Florida APEX Accelerator

What Florida APEX Accelerator does

The Florida APEX Accelerator is a government-funded, statewide nonprofit program that provides free consulting, training, and research resources to help Florida-based businesses pursue federal, state, and local government contracts. Hosted by the University of West Florida and operated continuously since 1986 (originally as the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center under the Defense Logistics Agency), the program rebranded to Florida APEX Accelerator in October 2023 following the DoD's national transition of the PTAC network to the Office of Small Business Programs. It is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Department of War, supplemented by the State of Florida and local partners, and maintains no traditional revenue model because all services are provided at no cost to clients.

The program operates a network of 15 government contracting consultants embedded across 9 Florida regions via host sites at UWF, FAMU, UCF, IRSC, USF, FGCU, FAU, and FIU, plus Pinellas County Economic Development. Core offerings include one-on-one consulting (registrations, certifications, bid preparation, proposal assistance, SBIR/STTR support), training workshops, an automated Bid Match service, the annual Reverse Trade Show at the Small Business Success Summit, and Disaster Contracting Support. Underlying research infrastructure consists of third-party subscriptions to Proxity, Fedmine, GovSpend, and Govology for market intelligence and education. Reported 2025 client outcomes were $569M in contract awards, 3,200 contracts, and 4,729 jobs impacted statewide, following a record $596.1M in 2024.

The go-to-market is hybrid: field-delivered consulting at regional centers complemented by event-driven demand generation (Reverse Trade Show, Small Business Success Summit) and a community-led self-assessment checklist on the flapex.org website. Customer segments span disadvantaged and underserved business categories (SDB, HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB), general Florida-based government contractors, and defense and innovation-focused firms (the latter expanded through a June 2024 partnership with DEFENSEWERX). Jessica Tenney serves as Program Manager; Greg Britton is State Director of the Florida SBDC Network and the APEX program. The program received the National APEX Accelerator Alliance Economic Impact Award in May 2025.

Name

Florida APEX Accelerator

Legal name

Florida APEX Accelerator

Website

https://flapex.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Florida APEX Accelerator is a government-funded nonprofit program hosted by the University of West Florida that provides free consulting, training, and research tools to help Florida-based businesses compete for federal, state, and local government contracts across a 9-region statewide network of 15 specialists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Contracting Consulting Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541990)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

Keywords

• Government contracting consulting
• Procurement technical assistance
• Bid matching services
• Federal contract readiness
• Small business support

Headquarters

HQ city

Pensacola

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government-funded Program Services: All consulting, training, and services are provided at no cost to Florida businesses. The program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Department of War, with additional support from the State of Florida and local partners. The University of West Florida hosts the statewide program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Florida APEX Accelerator provides free, one-on-one government contracting consulting, training workshops, and access to procurement research databases to Florida-based businesses seeking federal, state, and local government contracts. Services cover readiness assessments, registrations (SAM), certifications (SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone), bid preparation, proposal assistance, SBIR/STTR support, and market research, delivered through 8 regional centers across Florida embedded in universities and economic development councils.

Product overview

The Florida APEX Accelerator operates as a statewide network of government contracting support centers providing a unified platform of services. The core offerings consist of Consulting (one-on-one government contracting advisory), Training and Workshops (procurement process education), and Research Tools and Resources (market databases). These are supplemented by specialized modules including Bid Match Services (automated opportunity monitoring), Disaster Contracting Support, and SBIR/STTR Assistance. The organization also hosts Reverse Trade Shows as an annual event. All services are provided at no cost to Florida businesses seeking federal, state, and local government contracts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Government Contracting Consulting Confidential, one-on-one consulting services provided at no cost to Florida businesses, covering readiness assessment, contracting basics, registrations, certifications, bid opportunities, proposal assistance, SBIR/STTR support, and market research.
• Training and Workshops Comprehensive in-person and online training sessions covering suitability assessment, registration assistance, market research, bid opportunity identification, proposal assistance, contract support, and networking opportunities at federal, state, and local levels.
• Research Tools and Resources Subscription-based market research and procurement databases including Proxity, Fedmine, GovSpend, and Govology that assist in sourcing government contract information, federal and military specifications, agency procurement histories and forecasts.
• Disaster Contracting Support

