VOLUME 3
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TAMPA BAY
InnovationsoftheWorld.com
“Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress.” — LI KEQIANG
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PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD FINDING OUR VOICE
BRIAN KORNFELD, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, SYNAPSE FLORIDA
Brian Kornfeld talks to the audience at the 2020 Synapse Summit, giving an update on how far Florida’s innovation community has come in the last year.
Innovation across Tampa Bay is in a major growth spurt. We are the proverbial teenager who leaves for summer vacation at five feet, two inches and returns for fall classes pushing six feet. The possibilities and potential for where we can go, where we can grow, are endless.
It is our turn to find our voice, to tell our stories, and to show the world that innovation lives here.
In actuality, there has been a lot happening with innovation in our region for a long period of time. The issue is that nobody has taken notice. While we have been growing, the rest of the country had looked down on Tampa Bay as a place where people go to retire, not where people go to grow booming businesses. Win after win has taken place for year after year, but why do we not get the credit we deserve? We could look outwardly and blame others for not noticing. We could look at the geography and say we are tucked away in the southeast corner of the United States. The truth is that we need to look inwardly and ask what we could do better. We have been broadcasting incomplete information. With the lack of a story, those around the country will create their own narrative.
At Synapse, we are looking at the past, the present, and the future stories that you have created, are creating, and will create. There are many ways to help bring these stories to the light that they deserve. We have been posting #SynapseStories for a few months now and get to hear how connections are building a brighter future. We also are thrilled to continually partner with Global Village World to help show our dynamic present in a meaningful and insightful way. The Innovate Tampa Bay coffee table book series is a very substantial way to tell a story. There is one story that I have not yet told that fully relates to this book.
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mysteries and stories about Tampa Bay, and she was fully hooked and impressed at the same time, building even further excitement for the future and what she would help to build.
In December of 2017, I was traveling to Chicago to learn about the amazing innovation hub, 1871. In that time, I was lucky to meet a woman who had been traveling to Tampa and soon would be moving there. After some digging, I realized I was in the process of serendipitously meeting future Embarc Collective leader, Lakshmi Shenoy. I quickly learned she’d soon be announcing her move to Tampa to lead what was then called the “Tampa Bay Innovation Hub”. I had one copy of “Innovate Tampa Bay, Volume 1” with me and gifted it to her. She took the book home and studied it, learning more than she could ever imagine about all outstanding accomplishments of the region that she’d soon be helping to lead. It unraveled many
I’ve imagined what would be going on through her head leading up to the decision of moving to the Tampa Bay region. I’ve imagined the thoughts about comparing myths, incomplete truths, and the void of success stories and how that contrasts with the reality that we all know. I then think about how nearly 200 success stories can change that entire narrative, add a smile, and know the truth about what is behind the curtain. All it takes is a detailed reality. Lakshmi later told me about the major impact that “Innovate Tampa Bay” had on her, building anticipation and energy for a future of the region she’d help to envision and create. That is the magic of story telling. That is the magic of finding our voice. It can transform an entire thought process. It can add color, confidence, and certainty. It can add the ability to imagine. It can add an endless set of possibilities for the future. I have personally watched the innovation community of Tampa Bay work hard to become top notch story tellers over the last few years. We have improved. We are in a major state 2
of growth. We still have a long way to go. We all should collectively be working to tell all of our success stories, whether as a part of the “Innovate Tampa Bay” book or in another manner. It is all of our responsibility and we should push ourselves to success. The world has started to take notice. The world will continue to take notice. The stories match this reality for the entire world to see: Innovation Lives Here.
brian.kornfeld@synapsefl.com therocketmanbk briankornfeld brian-kornfeld-mba-53613030
synapsefl.com
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The “INNOVATE® Tampa Bay” Team would like to give a special thanks to all the participants and the following companies for their support and assistance in making this project a reality.
Meet the people that are building a better Tampa Bay for tomorrow
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INNOVATE® TAMPA BAY: A MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE AND MORE.
SVEN BOERMEESTER, FOUNDER/CEO, INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER
Sven Boermeester, Founder/CEO, International Group Publisher with Callie Van Graan, Global Village COO
Four years ago, we proudly launched the first edition of our INNOVATE series in Tampa Bay, paving the way for the series to launch in over 40 cities worldwide.
This publication aims to celebrate those involved in the Tampa Bay ecosystem, but it is also meant for all business leaders and decisionmakers who can effect change in their industries throughout the USA and the world. We publish INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol 3 for the openminded folk who want to know more about the exciting changes that have recently transpired in the Tampa Bay ecosystem and who play or want to play an active role in its growth and development.
Recognizing Tampa’s rich innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, we are now on our 3rd in the series. INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol 3 is an exciting showcase of some of the companies and individuals leading the way in innovation in the region and affirming Tampa as a growing hub for innovators in the USA.
The 3rd edition of INNOVATE® Tampa Bay is just part of a growing, global series. We are currently launching volumes in cities throughout the GlobalVillage.world publishing partnership network.
INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol 3 is far more than a tech-enabled publication; it is a multimedia experience centered around the deluxe hardcover coffee-table book you are now holding, including AR videos, an online web platform, and multilevel social media networking. Online, the full e-book will be viewed in the millions through the InnovationsoftheWorld.com online library. Embedded in its pages, you will find augmented reality videos that accompany certain features, and when you use the free GLOBAL VILLAGE AR app, the world of the future will open up before your very eyes.
Belinda Van Graan CMO
Sue Rooney Operations Manager
By experiencing INNOVATE® Tampa Bay Vol 3, you are part of our Global Village network, and we are happy to have you. I trust you will join us as we continue the journey of the INNOVATE® series. Sven Boermeester Founder/CEO International Group Publisher
Gia Bischofberger Chief Production Officer
Anita Naidoo Production Manager 4
Susan Heiman Art & Design
Ravi Handve Art & Design
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07 35 55 71 79 CHAPTER ONE
THOUGHT LEADERS
CHAPTER TWO
FUTURE CITIES & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER THREE
TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER FOUR
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS
CHAPTER FIVE
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY
151 157 169 193 201 CHAPTER ELEVEN
BUILDING, ARCHITECTURE & REAL ESTATE
CHAPTER TWELVE
PRODUCT & SERVICE INNOVATIONS
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SALES, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FUNDERS & INVESTORS
CONTENTS Global Village CEO Sven Boermeester
Publishing Partner ABC
Global Village COO Callie Van Graan
Chief Production Officer Gia Bischofberger
Global Village CMO Belinda Van Graan
Art Direction & Design Ravi Handve
Managing Editor Sue Rooney
Production Team Anita Naidoo
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Research & Selection Sue Rooney info@globalvillage.world www.InnovationsoftheWorld.com www.GlobalVillage.world © Global Village Ventures LLC ISBN: 978-1-949677-21-8
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93 105 113 119 141 CHAPTER SIX
DEFENSE
CHAPTER SEVEN
CYBERSECURITY & BLOCKCHAIN
CHAPTER EIGHT
SPORT & WELLNESS
CHAPTER NINE
EDUCATION & TRAINING
CHAPTER TEN
APP & WEB DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
209 219 235 249 269 CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ACCELERATORS, INCUBATORS & MENTORS
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
VIDEO & PHOTOGRAPHY
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EVENTS & MEDIA
CHAPTER TWENTY
INDEX
IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC...
DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AR APP TO VIEW 100 AUGMENTED REALITY VIDEOS IN THIS BOOK!
To experience the future of print, download the Global Village AR App from the IOS or Android App stores. Open the App and hold it about 30cm above any page that contains an image with the “play” Icon.
Make sure your back camera is pointing at the page. Click the Play button that appears onscreen and immerse yourself in the latest updated content with reference to that page. Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in The “INNOVATE® Tampa Bay” vol 3. Neither “INNOVATE® Tampa Bay” nor Global Village assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. All rights reserved: No part of this publication shall be reproduced, copied, transmitted, adapted, or modified in any form or by any means. This publication shall not be stored in whole or in part in any form in any retrieval system.
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“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.” — SABRINA BRYAN
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ONE OF THE JOYS OF TECHNOLOGY IS THAT IT DOESN’T STAND STILL. JASON WARNKE, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR — GLOBAL DIGITAL EXPERIENCES LEAD Sometimes when I tell people I’ve worked in IT for more than 20 years, I get that kind of wary look that says: “Let’s hope he doesn’t start talking tech.” And although I agree it takes a certain kind of person to want to debate the merits of software-defined networks and citizen development, the fact is that technology continues to both fascinate and amaze me—so I do find it hard to keep quiet about that!
experience virtual environments and effectively teleport in to share the same space together.
