GRD Biomechanics funded by Orlando Opportunity Fund
Updated: Nov 4, 2020
An Orlando-based fund has invested $100,000 in local tech firm GRD Biomechanics in a deal that closed June 4. Â
The investment is the first by the Orlando Opportunity Fund, launched in November 2019 to make investments in real estate projects and tech startups in federally-designated opportunity zones across Central Florida. While the fund has faced a setback due to the pandemic, its leaders see growing opportunity in its aftermath.Â
Funding growth Â
The investment will help GRD Biomechanics LLC launch a specialized knee brace that uses a spring system and sports a design compatible with 3-D-printed parts.Â
And GRD, which employs nine people, will expand its workforce this year, CEO Mike Geldart told OBJ, though he didn’t specify by how much. The three-year-old company produces the brace at a 4,000-square-foot facility in Daytona Beach.Â
The company landed on Orlando Opportunity Fund’s radar because GRD is a former participant in a program of Orlando-based accelerator StarterStudio, where Donna Mackenzie, Orlando Opportunity Fund chief financial officer, formerly served as executive director. The firm offered two things the fund looks for in potential investments: a strong founder and a disruptive technology, Mackenzie told OBJ.Â