Startup veteran Nicholas Mohnacky reflects on building West Palm Beach's tech ecosystem

Mohnacky’s startup bundleIQ uses AI to help researchers better leverage their data

When Nicholas Mohnacky first started working in West Palm Beach’s tech hub, the innovation ecosystem looked quite different from today. “I cut my teeth working at the Palm Beach Post in digital advertising sales from 2006 to 2010,” Mohnacky told Refresh Miami. He would then spin this work into a digital agency focused on delivering web 2.0 content on mobile platforms.

“I’m sort of the token startup guy in West Palm Beach,” said Mohnacky. “I’ve been an entrepreneur working fully remotely since I was 25.” That includes a five-month stint living in his van and traveling around trying to catch some waves. (These days, you can find Mohnacky at his favorite surf spots on Palm Beach island.)

Don’t let his affable charm fool you: behind Mohnacky’s laid-back personality is a serious technologist who has spent a decade and a half working to develop his local tech ecosystem.

After eight years at the digital agency, and a brief interlude in California, Mohnacky started building bundleIQ. Users take notes and upload written content like PDFs onto their bundleIQ account, creating ‘bundles’ of information. The app then uses artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze the content and enable users to make so-called ‘semantic’ searches.

“Semantic searches unlock the understanding and meaning of intent,” Mohnacky explained. “It’s about making connections that go beyond a specific keyword and focusing on the essence of the information you’re trying to retrieve.”

bundleIQ’s semantic search feature shines when a user – or a team – is looking for information buried in mass quantities of digital files. For example, if you have a series of economic reports on the South Florida startup ecosystem, bundleIQ will return results for “how many startups are in West Palm Beach.” That’s different from currently available solutions, which would simply point you in the direction of where to find this information.

The technology powering this AI assistant also has wider uses. For instance, bundleIQ powers GlobalClimateCrisis.org, a portal that analyzes thousands of climate reports and enables users to quickly glean scientifically-accurate information about questions like “What is the impact of rising sea levels on New York City?”

Mohnacky started developing bundleIQ three and a half years ago and implemented the AI features a year and a half ago. The startup currently has six employees and a series of high-profile clients, including academics at Skidmore College and Google researchers investigating collective intelligence. There are also a handful of fintech companies currently evaluating the platform to help them quickly find data from S-1 filings companies submit to the SEC when they go public.

On top of his work at bundleIQ, Mohnacky is Chairman of West Palm Beach innovation hub and coworking space 1909. “We survived the pandemic and came out the other side thriving,” said Mohnacky.

He reports that 1909 has been steadily increasing its membership and still has room to grow. “Now we’re looking to buy a building so that we can have a permanent home,” Mohnacky said. Next year, 1909 hopes to raise $5-10 million through a capital campaign.

When the surf’s up in Palm Beach, Nicholas Mohnacky might be riding the waves.

READ MORE ON REFRESH MIAMI:

Author
Recent Posts

Riley Kaminer

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.