I’m fortunate to work for a company that truly believes in digital transformation and has been investing in the technologies to make that happen for the past few years. As the person responsible for rolling out many of the applications and services that enable a digital workplace, it’s satisfying to see how deploying these solutions helps everyone to work in a more social, collaborative way. It’s an approach that has really paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enabling remote working suddenly became a “must have” for us and many of our clients. I realized quickly that the program I’d already started to introduce— the communications platform Microsoft Teams—needed to step up a gear. Now, it’s our go-to communications solution whose video conferencing and sharing capabilities help us to flex with the best—and maintain business as usual.
There’s plenty of ways technology helps to present information differently to have more impact. I often use tools like TouchCast Pitch as a way to spice up interactive client content or personalize thought leadership. I think we all need to use these new technologies to reach out to each other in practical, relatable ways. Even post-pandemic, I believe innovation is the way forward in our personal and professional lives.
Jason is Senior Managing Director and Global Digital Experiences lead at Accenture. He lives in Tampa where he volunteers as a technology executive mentor and actively participates in various tech start-up initiatives.
These are just a few examples of how technology continues to make a difference. And improvements are a moving target. While rolling out Teams, I worked with Microsoft and Avanade to set up a Rapid Resource Center that shares leading practices with clients, partners and vendors.
Also, the global IT team where I work launched People + Work Connect. It’s an employer-to-employer initiative that brings together companies reducing their workforces with those companies in urgent need of workers. We delivered it in just 12 days, from idea to the launch and it already has more than 400,000 roles available and 183 companies participating in 86 countries—and counting.
It’s not the only way we can all better collaborate. One of the things I’ve missed most during the pandemic is seeing my colleagues and clients face-to-face—and video and broadcast services are a great way to fill that gap. We have our own facilities in 22 studios around the world that bring the human touch to virtual events and meetings. And with 250 broadcast productions a month—often with cool features like online polling, question and answers, games and survey options built in—we can remind ourselves what it was like to get together for real.
As a long-term Tampa resident, I hope to continue to be involved with local initiatives that share the joy of tech innovation. From my long tenure serving with Tampa Bay Tech, being a mentor for Tampa Bay Wave and being involved with Embarc Collective, I connect with peers in our area who are doing amazing things—and help me to expand my thinking. Tampa Bay is a hub for innovation where I’ve enjoyed an inside view for the last few decades. I truly cannot wait to see what’s next for our area.
One of the joys of technology is that it doesn’t stand still. Continually adapting and improving how we work to make the best use of innovation is how I approach my role too. I’ve seen how coupling technology with human ingenuity can improve people’s experiences exponentially and it’s satisfying to be at the forefront of that change.
I hope that tour through my tech world doesn’t mean your eyes are glazing over—and perhaps you’ll feel more like I do, that tech really is cool.
So, next time you’re thinking of hosting a virtual coffee break or conducting training, you could think about using mixed reality experiences. Or consider offering an immersive experience, like the amazing Igloo shared immersion rooms where teams of people can
140 Fountain Parkway, Suite 400 St. Petersburg, FL 33716 Phone: 727-897-7000 9
jason.l.warnke@accenture.com
accenture.com
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WHETHER IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL, WE SEE THE STRENGTH OF THIS COMMUNITY CONTINUE TO GROW. LAKSHMI SHENOY, CEO
REFLECTING ON THE CURVEBALLS OF 2020
For Embarc Collective, 2020 was defined as an exercise of turning obstacles into opportunity.
The pandemic has allowed us to bring founders and investors from around the world to the Embarc Collective membership and Tampa Bay startup community. With virtual events, we were able to secure speakers like Matt Salzberg of Blue Apron, Alexa Von Tobel of LearnVest and Inspired Capital, and Angela Lee of 37 Angels and Columbia Business School for our Southeast CEO Summit and Glaring Gap Summit.
In January we launched the final component of our value proposition, our 32,000-square-foot physical space. In doing this, we could finally bring our vision of making Embarc Collective the central landing zone for the Tampa Bay startup community to fruition. And, in spite of a global pandemic, I’m proud to say we’ve started to do just that: At the time of publication, Embarc Collective is the home to over 80 early-stage technology startups, which accounts for about 20% of startups in the Tampa Bay region.
2020 has also given us the opportunity to reflect on the inequities that exist in the startup community and how we can shape Tampa Bay to offer more opportunities to all entrepreneurs. This is an area where we need to continue to work as the demographics of the startup community in Tampa Bay do not yet reflect what our broader community looks like.
Since March 2020, we’ve accepted 40 startups into our Embarc Collective membership, demonstrating that the startup community can grow in spite of (or perhaps because of?) the world being turned upside down with COVID-19. This is the community I focus my time on each day and constantly think about how we can increasingly leverage our resources, experience and network to best serve these growing ventures.
Our work with JPMorgan Chase to produce the Glaring Gap Report highlighted that there are just 16 women investors (within leading angel networks and within venture firms) in the state of Florida. Yes, just 16 in a state with a population of over 21 million people. In November, we trained 50 women to conduct their own diligence process through our Glaring Gap Summit in November to address this dismal stat head-on and participate in startup investment opportunities.
We made modifications to our space and protocols to ensure that startups could still build safely amongst a community of peers. Those companies have received almost 1,300 hours of in-person and virtual 1:1 coaching from our staff in 2020. And we’ve hosted 65 group learning sessions for our membership, made available both in-person and virtually, with an average participant rating of 3.75 out of 4.0.
To say that in our first full year of operation, 2020 sent some curveballs is an understatement. But we’ve come out the other side stronger and more resilient.
Pre-pandemic, we were on track to host over 100 events on technology, entrepreneurship, innovation and business in our space with our community partners and sponsors. While in-person activities were halted for a few months, we have since resumed small group events at Embarc Collective, but with a new process to ensure adherence to CDC health and safety recommendations. We have also launched hybrid events - where a small number of attendees are in person similar to a studio audience and the remainder of attendees participate virtually. What’s amazing is that whether in person or virtual, we see the strength of this community continue to grow.
Embarc Collective Lakshmi Shenoy contact@embarccollective.com embarccollective
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WE STRONGLY BELIEVE INNOVATION IS ONLY POSSIBLE WITH THE HELP OF OUR PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY. SANTIAGO C. CORRADA, PRESIDENT & CEO Visit Tampa Bay is a poster child for innovation within the travel industry. We know who we are, and we embrace it. Our pirate-inspired logo is a perfect example standing out amongst a sea of other logos donning palm trees and sunshine. And while those images may represent other parts of Florida, I’d much rather have a visitor remark, “I love that logo!” From our unique lock-and-key branding to award-winning campaigns, longstanding multicultural efforts and much more, Visit Tampa Bay prides itself on being trendsetters and creating positive results for our community. We strongly believe innovation is only possible with the help of our partners and community. Our unwavering commitment to those stakeholders is a priority and vital part of our destination’s growth. Frequently our team will contact community partners to brainstorm ideas or overcome challenges in an innovative manner. From the time I arrived, Visit Tampa Bay has been transformed into a dynamic organization as the forefront of marketing and sales in our industry and focusing on bringing our destination to leisure visitors and meeting attendees. We lead integrated creative campaigns that focus on our exciting experiences and community redevelopment that has changed Tampa’s perception both domestically and internationally.
in a way that allows visitors to celebrate a century of local food history. Through my vision and guidance, Visit Tampa Bay’s new culinary journal, Tampa’s Table, brought together 60 restaurants and chefs, who provided 50 recipes representing the best, most creative culinary minds in the destination. Innovation quickly became inevitable for the entire industry as 2020 posed unique challenges for tourism and hospitality around the world. Many had to redefine what it meant to be a destination marketing organization altogether to protect the desire and ambition for travel.
We produce unprecedented success on two levels: in tourism advocacy within the destination and in visitation from outside the destination. Within the destination, our team leads an ongoing campaign to position us as a key player in the economic development efforts of Tampa and Hillsborough County. Working with hundreds of industry partners and local media, we have shaped the economic narrative in a way that emphasizes the role tourism plays in supporting local families, building careers, and driving future growth of the local economy. Those innovative efforts helped develop public support for tourism marketing in Tampa Bay. And, the “Make It Tampa Bay” relocation and EDC campaign carries Visit Tampa Bay branding to complement all our messaging around the country.
In the past, Visit Tampa Bay had teamed up with various destinations to promote the region through advertising campaigns. That same teamwork mentality led us to unite more than 10 Gulf Coast destinations to share ideas and explore new opportunities. Rising tides lift all boats. This idea carried through to all our initiatives in 2020. We hosted webinars with partners such as Tampa General Hospital and others. To keep our community safe, we worked with a local foundation to donate sanitizers and other essentials to our industry colleagues who had been laid off or furloughed. We partnered with a local catering company to serve meals to those affected by the pandemic and donated proceeds of our destination cookbooks to Feeding Tampa Bay.
