ApolloRise Tech
Entering the government contracting market is an uphill climb for any small business, but two critical factors make the ascent far more achievable: building a strong foundation and finding expert guidance. Irina Zakharchenko, co‑founder and COO of ApolloRise Tech, understood that both of these ingredients would be essential to her success when she set her sights on the government sector. She turned to the Florida APEX Accelerator at the University of Central Florida—the Florida SBDC at UCF’s government contracting affiliate—to build that foundation with confidence.
ApolloRise Tech, an Orlando‑based artificial intelligence engineering firm, helps mid‑market and enterprise clients transform operational and procurement bottlenecks through custom AI engineering and proprietary products. With a background of nearly two decades of buying enterprise technology, Zakharchenko stepped to the other side of the table when she launched ApolloRise.
“We’re a boutique engineering firm with a soul,” she explains. “Most AI vendors sell a platform and walk away. We work differently. We work like doctors. We listen first, then we diagnose, and then we treat with best‑in‑class solutions built around our clients’ actual operations. Being a boutique is intentional, not a limitation. It means our clients work directly with senior engineers who care about the outcome. I know what it feels like to be sold a solution that doesn’t fit. We started ApolloRise so other operators don’t have to feel that.”
With a compelling model and growing commercial traction, Zakharchenko wanted to expand into government contracting. Through her industry network, she found the APEX Accelerator at UCF. “I found it very easy to work with APEX,” she recalls, “especially working with my consultant Elly Membreno. She was always attentive every time I had a question. When I hit a bump in the road, she was able to describe exactly what steps needed to be taken and the timelines we needed to meet. The process has been easy to follow and Elly has been great.”
Working with the APEX Accelerator positioned ApolloRise for the government‑sector growth they envisioned. “The changes we’ve seen in the business since we started with APEX are significant,” Zakharchenko affirms. “Thanks to APEX, the foundation is in place, and the foundation is what makes everything next possible.”
That foundation includes major milestones. “We are WOSB certified; that opens a specific lane for women‑owned businesses. We’re SAM.gov registered; that’s the foundation for any federal opportunity and it opened doors in the private sector too. Multiple companies have approached us asking, ‘Are you SAM registered?’ Without APEX, I wouldn’t have been able to say ‘Yes.’ We’re now stepping into the bidding and subcontracting process. The need is there. The opportunities are there. Our job is to find them and act on them. None of that happens without the foundation APEX helped us build.”
Looking ahead, Zakharchenko is clear about the company’s trajectory. “We’re pointing ApolloRise where the hottest engineering problems live: aerospace, defense, and beyond. Florida is the launch pad. The Space Coast is our backyard. The Defense Corridor runs through our state. APEX gave us the framework. The rest is execution. We’re not waiting for permission. We’re building for it.”
For information about ApolloRise Tech, please visit https://apollorise.tech/.
