category Dealmaker Your formal title: CEO Company name: DeepWork Capital No. of employees you manage 10 Your no. of years in the industry 8 Your 2024 outlook The best year yet in a series of incredible years. What's a fun or little-known fact about you Most think Ben is the tallest VC in Florida ... but he isn't. Talk about your most significant deal in the past year and how did you get it done? The firm has invested in over 30 incredible Florida companies over the past year and each required a special touch including finding and recruiting founders of exceptional vision that needed some convincing to take advantage of our expertise, investing with world class co-investors that would come to appreciate our value, and adding additional leaders to a business' team that changed everything. All required a mix of insight, passion, and grit and Coleman's Law #19 "an ability to get the job done". Looking back at a deal that got away in your career, what would you have done differently? Listen more, pontificate less, reflect first on the steps needed to win an opportunity before reflecting on the steps necessary to implement. Read more : https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/c/2023-power-players-central-florida/20843/benjamin-patz.html

In the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape, threats are becoming more intricate and pervasive. Traditionally, the focus has been on fortifying technological defenses. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that human behavior plays an equally if not more, critical role in cybersecurity. This article explores the intersection of human behavior, psychological security, and its implications for the future of cybersecurity. At its core, cybersecurity is a human issue. As our digital world has grown, so has the sophistication of cybercriminals. They've turned to social engineering tactics, exploiting innate human tendencies such as trust and curiosity to breach defenses. This human-centric approach to cybercrime has led to a paradigm shift in cybersecurity strategies, catalyzing the emergence of Psychological Security (PsySec) developed by Hook Security. PsySec is an innovative field that bridges psychology and cybersecurity. It posits that by understanding human behaviors, the motivations and the psychological principles that underlie them, organizations can build more robust security culture to fight against cyber threats. Unlike other widely accepted traditional solutions, PsySec not only seeks to mitigate vulnerabilities but also leverages the strength of the human element. It encourages proactive behavior changes, turning potential weak links into formidable lines of defense. In this context, the work of companies like Hook Security is noteworthy. A visionary thought leader in cybersecurity, Hook Security has incorporated the PsySec approach into its operations, offering unique phishing defense training services that meld innovative methodologies with real-life simulations. This approach empowers organizations to effectively identify and resist social engineering tactics, thereby reducing the likelihood of successful cyberattacks. Furthermore, Hook Security is committed to fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness. They do this through engaging content, practical workshops, and thought-provoking discussions, aimed at reinforcing positive cybersecurity behaviors. Their approach underscores the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and active engagement with the broader cybersecurity community, all of which contribute to enhanced digital resilience and security. Read more: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/understanding-cybersecurity%3A-the-role-of-human-behavior-and-psychological-security-in-the

Dear DeepWork Community, It is with great pleasure that we announce today the promotion of Ken Hall to the position of Principal at DeepWork Capital. Since joining the team in June 2021, Ken has demonstrated the ability to source investments, support portfolio companies, conduct due diligence, lead transactions, and cultivate relationships within the innovation community. Ken has earned this promotion with relentless hard work and embodiment of DeepWork values. In his year and a half with DeepWork, Ken has become an integral part of the team and has played a pivotal role in our efforts to serve our investors and entrepreneurial community. As high as our expectations were of Ken when he joined the team, he has exceeded those expectations and made a profound impact on our firm, our portfolio companies, and our community. Please join us in our congratulations to Ken on his promotion to Principal! Sincerely, The DeepWork Capital Team About Ken Hall A member of DeepWork since 2021, Ken Hall is responsible for sourcing new deals, leading investment transactions, and actively supporting DeepWork portfolio companies. Ken has sourced and led various investments for both DeepWork Capital and the Florida Opportunity Fund, including Mobilo, Recuro Health, Home Lending Pal, and Quottly. Prior to joining DeepWork, Ken worked in New York City for IBM and held multiple roles in corporate development, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate venture capital. Ken has additional venture capital experience as an advisor to 1843 Capital and family offices from the founding families of both Motorola and The Carlyle Group. In addition to his work at DeepWork Capital, Ken is the Chair of Startups & Growth for the Orlando Tech Community, an advisory board member for IBM Hyperprotect and Synapse Florida, an organizer of Startup Weekend Orlando (SWORL), a frequent guest lecturer at Rollins College, UCF, and Full Sail University, and a mentor at leAD Sports & Health Tech, NewChip, Founders Institute, and UCF Incubator.