Under my leadership, Tampa Bay has grown steadily as a desirable destination for travelers, due to innovative advertising and targeted public relations. The annual domestic Out-of-State campaign continues to blaze new ground for destination marketing organizations by using streaming services like Roku, wrapping ride-sharing vehicles through Uber and Lyft, and figuring prominently on solar-powered recycling receptacles. We work with vendors to beta test new technologies and constantly strive for new ways to cut through the media noise to our audience.
Our team continues to make Visit Tampa Bay relevant through innovative teamwork with community partners. I encourage all innovators to do the same. Your roles might fluctuate from time to time, but it keeps ideas fresh and allows your team, and yourself, to think bigger, better, and savvier no matter the circumstance.
Targeted initiatives include: the team’s efforts to position Tampa Bay as the #1 craft beer destination in Florida and the successful positioning as a culinary destination by capturing the region’s booming foodie culture
(800) 44-Tampa Info@VisitTampaBay.com
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CRITICAL TO GARNER SUPPORT AND CLARIFY THE ‘WHY’. VIK BHIDE, DIRECTOR OF MOBILITY
Mobility or the ability to move around freely is at the heart of personal liberty. As Director of the City of Tampa’s Mobility department I have the privilege of overseeing many aspects of this essential function of civilization. In the context of mobility the challenges of our times manifest themselves as crashes, congestion and effects of climate change. Over the last 150 years or so, we’ve fundamentally used the same technologies to move people and goods. It’s time to bring innovation to mobility. I understand innovation as the use of new ideas or methods to address the challenges of our times. While new technologies like Hyperloop are still being developed it is clear that the use of new methods using existing technology will be more critical to addressing our imminent challenges. Furthermore, the future of innovation in mobility lies in moving away from developing specialized solutions and towards a broader approach of addressing multiple challenges simultaneously. Mobility, social justice, equity, health, housing affordability, economic competitiveness, resilience and clean air are irrevocably linked and impact a community’s quality of life. Some best practices for communities to consider: Think Regional – It is imperative that leaders of stakeholder organizations fully understand and support the commitment required at a regional level to address our challenges. Entire metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) operate as a single organism, solutions to address their challenges must be collective. Clear Benefits Narrative – A clear benefits narrative is critical to garner support and clarify the ‘why’. Community-First Mindset – This simply means listen to the community early and maintain a laser focus on community needs while designing a policy or solution. This could be through direct interaction with community members or the use of technology tools. Smart cities provide unique opportunities to leverage crowd-sourced data to deliver community-driven solutions. For example, mobility apps that provide trip-planning tools and connectivity to different travel modes can continuously learn from users’ travel choices to deliver better services.
Vulnerable Populations – Vulnerable populations include the homeless, senior citizens, low income groups, persons with disabilities, veterans, etc. Innovation is necessary to address historical and current challenges with equity, social justice and broader opportunity. Be Bold, Think Transformation– Be bold when planning, our challenges require transformation rather than just transition.
Public Private Partnerships (P3) – Private partners are better suited to operate complex technology solutions. Also, given tight budgets and depleting revenue sources (think gas tax) it is essential to look for opportunities to sustainably finance and operate these systems through public private partnerships. And there are plenty of opportunities. Large corporations have set up global partnerships with banks to fund mobility solutions like mass transit. It’s likely that a commitment to public private partnerships may be a necessary condition to realizing a community’s goals.
The ideas expressed above are a result of the City of Tampa’s journey towards developing Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow (T3), Mayor Jane Castor’s signature strategy to address our challenges including Mobility, Housing Affordability, Equitable Services, Smart Development and Sustainability & Resilience. Our rapid growth, community, weather, cost of living, innovation ecosystem and collaborative culture make Tampa the ideal environment for innovators.
Culture of Innovation – It is critical to foster a culture of creative thinking and extracting social and economic value from new methods. Universities and research centers are great partners to leverage this approach. A culture of innovation also accepts and recognizes that not all ideas will succeed and remains committed to the process.
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INNOVATION IS THE PRODUCT OF DIVERGENT THINKING SPURRED INTO ACTION LAUREN PRAGER, VICE PRESIDENT; COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SYNAPSE
people together from different industries, communities and backgrounds, Synapse replaces serendipity with intentionality. Along the way I’ve learned several lessons from our innovation community:
Innovation is a Mindset Innovation is all around us. Art, fashion and beauty are driven by innovation. Social, cultural and ethical movements are built on innovation. So is the world of augmented and virtual reality, cybersecurity and healthtech, and so much more. Innovation is more than just technology. You can innovate in your personal or professional pursuits. It is a desire to make something better for ourselves and our community. It requires a willingness to try, fail, and try again, in pursuit of your goal.
Innovation is a Team Sport Innovation benefits from collaboration and connection. We need strong and diverse teams with complementary skills, and a community willing to cheer us on. Successful innovators are honest about their strengths and actively seek out team members with skills to fill in the gaps. Fortunately, in Florida we have a diverse talent pool that grows by nearly 1,000 new residents every day. We come together to celebrate each other’s successes and support each other when things don’t go well. Being a part of a team is what enables success and growth.
Innovators Live Generously Our culture of giving is essential to success. Giving without expectation of anything in return is what truly sets leaders apart. Freely giving our time, talent and treasure creates a community that breeds further generosity. Giving others the opportunities to succeed or fail, to experiment and take risks, is just as important. Don’t be afraid to ask for the help you need to follow your path, and be sure to pay it forward when someone comes to you to help them. Each of us can choose to make a difference, and the steps are simple. Get in the right mindset. Be a part of the team. Share your knowledge and connections. Give generously of your time, talent and treasure. Opportunities are limitless if we just take action. Afterall, innovation lives here.
I never thought of myself as an innovator until now. I always thought that innovation equals technology. I’m often the luddite in a room of tech wizards. I have covertly Googled terms like AI, ML and IoT. Eventually I figured out that Six Sigma had nothing to do with Martial Arts. But after connecting to the innovation world through Synapse I started to see innovation everywhere. I realized innovation touches every part of our lives.
Lauren Prager is the Vice President of Community Engagement for Synapse. A Philly girl by birth, a Floridian by choice, she loves a good story and helping people share their own.
Innovation is the product of divergent thinking spurred into action. Action is the key. Who hasn’t had a moment when they imagined ways to improve or fix something they felt was so obvious? But, how many of us have taken the action to do it?
lauren.prager@synapsefl.com lsprager synapsefl lauren-slawsky-prager
Many of us in Florida are taking action. I’ve gotten to meet thousands of passionate creators through Synapse. Synapse connects Florida’s innovation communities. We create opportunities that make it easier for innovators to find what they need and share what they have. By bringing
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STAY HEALTHY THROUGH THE HUSTLE ED BUCKLEY, PHD, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, PEERFIT
I grew up as a military kid and was taught the value of discipline and structure really early on in life. I went to the University of Florida on a scholarship from the Navy ROTC program (#gogators) and went on to earn my Master’s in Public Health and a Ph.D. in Digital Health Behavior, focused on human behavior and how community can help influence.
company or the glamour of being an entrepreneur. I was set on making life easier by solving one seemingly small, but significant problem. We joined the 2014 Healthbox Accelerator Program (funded by Florida Blue) in Tampa, and that is when we pivoted into corporate wellness. We knew if we wanted to help solve the challenges of being active and healthy we had to go to the source of who administered wellness benefits.
During this time, I launched my first company Wellness2Go, a corporate wellness program that gave employees access to gyms and healthy eats, paid for by their employer, with Atlanta Public Schools as one of our first clients. This company was the inspiration for creating Peerfit in 2011.
We’re fortunate as a company that by solving their problem, we’re also keeping them healthy and active.
I was teaching classes at Gainesville Health and Fitness and other fitness facilities and would hear from my students how they wanted to be able to follow me to the different gyms and facilities. In order to do so, they would have to pay out of pocket. This was extremely inconvenient, as no one wanted to juggle multiple memberships just to take one class. So, we thought of creating a “pass” that would allow them to take classes from their favorite fitness instructors no matter the location.
As an entrepreneur, I encourage others to ‘stay healthy through the hustle’. It’s important to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy whether that be through exercise, meditation, or through reading a good book, because when you feel your best you are at your best for your company and your employees.
