IDEA Showcase at ITEXPO Crowns Follow-Up Now as 2026 Winner
The 2026 IDEA Showcase returned to the expo floor of ITEXPO during the #TECHSUPERSHOW, highlighting six emerging startups and awarding top honors to Follow-Up Now, a professional relationship management platform founded by Wali Shareef.
Showcase Highlights Innovation and Emerging Founders
IDEA stands for Innovation, Disruption, Evolution and Acceleration. The annual event invites selected startups to deliver five-minute pitches before a panel of investors and a live audience. Judges and attendees vote to determine the company they believe is best positioned to scale and disrupt its market.
This year’s presenters included:
MEVIAOS – Founded by Dr. Edwin Hernandez, MEVIAOS develops a patented Operating System aimed to turn our mobile phones into controllers and our Smart TVs in displays. This OS is the web fabric that connects decentralized applications offering web-controllers for gaming (joystick controller), productivity (keyboard), and streaming (camera/microphone).
Gradible – Founded by Yadira Diaz, Gradible provides tools that help students and educators track progress, measure outcomes, and improve learning experiences through actionable insights.
Follow-Up Now – Founded by Wali Shareef, Follow-Up Now is a professional relationship management platform that automates contact capture and follow-ups, helping professionals turn connections into actionable opportunities.
TalentXi – TalentXtended Intelligence – Founded by Jason S. Gorham, TalentXi leverages AI and advanced analytics to match talent with opportunities, improving workforce efficiency and recruitment outcomes.
Concorde – Founded by Bobby Dyer, Concorde delivers cutting-edge solutions [insert sector if known, e.g., cybersecurity, logistics, or AI-driven services] to help businesses operate more securely and efficiently.
Unified Sentinel Data Networks (USDN) – Founded by Paul Peru Valenzuela, USDN provides integrated data network solutions that enable organizations to monitor, manage, and secure critical information across multiple platforms.
The judging panel included Erick Gavin of Edin Capital, Anuj Maheshwari of Fuel Venture Capital, Conrado Morais of Mana Tech, and Bo Megginson of Gold Coast Angel Investors. Judges evaluated startups based on clarity of problem, strength of solution, market opportunity, and scalability, offering immediate feedback and guidance to founders.
Bo Megginson, IDEA Showcase judge and Managing Partner at Gold Coast Angel Investors, said, “Wali is in a great space with Follow-Up Now as connections with business contacts are invaluable. However, the next step of being able to activate those connections a second and third time and create value is the real key - Wali may have figured that out.”
Follow-Up Now Takes Top Honors
Follow-Up Now, led by Wali Shareef, was selected as the 2026 IDEA Showcase winner. The company addresses a common challenge facing entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and business leaders: many valuable connections made at conferences and meetings are lost due to inconsistent follow-up.
“Winning the IDEA Showcase is huge for Follow-Up Now, hearing the feedback and reaction from the judges who are in the startup space validated our message of helping professionals turn fleeting connections into meaningful clients and partners,” shared Shareef.
The platform offers a mobile-based Professional Relationship Management (PRM) system to capture contacts, automate follow-up reminders, and track ongoing engagement, helping users turn conversations into sustained business relationships and measurable outcomes.
As part of the prize package, Follow-Up Now received:
$1,000 in cash supported by Studio Solian
Event and co-working space at Mana Tech in Miami
Access to advisory resources through Florida SBDC at FAU
The IDEA Showcase, has been hosted in collaboration between the ITEXPO and Nikki Cabus, the Founder and CEO of Studio Solian over the past few years. The event has become a signature startup pitch event within ITEXPO. Cabus aims to help position the IDEA Showcase as a launchpad for early-stage founders seeking investor exposure and ecosystem support as a major conference attracting 7 - 10k attendees each year.
Cabus said the Showcase is designed to provide founders with more than stage time. “Our goal is to create meaningful access,” she said. “Founders receive real feedback from investors, build visibility within the technology community, and connect to resources that can accelerate their growth.”
Held on the expo floor, the IDEA Showcase combined pitch competition, networking, and investor engagement in a high-energy setting that draws conference attendees directly into the startup experience.