HypGames, an Orlando based mobile game developer and DeepWork Fund I portfolio company, will partner with Niantic on the launch of NBA All-World. NBA All-World promises a “real world metaverse” in which user geolocation data is used to find, challenge, and recruit current NBA players to their team. The game also taps into the fashion and lifestyle elements of the league, with players able to outfit players in their teams with custom NBA apparel. “NBA All-World represents an industry first in sports games, as an original, real-world AR game that will appeal to casual and core NBA fans alike,” said Marcus Matthews, senior producer at Niantic. “We’re creating and designing a game that empowers players to represent where they’re from and showcase the culture of their neighbourhood.” Matt Holt, head of consumer products at the NBA, added: “Through our partnership with Niantic, NBA All-World will provide fans across the globe the opportunity to fully immerse themselves into the energy and excitement of the NBA. “Evident in the name of the game itself, we look forward to engaging with our fans around the world through this captivating experience.” Read more: https://nianticlabs.com/blog/unveiling-nba-all-world/?hl=en

Stax, the Orlando-based financial technology company previously known as Fattmerchant, on March 8 announced it closed a $245 million investment round. The capital infusion not only will let Stax keep up its rapid growth, but it also puts the valuation of the company at $1 billion. Since it was founded in 2014, Stax’s payment processing technology has powered more than $23 billion in transactions for businesses. The company last year made a majority investment in Canadian billing management software firm Fusebill, and the influx of capital will enable Stax to further grow its international customer base, Madhani said. “A huge piece of this investment is to take us international.” Investors in the round included Knoxville, Tennessee-based Greater Sum Ventures, which in 2020 made a majority investment in Stax, as well as Boston-based HarbourVest Partners and Frisco, Texas-based Blue Star Innovation Partners. Blue Star CEO and founder Rob Wechsler will join Stax’s board of directors. Meanwhile, Stax has served as a success story for Central Florida’s entrepreneurial community. In its early days, the company used local resources like accelerator Starter Studio or the Rollins College Venture Plan Competition to access coaching, funding and exposure. One of the first investors in the company was Orlando-based venture capital firm DeepWork Capital LLC. It’s not surprising to see Stax hit the $1 billion valuation milestone, DeepWork Managing Partner Mitchel Laskey told Orlando Inno. “The team at Stax is a team that has delivered every single month for as long as we’ve known them, which is back to 2015.” DeepWork Capital first invested in Stax in 2015 through Fund I. Our team at DeepWork view this accomplishment as an amazing milestone for the phenomenal team at Stax, the City of Orlando, and diverse teams and female founders everywhere. Read More: https://fortune.com/2022/03/09/stax-ceo-suneera-madhani-fintech-unicorn/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/ceo-of-unicorn-stax-says-she-ll-go-head-to-head-with-stripe https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220308005074/en/Stax-to-Become-Fintechs-Newest-Unicorn-with-Latest-Funding-Round https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2022/03/08/orlando-stax-hits-1b-valuation-after-closing-bi.html

Enterprise Florida presented Urban SDK with the EFI Entrepreneur and Job Growth Award during its most recent Board of Directors meeting in Tallahassee. The Jacksonville-based data analytics and visualization company was recognized for its commitment to job growth within the state, as well as its work showcasing Florida as a global leader in innovation. The Enterprise Florida Entrepreneur and Job Growth Award was established by Enterprise Florida in 2019 to recognize Florida businesses that have created jobs and invested in communities across the state. "This is a proud moment for our team, customers and investors. Thank you to Governor DeSantis, EFI Board, the Florida Opportunity Fund and DeepWork Capital. Our success over the last 3 years would not be possible without your continuous efforts to make Florida the premier business destination in the world." - Drew Messer, CEO of Urban SDK Fore more information, please visit: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/02/15/2385609/0/en/Urban-SDK-Receives-the-EFI-Entrepreneur-and-Job-Growth-Award.html

Our team is happy to announce that AbFero Pharmaceuticals, a DeepWork Capital Fund II portfolio company, has been acquired by Pharmacosmos Group. AbFero Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing best-in-class oral iron chelators for the treatment of diseases of iron-overload (specifically, transfusional iron overload, TIO). The Company is focused exclusively on iron as a therapeutic target and is initially focused on advancing its candidate, SP-420, in the treatment of iron-overload conditions. The Company's technology platform was invented by Professor Ray Bergeron of the University of Florida. DeepWork first invested in AbFero Pharmaceuticals through Fund II in August 2020 and again in March 2021. DeepWork invested in AbFero alongside UF Innovate and Longwall Ventures. The combination of AbFero and Pharmacosmos, a leader in developing treatments for patients suffering from iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, will accelerate the development of SP-420 and help the companies deliver much-needed therapeutic options to patients. Read more: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pharmacosmos-group-acquires-boston-based-clinical-stage-abfero-pharmaceuticals-inc-301422092.html

Our team is happy to announce that HCW Biologics, a DeepWork Fund II portfolio company, completed an initial public offering (IPO) on 7/20/21. HCW Biologics, a Miramar, FL company, is now trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker “HCWB”. You can find all relevant information about the company in its public filing with the SEC. The biopharmaceutical company is focused on developing transformative immunotherapies to disrupt the link between chronic, low-grade inflammation and age-related diseases. The team, led by Hing C. Wong, Ph.D., believes age-related low-grade chronic inflammation is a significant contributing factor to several chronic diseases and conditions. HCW believes that they have the potential to provide an innovative treatment to these age-related diseases. The IPO is a meaningful milestone for the team at HCW, our team and investors at DeepWork, and the greater Florida community. Read more: https://investors.hcwbiologics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hcw-biologics-inc-announces-pricing-560-million-initial-public