Peerfit +1-813-392-3333 info@peerfit.com peerfit peerfit-inc
As both a fitness instructor and a grad student, I was connecting what I was hearing out in the field to what I was studying. People came to me with a problem - they wanted to do something and couldn’t. I became obsessed with providing a solution by figuring out how to solve their pain points and friction. It wasn’t just about starting a
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ENGINEERING LIVES FOR THE BETTER ROBERT H. BISHOP, DEAN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
After more than 55 years of pursuing excellence in engineering, we remain young in spirit and full of hope for the future. For us, it’s all about helping people. The advantages are evident in our optimism, confidence and innate drive to aim higher than others think possible. Our tools and technology create fuel from landfill gases; save lives in hospitals and operating rooms; provide safer roads and effective transportation systems; purify water and deliver it to those in need; enhance domestic security; contribute to space exploration and so much more. Building upon four pillars of success – Experiential Learning, Impactful Discovery, Community Partnerships and Educational Leadership – we are educating a diverse group of engineers and problem-solvers to tackle global challenges. By providing our students with hands-on experience in realworld situations, a cutting-edge education and
significant research opportunities all driven by community partnerships, we are cultivating the next generation of engineers and fostering innovative solutions that will positively impact lives.
impactful discovery, experiential learning and community partnerships, our evolving vision to foster a global approach to engineering by capitalizing on the international perspectives and diversity of students and faculty is driving value in the community.
Each day we work harder – relentlessly and creatively – shaping our understanding of mathematics and science for the greater good. We’re proving again and again that engineers have the will power and capacity to directly and positively impact the world around us. Our commitment to partnering with industry is unyielding. We continually seek to promote the influential nature of our achievements through effective partnerships. The success of our students, research and multidisciplinary solutions is a reflection of both the quality of education we offer and the rate by which we balance change with adherence to our foundational ideals and values. Through educational leadership, 15
+1-813-974-3780 usfengineering EngineeringUSF groups/4505243/profile
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WE CONSTANTLY LOOK FOR WAYS TO INNOVATE AND ASSIST OUR STUDENTS WITH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND ULTIMATELY JOB PLACEMENT DR MICHELLE HARROLLE, DIRECTOR, VINIK SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT
traditional sports and esports such as athletes, teams, coaches, mega events, endorsement deals, college scholarships, perils of doping, match fixing, and gender inequities, just to name a few, the notable difference is the revenue model within esports. Specifically, in traditional sports, leagues and teams retain the vast majority of revenue; in esports, the publishers of video games are the largest revenue producers. Furthermore, athletes in traditional professional sports are primarily revenue dependent on the teams and leagues, conversely professional esports athletes can earn a robust living through streaming online content and collecting donations from fans.
I will argue with anyone that I truly have the best job in the world. I have the honor of getting up each day and working with the best faculty and the most amazing students on the planet in the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program at the USF Muma College of Business. Moreover, I have the pleasure of helping our students reach for their dreams. When all is said and done, my favorite day of the year is graduation, where we watch our students walk across the stage at the Yuengling Center after two years of tremendous personal and professional growth. It doesn’t get better than that! While our mission has always been to provide opportunities for personal growth and education, we constantly look for ways to innovate and assist our students with career development and ultimately job placement (currently at 99% success rate).
Regardless of your personal thoughts and perceptions of esports and video gaming, this segment is only continuing to grow, especially within the coveted younger consumer base. The nuances within the esports industry are important, authenticity is paramount, and downplaying the importance of esports will be to your detriment.
So, what is the next big innovation in higher education within the sport and entertainment industry? As we all know within business, if you are not innovating and moving forward, you are standing still or actually falling behind. While many in higher education are slow to adapt, our program and college are agile, dynamic and relentlessly at the forefront of innovation in education. Less than a decade ago, our founding director Dr. William Sutton and faculty foresaw the need to teach business analytics and social media to our graduate students, the future leaders in the industry. While analytics and now content development are key segments and established within the industry, the next phase of innovation in entertainment lies in esports.
Should we be teaching students about esports, or is it just a passing fad? If you are in education and are just now considering providing content and education opportunities into the business of esports, you are already behind the pack. Esports is the fastest growing segment of the sport and
entertainment industry! The future leaders of the sports and entertainment industry may be playing video games today, but they need more understanding of esports revenue streams and fan (customer) behavior necessary to lead the successful companies of tomorrow. In 2019, we put a spotlight on this billion-dollar industry by hosting the inaugural USF Esports Summit at the Muma College of Business. A 400-plus soldout crowd gathered for a day of presentations, panels and fireside chats from industry professionals as well as Tampa Bay visionaries like Mayor Jane Castor and Tampa Bay Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik. The key theme of the summit? Esports growth is only accelerating at an exponential rate.
In terms of a business model, how does esports differ from other industries? While there are many similarities between
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We will continue to be at the forefront of educating the next generation of innovators and look forward to seeing how our students lead the charge as agile and dynamic professionals.
+1-813-974-3637 mharrolle@usf.edu USFVinikMBA michelle-harrolle-phd
www.usf.edu/sportmba
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TO ME, INNOVATION IS ABOUT HOW WE PUT TIMETESTED IDEAS AND CONTEMPORARY KNOWLEDGE TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH NEW OR IMPROVED SOLUTIONS TO MODERN CHALLENGES.
TERRI WILLINGHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNITY DRIVEN INNOVATION but whose ideas have more conceptual and actionable meat on their bones. The real super nova of ideation erupts not in the harried rush to market but from brewing slowly in the social forum of thought and conversation with fresh minds and voices. That’s where the magic happens, where the real, enduring solutions to life’s challenges are born. At this point in history, we don’t need more widgets, or the next great household product, or another app. We need real solutions to societal challenges like climate change, efficient transportation, strong infrastructure, improved communications tools, resources for scientific endeavors and, as of this writing, solutions to serious healthcare challenges like COVID-19. I think the word “innovation” is overused. Not that I don’t appreciate or value interesting ideas, but I think many things touted as innovative today are simply refurbished old ideas or mid-to-late 20th century concepts clothed in the early21st century parlance of so-called influencers. I think we need to be honest about what constitutes real innovation, and give credit where credit is due for reimagined ideas. Thomas Edison was not more innovative than Nikola Tesla, just better at applying the accrued knowledge of others to profitable good use. The same can be said of Elon Musk, who takes Tesla’s name for his company. To me, innovation is about how we put timetested ideas and contemporary knowledge together to come up with new or improved solutions to modern challenges. I’m less interested in hearing from self-proclaimed groundbreakers and startup funders touting the next big thing, than I am in listening to those who fly under the radar and may take a little more time to articulate their thoughts,
I believe the way to seed and support meaningful real-world innovation in Tampa Bay is to provide more equity in entrepreneurship and to democratize access to the tools and resources people need to think and experiment. That’s the whole point of AMRoC Fab Lab. It’s a place where anyone can do meaningful work in an inclusive and accessible environment that welcomes people across the human spectrum.
us, to listen to ideas we’ve never heard before, and to consider them honestly, openly and with a willingness to let someone else, someone new, someone unheard of take credit, or to give up credit altogether. We can’t move forward if we’re always locked down, tied up in IP and patent protection and thinking in lockstep; that’s just ideating in a vacuum and calling it innovation. In the end, we all profit if we support each other and nurture an accessible, inclusive ecosystem of real innovation – the reimagining of ideas into evidence-based solutions for real world challenges. Tampa Bay is fertile ground for this type of useful knowledge-based growth and development. We have a diverse, multi-cultural community with a rich history of independent thought and action. We just need to invite more people who are not like us to the table to think and work together, diversify our board rooms, and open our minds and our hearts to the community we live in, for the truly innovative solutions that will make the lives of all of us in Tampa Bay and beyond truly and equitably enriching and fulfilling.
We need to see less monochromatic boardrooms and a more diverse entrepreneurial and start up ecosystem reflecting the actual multiethnic, intergenerational, cross-gender community in which we live. We need to work with more people who do not look like us, or think like we do, who have different histories, languages, perspectives and experiences to bring to the table. This is the wonderful human amalgam in which true innovation can flourish. We don’t need to be disruptive. We need to be constructive. We need to be collaborative.
+1-813-728-2822 Terri@ffcdi.org AMROCFabLab amroc-fablab
If we want to see real innovation, we have to be prepared to work with people who are not like
AMROCTampaBay.com | FFCDI.org
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TAMPA WAS ALWAYS MORE THAN JUST A CITY ON A MAP. IT WAS A PLACE FOR NEW BEGINNINGS, NEW CHAPTERS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES. SAMYR QURESHI, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, KNACK
Since moving Knack’s headquarters to Tampa in 2016, we’ve witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of funds being established to support innovation and the people behind it, not to mention support organizations, like Embarc Collective, the Tampa Bay Wave, FIBA, and Blockspaces, that play a pivotal role in connecting customers, talent, and investors in support of overall growth. With an award-winning airport (TPA love!), incredible quality of life, low startup costs, and a burgeoning venture capital and early stage financing scene, Tampa is in a prime position to attract top-tier talent and dramatically reshape the Southeastern startup scene as a whole. It’s been four years since we brought Knack home, and flash forward, millions in capital raised, a new office, and seventeen employees, Tampa Bay continues to foster our innovation while simultaneously fueling our success. The invaluable access to local talent, whether it be from Florida universities or large anchor tech companies that are attracting bright minds to the ecosystem, has allowed our team to successfully double in size this year alone.