Quantifiable outcome

• $596.1 million in government contract awards in 2024 (record-breaking)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• DEFENSEWERXcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 2024Partnership announced June 26, 2024 to provide support to Florida small businesses in innovation and defense contracting space. Facilitates technology transfer and commercialization. Tia Bond serves as Technology Transfer and Commercialization Specialist bridging the three programs.
• APEX Accelerators (National Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2023Part of the national APEX Accelerators network funded in part by the Department of Defense. Over 300 APEX Accelerators nationwide help businesses compete for government contracts and strengthen America's industrial base.
• University of West Florida (UWF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1986UWF hosts the Florida APEX Accelerator statewide program as its primary institutional partner. The program has operated continuously as a statewide program since 1986 under UWF leadership.
• National APEX Accelerator Alliance (NAPEX)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation representing 90+ APEX Accelerators across the country. Awards the annual Economic Impact Award recognizing outstanding APEX Accelerator contributions.
• Florida SBDC NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister program of the Florida APEX Accelerator. Florida SBDC and Florida APEX teams share office spaces and work closely together. SBDC serves a wide range of businesses while APEX focuses on government contracting support.
• Department of War (DoD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Department of War (Department of Defense). In 2023, DoD transitioned PTAC program to APEX Accelerator program under Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) to strengthen national supply chain.
• State of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded in part by the State of Florida along with local partners. Statewide program supports Florida businesses across all regions.
• Florida A&M University (FAMU)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving North Florida counties. Emery Parker serves as Government Contracting Consultant.
• University of Central Florida (UCF)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving Central Florida counties including Brevard, Orange, and others. Steve South serves as Government Contracting Consultant.
• University of South Florida (USF)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving Tampa Bay and surrounding counties. Karen Krymski serves as Government Contracting Consultant.
• Indian River State College (IRSC)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving Treasure Coast counties. Scotty Wilson serves as Government Contracting Consultant.
• Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving Southwest Florida counties. Fredrick Ross serves as Government Contracting Consultant.
• Florida Atlantic University (FAU)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving Broward and Palm Beach counties. Sarah Griffin and Crystal Ferrari serve as Government Contracting Consultants.
• Florida International University (FIU)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts a regional Florida APEX Accelerator center serving Miami-Dade and Monroe counties since 2014. Luis Batista and Nari Tomlinson serve as Government Contracting Consultants.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Texas APEX Accelerator: Direct peer in the national APEX network providing the same no-cost government contracting consulting services to Texas-based businesses. Offers the most direct service-delivery comparison to Florida APEX in a different geographic market.
• Florida SBDC Network: Sister program sharing office spaces with Florida APEX across all 9 regions. Provides complementary no-cost business consulting to Florida businesses, with APEX specializing in government contracting and SBDC covering broader small business support. Operates under shared state directorship.
• California APEX Accelerator (CalAPEX): Another state-level APEX Accelerator providing the same no-cost government contracting consulting services to California-based businesses. Closest direct service-delivery peer to Florida APEX in scale and structure, operating under the same national program.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): Federal agency that funds and oversees the broader small business support ecosystem, including the APEX Accelerator program that Florida APEX belongs to. Sets policy and certification frameworks (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB) that Florida APEX helps clients navigate.
• SCORE Association: National nonprofit providing free small business mentoring, training, and resources — a broader-incumbent analog to Florida APEX. While SCORE covers general entrepreneurship, Florida APEX focuses specifically on government contracting; both serve small businesses at no cost through distributed local networks.

Others

• DEFENSEWERX: Defense innovation intermediary and strategic partner announced June 2024. Operates in adjacent defense innovation/technology transfer space; functions as a co-developer relationship rather than direct competitor, expanding Florida APEX's reach into DoD innovation programs.
• National APEX Accelerator Alliance (NAPEX): Industry association representing 90+ APEX Accelerators nationwide, including Florida APEX. Functions as the coordinating body and award-granting organization (e.g., Economic Impact Award) for the network Florida APEX belongs to.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/flapexaccelerator
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flapexaccelerator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Florida APEX Accelerator