Paul Brinkmann:
Andretti Karting is hiring hire 450 people.
The new Orlando location for Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, scheduled to open later this summer on Universal Boulevard, is hiring 450 people for jobs such as servers, bartenders, arcade attendants, cashiers and receptionists.
It’s hundreds of jobs, but most are in low-paying categories. The average wage is $9 to $10 per hour, with an even split of full-time and part-time positions, a company spokeswoman said.
The company will hold a threeday job fair 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 5-7 at Wyndham Orlando Resort, 8001 International Drive, in the Key Ballroom.
The Andretti facility is taking shape just north of Orange County Convention Center, at 9299 Universal Boulevard. It features highspeed electric karts on a multi-level, banked-turn track. It will also have arcades, a ropes course with zip line, VR racing simulators, laser tag, bowling, theater, full-service restaurant, a bar and 10,000 square feet of event space.
Andretti Indoor Karting & Games was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Georgia with two successful locations in Roswell and Marietta. The company also owns and operates the outdoor Andretti Thrill Park in Melbourne.
The company said all employees will be expected to “listen to customer requests in a friendly manner, while following Andretti Indoor Karting & Games high standards of quality to ensure guest satisfaction.”
Applicants are asked to apply on Andretti Karting’s website career page, and to bring a resume and dress in professional attire.
Izea stock
Winter Park-based ad tech firm Izea has seen its stock price drop by more than 50 percent since it joined the NASDAQ exchange in February 2016.
The steep drop spells possible trouble for the company’s value and financing. If the stock drops below $1, it could be de-listed by NASDAQ, which it only joined in 2016.
On Monday, the stock closed at $2.15 per share. At the point the company listed on NASDAQ, its stock was valued at more than $7.50, but that only happened after it consolidated every 20 shares into one share.
Before the consolidation, Izea had been valued at 38 cents per share.
Founder and CEO Ted Murphy still believes Izea has a bright future. He blames the stock decline on a troubled ad tech sector in general, and on fears that Izea’s newspaper business will keep shrinking.
“I think there’s a bit of disconnect between the performance of the company and performance of the stock. We just had another record quarter. Overall we’re very bullish about where we’re going,” Murphy said.
Izea provides online platforms to connect content creators — writers, bloggers, Twitter superstars, photographers, videographers — with work opportunities.
At the time of the listing on
NASDAQ, Murphy had anticipated the listing would help.
“We expect such an uplisting would attract a broader and more diverse shareholder base,” he said in 2016.
Gross profit grew in the first quarter this year, to $3 million from $2.3 million in first quarter of 2016.
But Izea is carrying an accumulated deficit of $47 million, related to building and developing its tech platforms, which is up in the first quarter by $3 million compared to the prior year. Its net loss grew to $2.7 million, up from $2.6 million in the prior first quarter.
Izea also announced that one of its major newspaper clients is cutting its marketing budget by $1 million.
Murphy says the company’s biggest margins come from selling “influencer content,” such as having a celebrity endorse a product. He said the company is planning to be profitable by the second half of 2018.
“I think a lot of times people don’t drill into all of the details. They may not understand that the managed-service content is the vast majority of our profit margin, and that’s growing fast,” Murphy said.
Izea announced recently it was partnering with another ad tech firm, Los Angeles-based Rubicon Project, to extend its reach.
Swim School
Goldfish Swim School, a franchise company headquartered in Troy, Mich., broke ground at 5445 Lake Howell Road in the Winter Park area to begin construction of its first location in Florida.
Goldfish has 65 locations open or in development around the country. It provides swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children ages four months to 12 years.
The company advertises professional, trained and certified instructors. The owners of the Florida location are a husband and wife team — Jon Thomas and Gina Jacobs Thomas of Columbus, Ohio.