A PLACE FOR NEW BEGINNINGS Samyr Qureshi is a proud Gator (University of Florida) graduate and the Co-Founder & CEO at Knack, an education technology startup that helps institutions power and scale peer-to-peer tutoring programs. I moved to the United States when I was six years old, and Tampa was the first place I landed. Tampa is the first place I called “home” on this continent.
The story of Knack is still very much in progress, and while we can’t know what the future will hold for us, one thing is certain - Tampa Bay will be at the heart of all.
To me, Tampa was always more than just a city on a map. It was a place for new beginnings, new chapters, new opportunities –– a place to dream and do. So, when it came time for Knack to graduate from the University of Florida, just as our team had, it was only natural that we would come home. The Tampa Bay area had a profound impact on my life, and it was my turn to return the favor.
Knack 530-968-8867 info@joinknack.com
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Knack joinknack Knack App
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AMI’S PURPOSE IS TO IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES THROUGH BETTER HEALTH. DR. MIKE CARBERRY, COFOUNDER, OF ADVANCED MEDICAL INTEGRATION Technological advances in medicine over the past 75 years have been the driving factor behind improved patient outcomes. However, one area of medicine, particularly in the outpatient setting which has lagged behind is a collaboration between independent providers. And this is one of the top complaints among patients who have been ping-ponged from one provider to the next in search of answers to their health concerns. The complaint being that each doctor takes a narrow approach in alignment with their expertise, and often does not know or understand what diagnostics or treatment have been performed by the other providers working with this same patient. For the past 25-30 years, a very limited number of forwardthinking health care providers in the outpatient treatment setting have developed practice structures that allow for a team approach and collaboration between many providers. But these practices are few and far between—and this type of model is far from the norm in health care. In 2013, Advanced Medical Integration (AMI) took a proven business model of integrated health care and began exporting it to doctors across the country. Now, seven years later, there are over 500 independent practices in 46 states that provide conservative care, physical and regenerative medicine services in a collaborative model. The collaboration is between medical doctors, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, physical therapists, rehab assistants, and in some locations nutrition providers.
their addiction to opioid use. Building conservative care practices in the physical medicine space, AMI is creating a health care option for America that does not involve the use of heavy narcotics for pain relief. Better than that, AMI clinics are helping patients restore function, and rehabilitate chronic and acute injuries to ensure long-term health. The demand for integrated health care combined with the fact that back pain is the number one diagnosis in most medical offices means that future expansion for AMI is practically unlimited. As the public has become aware of the danger of using drugs to solve chronic pain, and the fallacy of covering up problems with medication, more and more people are looking for health care providers that offer real solutions.
This collaborative approach, with providers of various disciplines working together on each patient case, is the dream that has been espoused in whitepapers for decades. And it’s extremely appealing to patients who want real solutions to their health problems. AMI provides the business structure and administrative procedures that make this collaboration possible—along with training for the doctor’s staff. All of this is aimed at creating remarkable businesses that provide excellent patient care.
It’s taken AMI 7 years to export its model into 500 practices across the country. And now the company has plans to boost that number to 1000 practices in the next two years. With our focus on helping our clients to develop a positive employee culture with straightforward administrative procedures and effective treatment options, we believe that AMI is building the model for independently owned physical medicine practice of the future.
AMI’s purpose is to improve people’s lives through better health. And a primary target is to shift the focus of health care from symptom management toward functional improvement. The focus in these practices is conservative care. Treatments offered are in alignment with the innate healing process of the body. The few drugs or surgical interventions offered are minimally invasive, and offered because of their relative safety, and used only after more conservative options have been exhausted.
How is AMI innovating Healthcare Essay by Dr. Mike Carberry Advanced Medical Integration 601 Cleveland Street STE 600 Clearwater, FL 33755 888-777-0815
The AMI practice model is aimed directly at the continuing devastation caused by the opioid epidemic. Opioid prescriptions are a primary cause of drug addiction and research has shown that many heroin users trace
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ON THE PRECIPICE TO LEAD MULTIBILLION DOLLAR TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN WEARABLE TEXTILES FOR THE FITNESS, DEFENSE AND MEDICAL INDUSTRIES DENNIS SCHMITT, FOUNDER & CEO OF NUROTECH CORP It is hard for me to accept being a visionary leader, as it is difficult for me to reconcile where I am now, with where I was 15 years ago. I didn’t envision a future where I’m the CEO/Founder of a multi-million dollar Biotech company on the precipice to lead multibillion dollar technological advancements in wearable textiles for the fitness, defense and medical industries, especially while then, I was in a desert in the Middle East. I spent the majority of my adult life serving my country, first as US Marine, assigned to 2nd Force Recon Co. then, working for OGA’s (Other Government Agencies) responsible for low profile high threat security in Southwest Asia. This work brought me both pride and pain as I suffered two severe injuries and was separated from my service with 50% disability. However, it also brought me love from a wife whom I met on base in Iraq, while assigned to her protective detail and a son who is my reason for being. After years of serial entrepreneurship and a successful exit from the ISP company I built in Afghanistan, the severity of my injuries prevented me from enjoying a functional lifestyle with my family. We decided that it would be best for me to retire. We left Tampa for a second act in Mallorca, Spain, where I planned to open a small café and live the rest of my years as best as I could, avoiding opioids and playing with my son whenever pain was bearable. The pain grew worse each day, causing limited physical activity and I gained weight. Having spent my life in peak physical condition, the inactivity caused depression, and I became determined to change my health.
We were off to the races. Since then our MVP was tested thousands of times and improved. Now, we have a wireless, wearable, washable, electrical stimulation technology that does not only read the body but delivers the therapeutic intervention and we are on the cusp of designing other wearable textiles to enhance human performance. In fact, there is even a term for it- Transhumanism, the ability to exceed human capability through assistive technology.
I travelled the world to try alternative medicine. I tried traditional physical therapy, but facing another surgery, I became despondent. One value remained, I refused to take pain medication. Mental clarity is as important as physical performance for a Tier One Operator, and I was not going to lessen my mind as a husband and father. Luckily, I discovered the therapeutic benefits of electro-muscle stimulation. In Europe, EMS is a billion-dollar industry, mostly utilized for physical fitness.
So here I am, a “jarhead” looking to change humanity through the textiles we wear. Some people call me “visionary,” I speak to boards, advise companies, and am even writing a passage on leadership. I understand the humility from the lessons of war, the gratitude from the love of family and friends, and the hope that even a person faced with devastating injuries can have a third act when dedicated to a higher mission. I assume if you’re reading this, you’re interested in technology or leadership. I hope that you find the transformative power that technology can have for good, as it has for me, and I wish you well as you lead to that end.
With improved health, I worked for EMS companies, building their brand and learning everything I could about EMS. Humanity has always tried to explore the healing benefits of electricity, which makes sense since the human body is a superconductor of electrical impulses. The problem is that electrical stimulation was misused. Only when TENS units became standard of care for physical rehabilitation did it become accepted practice. However, the technology was severely limited. Now, electricity is ready to be harnessed by technological capacity. My mission was clear, I needed to bring EMS to my brothers and sisters at the VA, I just needed to design a delivery system that was practical and more efficient than its predecessors.
+1-813-990-7138 dj@nurotech.com nurotech1 nurotech-corp nurotech
I moved back to Tampa, built a team of thought leaders, designed the FITR System, opened Nurotech, and eventually demoed for the VA. The Chief of Staff of the largest VA network stated, “you have a revolutionary product.”
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OUR COMMUNITY IS OPEN TO NEW IDEAS, IS CREATIVE, AND HAS MANY WHO CARE ABOUT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.” MARLENE SPALTEN, PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF TAMPA BAY
The Community Foundation is an ally, an advocate and a connector. We’re convenors and matchmakers for donors looking for a cause to support, community leaders working to solve a complex issue, business leaders wanting to strengthen their corporate giving, or someone desiring to volunteer time and talents. Philanthropy is an investment in our community. The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay connects “investors” and other leaders in order to tackle our region’s most pressing issues. We’ve been in the Tampa Bay area decades, and we’re continuously evaluating ways to make our community stronger, through projects like the Regional Competitiveness Report, and aligning with people who are best equipped to address the issues. The creative, innovative thinkers who are making exciting developments in the Tampa Bay business world are assets when it comes to philanthropy and creative solutions to community issues. Philanthropy can be a great vehicle to become connected. Our community is open to new ideas, is creative, and has many who care about continuous improvement. I’m optimistic on the future of philanthropy in our area because of these innovative thinkers and doers. We can create positive changes by engaging more people. I encourage every local resident – especially entrepreneurs, business owners, people who are early in their careers, and retirees – to find a way to get involved and give back. Philanthropy is simply good business.
