Governor Rick Scott today announced that Beast Code LLC, an employee owned and operated software engineering company, has chosen to expand in Fort Walton Beach and will add 40 new jobs. Since December 2010, nearly 1.6 million private-sector jobs have been created in Florida.
Governor Scott said, “Every time a business chooses to invest in Florida’s communities and create jobs, families win. Today, I am proud to announce that another 40 jobs and opportunities have been created for families in Fort Walton Beach to live their dreams in the Sunshine State. Our focus on keeping Florida’s economy booming by cutting taxes and investing in our communities is why Florida is outpacing the nation in job growth. Florida businesses have created nearly 1.6 million new jobs in every part of our state since December 2010 and we’ll never stop fighting so every family in Florida can succeed.”
Matt Zimmermann, CEO of Beast Code, said, “The Okaloosa Economic Development Council has been a huge source of support for Beast Code. Since the inception of our company in 2014, we have experienced rapid growth and are expected to employ over 100 hundred employees in the next few years. The opportunities presented by the OEDC and Governor Scott will allow Beast Code to continue expanding its operations and provide greater support to the warfighter.”
“As a technology-oriented business led by young entrepreneurs, Beast Code had their pick of places to grow their next phase of operations. The fact that they selected Okaloosa County speaks volumes about our community’s ability to accommodate a business like theirs. We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner in their growth,” said Commissioner Graham Fountain, Chairman, Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners.
“We’re delighted that that Beast Code will be creating high wage jobs in the City of Fort Walton Beach, and their decision to locate in the Fort Walton Beach Commerce & Technology Park is proof positive that the City’s focus on revitalization of the Park is paying off,” said Mayor Dick Rynearson of the City of Fort Walton Beach.
“It has been said that the bulk of job growth in any community comes from empowering existing companies to grow and innovate. Beast Code’s impressive growth trajectory – and associated job creation – certainly validates this thought process,” said Nathan Sparks, Executive Director, EDC of Okaloosa County.
Joe York, Vice-Chairman of Enterprise Florida’s Board of Directors, said, “Enterprise Florida’s Board of Directors is very pleased to see that Beast Code has chosen to expand and grow their business in Fort Walton Beach. These new jobs will provide more opportunity for families in Okaloosa County.”
Beast Code was founded in 2014 by seven computer scientists who used successful Silicon Valley based companies as a standard and adopted an agile workflow enabling them to rapidly produce cost effective solutions tailored to the user’s needs. In 2016, Beast Code purchased its current facility in Fort Walton Beach, projected to support the company’s growth for five years. Since then, Beast Code has been awarded several Department of Defense contracts and operations quickly scaled to 37 full-time employees.
The project was made possible through strong partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Okaloosa County Government, the City of Fort Walton Beach and the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County.
