By Carter Mudgett – Reporter, Jacksonville Business Journal
Story Highlights
PS27 Ventures announces finalists for inaugural entrepreneurship awards in Jacksonville.
Fifteen individuals and three companies nominated across six categories.
Winners to be announced January 22, 2026 at St. Johns Event Center.
From longtime technology leaders to investors and business advisors, Jacksonville-based PS27 Ventures is honoring an array of local faces in this year’s inaugural entrepreneurship awards.
The local venture capital firm announced 15 individual finalists and three companies across six classifications Friday, the culmination of more than 400 nominations and dozens of interviews. Winners will be announced Jan. 22, 2026 at the St. Johns Event Center, per PS27.
Aside from the three finalists for Corporate Innovator of the Year — FIS, NLP Logix and VyStar Credit Union — the individual finalists are as follows:
Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business of the Year
Summer Vyne, CEO of AnuVision Technologies: Vyne founded AnuVision in 2020, an audio-visual technology company based from Jacksonville’s Southside. The company has a portfolio of products ranging from LED walls and interactive panels, scoreboards and field sound systems to hologram technology. Vyne was also one of the organizers of this year’s Jax Tech Fest.
Steven Davis, CEO of C&ES: Headquartered in Jacksonville and established in 2007, Davis leads Construction and Engineering Services Consultants. The company provides professional construction management, inspection, and engineering services to municipal, government, and private clients, per its website.
Yara Banks, Founder of BNX Business Advisors: A local entrepreneur, Banks has led BNX since early 2022. The company provides consulting services for businesses from inception through human resources development.
Ecosystem Builder of the Year
Deborah Magyar, Director of the Florida Small Business Development Center at UNF: Magyar heads up the local branch of the SBDC, designed to be a principal provider of business assistance. The organization reopened its downtown location in late-2024, within the Barnett Building.
Troy McNair Sr., Co-Founder and CEO of Think Bold: McNair grasped his dream in 2023, launching the city’s ThinkBold festival — a collaborative event of conference activities led by corporate speakers, technologists, artists and more. It’s the embodiment of his mission to transform how Jacksonville thinks about entrepreneurship.
Raghu Misra, Founder of the link: A longtime local entrepreneur, Misra is the mind behind the link — a $6.5 million, 22,500-square-foot center built within master planned community Nocatee that opened in 2021 — and various other local technology startups. Most recently, Misra debuted the second Brain Arcade from Unlockt, a provider of research-based support programs designed to guide families through ADHD.
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year
Quang Pham, CEO of Cadrenal Therapeutics: Pham leads Cadrenal (Nasdaq: CVKD), the North Florida region’s sole publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Based in Ponte Vedra, Cadrenal is developing a promising new class of blood thinners – the leading treatment for cardiovascular diseases.
Charles Jimerson, Attorney and CEO of Jimerson Birr: The founder and CEO of Jimerson Birr PA, Jimerson represents businesses of all sizes and scale as counsel in legal matters.
Anthony Miles, CEO of Bon Vivant Safety Eyewear: A newcomer to the Jacksonville entrepreneurial scene, Miles is one of the minds behind First Line, a safety eyewear brand rooted in Jacksonville. Though still in the early days, the eyewear is currently manufactured abroad, a manufacturing facility is in development in Philadelphia and is leadership is local.
Mentor of the Year
Jim Evanger: Evanger is on Dublin Clark’s Board of Directors and serves as an advisor for its portfolio companies, according to Dublin Clark’s website.
Dan Glunt: An investor with JaxAngels, the largest angel investing group in North Florida, and co-founder of the Hatter Angels Investment Program, Glunt is a longtime member of the local entrepreneurship community. In February, he was the lead investor in a health care technology startup based in Ponte Vedra.
T.R. Richardson: Atop his role as founder and CEO of human capital management firm Richwood International, Richardson has spent several years mentoring entrepreneurs. He currently dedicates about 10 hours each month to mentorship, according to PS27, and has experience spanning various North Florida programs helping entrepreneurs succeed, especially in business development and government contracting.
Entrepreneur of the Year
Matthew Chang, CEO of Chang Robotics: An engineer and entrepreneur with a wealth of Jacksonville experience, Chang operates within the robotics industry. Aside from Chang Robotics, he also founded a $50 million venture capital fund called the Chang Robotics Fund in January. Chang is also one of the organizers of the Jax Tech Fest.
Robert Dahlstrom, CEO of Apellix: With a history of experience in the robotics and drone sector, Dahlstrom heads up Apellix, a local aerial robotics company developing autonomous aircraft with robotic arms and end effectors for use in industrial applications, according to its website.
Andrew Rush, CEO of Star Catcher: The former president of Redwire Corp., Rush now heads up a local startup developing the technological infrastructure of an energy grid in orbit. The company made its first showcasing of the power beaming technology in March.
Learn more at PS27Foundation.org.