The COVID-19 pandemic affirmed what I’ve long believed: Crisis brings out the best in those who truly care about their community – and philanthropy is the place to turn both for immediate help and long-term resiliency. Philanthropy creates hope for those in need, and it creates a stronger connection between those who give and our community, whether it is at a time of immediate crisis or as we work on solutions to long-term problems.
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4300 W. Cypress Street, Suite 700, Tampa, FL 33607 813-282-1975 info@cftampabay.org 110 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-777-5858
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THE BEST WAY TO BE INNOVATIVE WITHIN THESE SAFE SPACES IS TO APPROACH THE CONVERSATION FROM A POSITION OF CURIOSITY. ERIK C. SMITH, MANAGING MEMBER
The demographics of America have been shifting toward a more multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial population. People of color are quickly becoming the majority. Most companies continue to conduct business in ways that do not align with this evolving paradigm.
us to better understand our differences but it also provides an opportunity for all of us to embrace what we have in common. In order to examine ourselves and our organizations, we need shared working definitions of diversity, inclusion and equity. Inclusivity, LLC frames each of these concepts with the expressed purposes of cultivating open and honest conversations and creating organizational innovation.
How an organization practices inclusion will determine if these evolving demographics will shape leadership, impact supplier diversity and whether or not the broadest swath of American consumers will be future customers. Common sense dictates the incorporation of these factors, especially the demographic data, into an organization’s decision-making process. But how we solve for these new developments, requires us to embrace an innovative mindset. Many of the conventional practices of inclusion and diversity have not made a decisive impact on the organizations that have attempted to address these issues. They don’t work because they rely on inflexible organizational systems that are not designed for change. Many of these systems are designed to maintain a status quo. And given the shifting demographic paradigm the status quo often will not align with the evolving consumer base. Business-asusual simply will not meet the challenges of engaging the 21st century consumer-base.
Diversity is about data. What is the actual demographic diversity of your organization? Does your organization reflect the demographics of the community you serve? Does your leadership team reflect the demographics of the society in which we live and work? Demographic diversity can be counted, and keeping track of it can keep organizational leaders accountable to the new demographic paradigm. Inclusion is an integral part of business systems, the policies, practices and procedures that allow all of those voices to be heard. We often refer to inclusion as the practice of inclusion in order to highlight the import of what we do vs. what we say we do. And, equity concerns the culture of a company or organization that is interested and invested in hearing from all stakeholders regardless of vertical hierarchies. No one voice should be louder than another. Whether a janitor or CEO, each voice carries can carry the same weight within a company or organization. Equity is vital because it creates unique opportunities for innovation. Extraordinary things occur when leaders listen to their teams.
To embrace change, we must disrupt the old ways. This requires people to have difficult conversations within safe spaces that permit individuals to discuss complex issues. One (of many) critical conversations must address American race relations and the racial inequities that continue to limit organizational productivity and potential. Done the right way, these conversations can be part of the work through which we can grow as individuals, companies/organizations and as American citizens.
Whenever we assess an organization, we are committed to asking ‘why’ early and often. By asking why in this way, we can sometimes grasp the impact of the business systems that are impeding change in an organization. Once you engage a robust process of organizational assessment you can begin to identify the antiquated systems and practices that impede innovation. And of course, organizational leaders must be willing to change and be more inclusive of a wider demographic group. This is when real change can begin.
Race relations work will give us a deeper understanding of one another, our communities and our history. It’s a way of saying: ‘help me to better understand you and your lived experience.’ This type of honest, authentic inquiry is generally appreciated, and it does not require personal guilt, nor does it rely on the rigid strictures of outdated discourses. This form of generative inquiry is designed to practice critical listening and it strives for understanding, over response, argument, or defensiveness. Another way to adjust your approach and your thinking is to consider unconscious bias, a common form of bias that exists within everyone. This simple adjustment helps us to frame the challenges in ways that assign work for all of us. It will help us to become better leaders and more engaged members of society. Introspection based on this framing allows
Inclusivity LLC +1-216-798-8979 erik@inclusivityllc.com
Inclusivity, LLC Inclusivity LLC
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THE GSF IS PROUD TO CALL TAMPA BAY HOME AND SUPPORT THE WARFIGHTERS THAT WORK TO DEFEAT THE ENEMIES THAT WISH US HARM. COL (RET) STU BRADIN, GLOBAL SOF FOUNDATION
We cannot win this fight alone. War drives change, and the defense industry in Tampa Bay and Orlando has grown at an incredible pace. SOF is a big reason why. Many companies see that doing business with SOF often leads to product proliferation into the larger conventional forces, as well as with our international partners. This combination has made Tampa Bay and Orlando the epicenter for SOF and international training and readiness. SOF often gets equipment years before their conventional counterparts, and their training and readiness must be top-notch to sustain their incredible survivability and lethality. SOF also tends to challenge industry and push technological growth. As I approached my retirement from U.S. Special Operations Command in 2014, I decided to keep serving my nation and the wider Special Operations community through the formation of a new professional SOF association – the Global SOF Foundation (GSF). Since 9/11 U.S. special operations forces (SOF) had over doubled in size and were responsible for the bulk of
the fight against terrorism. As a result, the community needed an organization outside of government to support it and help educate the public and policy makers on the proper use of SOF and what it takes to develop these amazing forces. Additionally, it was important to us to support the creation and advancement of SOF among our international partners and allies.
The GSF is entering its seventh year, and the need to continue educating leaders, policy makers, and industry is still our major focus. There is a lot of talk about technology and innovation in Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas, but I submit that Tampa Bay and Orlando are rapidly gaining on these tech hubs because of their roles in the global security arena.
Global SOF Foundation info@gsof.org GlobalSOF global-sof-foundation
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THE ENGAGEMENT ECONOMY I’M TALKING ABOUT IS WHERE VALUE IS CREATED WHEN VALUE IS GIVEN. SHANE NEEDHAM, CMO, COCONSPIRATOR In marketing, the Engagement Economy is defined as the competition for the valuable attention and cognitive bandwidth of a target audience. It’s a very real and valuable asset that is becoming more complex and harder to attain with each passing year.
proving the incredible value to be gained just by simply deciding to take that first step.
Decide in Favor of Impact One could argue the events of the past year have given us many opportunities. The opportunity to take a break. The opportunity to grow and the opportunity to reflect. Of all these, there has been none greater than the opportunity to invest. Investment comes in all shapes and sizes, but an investment of time and attention almost certainly provides the most value.
But, this is not the Engagement Economy I’m talking about. Real engagement is not about Facebook likes, email clicks, or contact forms. I mean it is, but it’s not. Engagement, as I’m thinking about it, has more to do with relationships than it does retweets. Over the past 8-10 years, we have seen a groundswell of activity in the Tampa Bay area that has spurred growth across a myriad of industries and indicators. We have seen our innovation and entrepreneurial community flourish while our physical and economic growth has exploded. We are seeing greater collaboration and connectivity resulting in real and lasting relationships that will hopefully perpetuate this cycle.
It may not be altogether profound or revolutionary, but recognizing time and talent as hard-currency was a turning point for me. Each of us has something to give that is valuable to someone else. When we make an investment of ourselves in others we are creating a collective impact. These investments provide valuable returns that are not exclusive to the one making the investment.
In that time, I’ve had my own personal groundswell of activity and growth. I have learned from many and I have gained a lot. I have enjoyed remarkable opportunities and celebrated some noteworthy milestones. And, when I look closely, there is one singular cause. Engagement.
Our communities, industries, and ecosystems are all sustained through the contributions of those who support them. We each have value and should be diligent in applying it where it can have the greatest impact.
The Engagement Economy I’m talking about is where value is created when value is given. It is when people give their time and talents for a greater purpose or cause. Yes, it’s about volunteering, but it goes beyond that. It is about sustained collaboration and commitment to helping others grow.
Decide in Favor of Us
Decide in Favor of Action
Like in marketing, the ultimate goal and a key performance indicator of all our efforts is advocacy. When you are an advocate for others they will become an advocate for you. When you help and support the growth of a community, that community will help and support you. While it takes commitment, it is simple and it is repeatable.
In order for a community to grow, we must be patrons of it. This is never more true than during a time of so much uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and unrest. When we decide in favor of what will lift us all, we are focused on sustainable value instead of immediate results.
The first step is always a decision to take action -- to do something. In my case, that was the choice to jump on a bus headed for Austin. I was looking for a little adventure so I took a chance on the unknown. But, when I returned from my StartupBus experience, I knew I had been changed and this was only the beginning.
