Some conversations start with technology. This one started there — but didn't stay there for long.
In this episode of Industry Champions, Florian Vlad (CEO of TwinzAPP and founder of JAX Business Calendar), Adela Hittell (Founder of Project Human, Inc.), and Steve Strum (Financial Advisor at Northwestern Mutual) found themselves circling around a much bigger idea:
How do we move forward as a city — without losing the human connection along the way?
It began with AI.
Florian shared how most companies are approaching it today — wanting to implement it quickly, often without first understanding what problem they're trying to solve. At twinzAPP, the approach is intentionally different. Start with the business. Understand the gaps. Fix the processes. Then introduce automation and AI where it actually makes sense. Because applying AI on top of broken systems doesn't create innovation — it just scales the problem.
And that's where the conversation started to shift.
Adela, through her work with Project Human, Inc., brought in a perspective that grounded everything back in the human experience. As technology accelerates, she sees something else happening at the same time — disconnection. Not because people don't care. But because they don't always know where to go, who to connect with, or what resources even exist around them. Jacksonville, as she described it, has everything: organizations, initiatives, people doing meaningful work. But it can still feel fragmented. And real change, in her world, doesn't start with systems. It starts with people — someone choosing to show up, create space, and connect others.
Listening to both sides, Steve added something that tied it all together. From his perspective at Northwestern Mutual, working with individuals and families making real-life decisions, the challenge isn't just technology or community — it's navigating both at the same time. Because today, those worlds are no longer separate. They're overlapping.
The technology side.
The human side.
The decisions people have to make every day.
And as Jacksonville grows — with new developments, new opportunities, and more activity — the question becomes: How do we use all of this to actually bring people together, not push them further apart? That question led back to something very practical.
When Florian first moved to Jacksonville, he experienced that fragmentation firsthand. There were events happening everywhere — business meetups, networking opportunities, community gatherings — but no clear way to see them all in one place. "No map." So instead of trying to fix the ecosystem itself, he focused on something simpler: visibility.
That became JAX Business Calendar — a platform built to bring business events across the region into one place, making it easier for people to see what's happening and decide where to show up. Not to control the ecosystem. Not to organize every group. Just to make it visible. Because sometimes, the real gap isn't in activity. It's in awareness.
And that idea brought the conversation full circle.
AI is moving fast. Communities are evolving. Opportunities are growing. But none of it matters if people can't see it, access it, or connect to it.
The future isn't just about better technology. Or stronger communities. It's about how those two come together — and how people navigate that intersection in real life. Sometimes progress isn't about doing more. It's about seeing more, connecting more, and understanding how the pieces fit together.