Regardless of your talent, experience, age, or upbringing, you have something valuable to give and something valuable to gain if you participate in the Engagement Economy. Tampa Bay has so many successes ahead. So, join us. We need your help and you’ll be happy you did.
I was introduced to a community of people that have, in one way or another, been the benefactors of everything that has come my way since. This community provided me with connection, opportunity, unconditional support, and immeasurable value. The relationships formed with the StartupBus community led me to several other communities.
letsconspire letusconspire theshaneo
A singular choice in favor of action compounded through continued engagement, eventually allowed me to work with several other organizations like Tampa Bay Wave, Synapse, and Frameworks. Thus 24
+1-727-565-2535 shane@coconspirator.co
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CHOOSE YOUR PATH TO INNOVATION JODY HANEKE, CEO AND FOUNDER OF HANEKE DESIGN
Disruptive Innovations Reinvent the Way We Do Things Then there’s the game-changing side of innovation — disruption. These types of innovations use technology to completely transform the way services are delivered. Innovations such as these are often brought to market by start-ups because they approach problems from a new perspective, as opposed to existing companies that are more focused on maintaining than disrupting. Both types of innovation require you to take a step back and look at unconventional ways of solving a problem. This often gets dampened because people tend to look at things incrementally, building on processes that already exist rather than reimagining them altogether. Instead, we need to look at the big picture and start thinking creatively. That’s why, at Haneke Design, we encourage our clients to adopt methodologies in order to facilitate that start-up mindset within their existing organizations. Innovation is more than just having a great idea; it requires making bold plans. Most likely, you won’t be able to make that big leap in a day, but my advice to you is to build a roadmap that includes scheduled reflection points to reassess the plan and pivot when required. Use this time to look at your analytics, budget, and the changing market. At Haneke Design, we have taken great care to refine this process in order to facilitate creative thinking and innovation. The key is to continually take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Keep referring back to the problem you are trying to solve and allow yourself the flexibility to change your plan as new solutions arise. I feel very lucky to be part of a community that prioritizes innovation. Tampa’s innovative culture has a lot of momentum right now, which is continuing to attract creatives, technologists and thought leaders to the area. I have seen first-hand how a culture of innovation can inspire others to get out of their comfort zones and begin to think more creatively, and it is something I am truly excited to be a part of. I think that in order for something to be innovative, it must be transformational. It must also create value by solving a meaningful problem in a unique way. The way I see it, there are two different paths to innovation. The first is automation, which is when technology is used to convert an analog process to a digital one. Then there’s the second, more exciting level of innovation, which is disruption. Below, I will break down both paths to innovation and explain how they are essential to business success.
Jody Haneke is CEO and Founder of Haneke Design, a full-stack custom software development agency in Tampa, Florida. Haneke was part of the emerging field of user experience design from the day he graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a degree in Graphic Design in 1995. Haneke Design has become the go-to resource for companies such as NYSE, Paramount Pictures, Target, and the One World Observatory to launch digital products that amaze and delight end-users.
Typically, the First Path to Innovation is Through Automation The first form of innovative thinking is automation. This is when you take an existing analog process and automate it in order to increase efficiency and business performance. Throughout the last decade, we’ve seen a huge increase in digital automation. Businesses are realizing that in order to stay relevant, they must continually adapt as technology advances. Innovations of this kind are often the result of digital transformation initiatives and can include things such as the creation of a custom mobile experience, cloud migration, or even entirely new business models based on new technology.
+1-813-605-3619 contact@hanekedesign.com hanekedesign haneke-design
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GO OUT AND MEET STAKEHOLDERS CLOSE TO THE PROBLEM AND LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN UNTIL YOU GENUINELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU NEED TO SOLVE. ERIK MALTAIS, CEO, IMMERTEC
Innovation is born when the probability of success is extraordinarily low but your passion and drive to solve the problem is so great, you’re willing to endure uncertainty and discomfort to push through and find a solution. If you want to innovate, you can’t give up too early. The advice I often share with early-stage startup founders is to commit to the problem entirely. Once you do that, start listening. Go out and meet stakeholders close to the problem and listen, listen, listen until you genuinely understand what you need to solve. Let everyone know what you’ve set out to accomplish, no matter how close you are to solving it. If you focus on money, a byproduct of success, you won’t push through to truly innovate a solution to the problem you’re solving. I think it is essential for startup founders to support and grow their local community. You have an insatiable demand to connect with other humans and, most importantly, the people in your community. This culture is growing in Tampa Bay. With organizations like Tampa Bay Wave, Bunker Labs, and Embarc Collective helping early-stage founders build successful ventures, it creates a community where founders are hungry to grow Tampa’s economic footprint. I think we’ll begin to see this take place in similar growing startup hubs. So rather than proximity to capital markets being most important to a startup’s success, the focus will turn back on the founders and founding team’s ambition and focus. Have they positioned their startup in a region that can best support their growth? Are they really focused on solving the problem? The success of any startup will be more dependent on the founders’ will to continue pushing for innovation and their ability to curve failure when presented with challenges. In the end, they will continue to push, no matter what it takes, to find the right path to win.
I think in the next 10-20 years, capital markets will start to regularly invest in areas they wouldn’t have otherwise traveled to as virtual meetings become the new normal. It will be more critical than ever for startup founders to focus on building companies in regions advantageous to their business model versus building in or nearby capital markets. If founders focus on their region’s specialization or potential, they can immediately start to solve problems that hit close to home. In turn, the community will rally around them, facilitate introductions and help get buy-in from established regional partners who can help you push the needle. Leveraging a region’s strengths positions startups to work with stakeholders who also care to solve the problem.
Immertec info@immertec.com
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CREATIVITY AS THE CATALYST FOR INNOVATION. MICHAEL WESTAFER, FOUNDER & CEO OF ROGER WEST CREATIVE & CODE Roger West Creative & Code is not your typical innovation story. We aren’t a tech startup, we don’t have patents pending, and our goal isn’t to be featured in Wired. We are a digital marketing agency, born and raised here in Tampa Bay. We like to think of ourselves as the creative catalysts of innovation. Our own pathway to innovation lies in how we view market disruption through our clients’ eyes. Don’t get me wrong. We do awesome work. Our people are among the best at what they do. We’re regulars on the Tampa Bay Fast 50 list and broke into 2020’s Inc 5000 list for a reason. What I mean is, we don’t sit around trying to figure out how to reinvent digital marketing. We’re here for something far more important. Sometimes that means telling a story about an innovative solution one of our clients developed. Sometimes it means creating a website that delivers a client’s innovative vision to the right audience. Sometimes it means bringing people together from different organizations and helping the magic happen.
How One Connection Can Spur Innovation
It Started on a Card Table with a Home Equity Loan
Fast forward 13 years, and Roger West is now a full-fledged digital marketing agency. We have over 20 team members, Chris is still by my side, and we have an impressive portfolio of clients. The thing I’m most proud of is being named a Best Place to Work three years running.
I like to tell people about how Roger West came to be. It’s a story about unbridled optimism and passion – two traits I believe I share with a lot of my fellow Tampa Bay area lifers. I grew up in Clearwater. I went away to school to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and knocked around different creative and tech jobs for a while. I’ve been a designer, a programmer, a creative director, and a college instructor.
But we wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for a handful of friends who introduced me to then-smaller companies in 2007. Those connections led to us landing Roger West’s first clients. Legendary companies like Bloomin’ Brands, ConnectWise, Tribridge and WellCare took a chance on us. They helped us gain footing, grow our brand in Tampa Bay and attract other clients.
I worked my way up to vice president of marketing and technology at a health insurance company. When the company lost its VC-funding in 2006, I was spared the mass layoff and awarded a one-year contract. It was up to me to figure out what would be next.
In return, we became a lever for their innovation as they disrupted markets and grew into national brands. We are fortunate that many of those early connections remain.
“We’re here to help our clients do big things – and to make sure the world knows about it.”
The great thing about innovation is that it doesn’t have to entail developing software or creating a new product. It often originates from the creativity that helps those inventions come to life. As a creative, marketer and entrepreneur, I feel lucky to call Tampa Bay home. This is a place for all types of innovators.
I had no business starting Roger West in 2007. I lacked a large support network, working capital and a business plan. But I took the plunge anyway. I started out with a card table as a desk and a home equity loan, along with my tech-genius friend, Chris Aybar. Fortunately, I’ve always said this is a big community with a small-town feel, which is one reason connections here have so much potential for growth.
6730 W. Linebaugh Ave, Suite 201, Tampa, FL 33625 +1-813-415-3135 mwestafer@rogerwest.com rogerwest.com 27
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HARD DATA DRIVES A STRATEGICALLY FOCUSED MARKETING PLAN, NOT CONCEPTS OR IDEAS OR WHAT YOU THINK OR BELIEVE YOUR CLIENTS MAY WANT TO HEAR. ERIC R. POLINS, MANAGING PARTNER
Businesses have focused on traditional methods of communications and marketing to spread their message to their customers. But those models have shifted and the pace at which communications is now delivered has accelerated to break-neck speeds. It’s easy for a company’s message to get lost amid all the chatter that stretches across many channels. HCP Associates fills an industry gap by applying traditional research practices with strategic planning and advising senior leaders on implementing best practices to build brands and support messaging and communications for clients worldwide.
Fortunately, companies don’t have to take a random shot in hopes their message resonates with their clientele. Modern communications and marketing embraces innovative (research-based) techniques to ensure your business message is communicated accurately and to your intended audiences.
Once you have done the search and crafted a marketing plan, you have to execute it via the appropriate channels - which isn’t always the easiest goal to accomplish.
Successful communications and marketing requires the development of research-driven data, both quantitative and qualitative, that is incorporated into a strategic plan and then executed via a marketing plan that delivers communications that your clientele wants to hear.
There have been sweeping changes over the past year in the world of communications and marketing with a massive shift from traditional models to those that incorporate digital tools and related assets.
Innovative communications and marketing involves crafting messages that utilizes an 80/20 split.
Incorporating social media and digital targeting and understanding the shifting changes in buyer preferences, especially in the past year, are integral to businesses success.
Eighty percent of effective communications must focus on what your targeted client wants to hear with the other 20 percent based on what you want to communicate about your business’ vision, mission, mantra or value-added proposition to your client.
How you plan to communicate and market your message is just as important as what you say. The speed of today’s communications and the volume of messaging delivered to consumers is what my business partner Sean Coniglio and I call the “Mr. Magoo effect.”
Unfortunately, too many public + private sector leaders fail or don’t achieve an even greater level of business success because they mistakenly reverse these communications and marketing concepts when speaking to their clients.
Mr. Magoo was a cartoon character who wore really thick glasses and the world through his glasses was always blurry. The same is true today in the world of communications. The speed at which communications move via a multiple of delivery platforms can cause one’s vision to blur over.
Before you can craft a message, however, you have to understand your client’s needs, fears and desires, and that is accomplished by market research. At the end of the day, facts and figures matter.
Joseph Garcia International Center 1101 Channelside Drive, Suite 301 Tampa, Florida 33602 813-318-0565
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I AM FASCINATED BY THE ROLE THAT INNOVATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGY PLAY IN THE WORLD. TIM SCHAR, PRESIDENT – TAMPA MARKET, TRUIST
Innovation is a mindset that is often born out of necessity to change the status quo. Innovators tend to look at the current situation and think about ways to improve it. Innovators can range from a tinkerer who creates makeshift solutions in his or her basement, to a scientist attempting experiment number 100,000 in an effort to determine the most effective solution. I am fascinated by the role that innovation and new technology play in the world. Before the industrial revolution, workloads were manual with “one man, one load” mentality. Use of resources was crude and inefficient. Large workloads required a linear increase of labor. With the innovation of machines (steam-driven machines at the time), workloads were shifted to a level beyond human capacity. The use of machines allowed us to decouple productivity from linear resources, and “bend the cost curve” as production increases. The future of innovation is no different, but the machines have changed. The digital revolution has accelerated information loads beyond human capacity. Before computers, computation required rooms full of human “calculators”. With the advent of computers, computation became instantaneous and highly reliable. Parallel processing and automated cloud resource management has exponentially accelerated workloads. In the future, machine learning will drive innovation beyond human capacity by automating the scientific process. In finance and banking, consumer technology has dramatically changed customer preferences and expectations. In the future, banking must be mobile, available in real-time, highly secure and accessible through multiple access points. Real-time user data will inform credit decisions, services and advice. Financial institutions will be forced to reimagine the back-office, compliance systems and customer service. For innovators it is important to expand your network beyond your geographic or personal connections. Reach out to founders, graduate students and university professors to seek help and inspiration. Build an advisory board of people with different skills than you have to supplement your capabilities, and try new tools and methods to push your own limitations.
Truist +1-813-224-2505 timothy.schar@suntrust.com tschar245 tim-schar liveonahill
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ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND RISK, YOU CAN CONTROL IT. DR. RICHARD M. SMITH, FOUNDER & CHAIR, STOCK SAVVY
One of the greatest wealth-building tools available, the stock market has long been out of reach for most people. I believe that no one benefits in the long run when we have to depend on other people to invest our money and wealth is increasingly concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. When I discovered that many top investment advisors and wealthy traders used unique mathematical formulas to invest in the stock market, I decided to try it out myself. Using my own formulas, I found that I could make more money and take less risk, regardless of market performance. In 2004 I used this algorithm to build one of the first online financial technology platforms. I wanted to share this discovery because I believe anyone—regardless of age, investing experience, or income—should be able to invest in the stock market. In 2013, I founded TradeSmith, which started as a simple way to track portfolios and gradually evolved into a powerful suite of risk-management and portfolio analysis tools. The company grew to over 30,000 investors, who entrusted TradeSmith’s technology with a staggering $20 billion. After 16 successful years, I sold my interest in TradeSmith at the top of the market. I didn’t sell TradeSmith, however, because I thought I was done; I sold it because I wanted to do more. I have not lost my passion for helping people take back control of their money. Far from it. I will continue to use my experience as a successful investor and my expertise in technology and behavioral finance to level the playing field for people who are eager to understand investing and build wealth.
Dr. Richard M. Smith Bio Dr. Richard Smith studied mathematics at University of California, Berkeley and then earned his PhD in Systems Science from the Watson School of Engineering at SUNY Binghamton under the late Professor George Klir. Over the last decade, he has researched and developed algorithms and services that provide investors with tools to develop a systematic approach to investing. Smith has led and exited multiple successful businesses based on his work, and his platforms have been used and trusted by tens of thousands of individual investors managing and tracking billions of dollars. He has been involved with the Foundation for the Study of Cycles for over a decade and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board and CEO.
I am currently working on technology that will help investors better understand and evaluate risk in the market. Most people have no idea how powerful of a tool good risk management is. They look at risk as something to stay away from. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. Once you understand risk, you can control it. By taking smart risks, you can truly transform your financial future. Additionally, I am creating resources to help individual investors better understand how to use investing as a tool to build long-term wealth, avoid common mistakes that even the most seasoned investors make, and tune out daily micro-fluctuations in the market that can mask the actual, meaningful signals. These ventures all have one thing in common. I am using my experience and expertise to help people and make Tampa, and the world, a better place.
r@richardmsmith.com DrRichardMSmith investing_dr
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COMMUNICATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT YOU SAY, BUT WHEN YOU SAY IT.”
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Stress on family members during this time is exacerbated when they’re kept in the dark. In an age when we can communicate quickly and efficiently via our cell phones, my partner and I wondered why communications aren’t clearer and more frequent during surgery?
ERIC CARTER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AT FAST PATHWAY INC
We discovered there is a need in the perioperative space to enhance communications with family members but also believed a solution already existed. But after exhaustive research, we learned that wasn’t the case. We then decided to meet some technological engineers and geniuses to find a way to improve communications during surgery. Believing this would be easy, five years later we’re still in development. We do, however, plan to launch Doc-ORTM in 2021. We learned it was difficult to come up with a meaningful solution that will really move the needle and provide a scalable product in hospital settings, ambulatory surgical units and outpatient surgical centers. Then, when COVID hit last year, it made our solution an even more necessary product because family members are not allowed on hospital campuses nor permitted to sit in a waiting room during surgery. Additionally, if their loved one happens to contract COVID, family members aren’t allowed to be by their side. The pandemic has really shown a spotlight on the necessity for a product like Doc-ORTM that can be used throughout the healthcare system. We’ve had to be very innovative during the product development phase - especially with a solution that will be used in the healthcare industry. Open communication with the entire team was crucial to success. Hospital administrators, the legal team, because of patient-privacy issues, and technology experts, among many others, needed to be in constant contact to ensure all potential problems were being addressed. Additionally, roll out has been difficult because we’ve had to gather feedback from all concerned parties to ensure everyone was kept informed.
Eric Carter is a co-Founder of Fast Pathway Inc with Brandon Sultemeier and Kevin Makati. He currently practices family medicine and works as a hospitalist in Tampa Florida.
Fortunately, people believe in Doc-ORTM and those same individuals continue to push for its viability throughout the healthcare system here in the greater Tampa Bay area and around the world.
As practicing physicians and frontline workers, my business partner and I were amazed to discover communications between surgical teams and the patient’s family members were not as frequent as they should be.
Ultimately, that’s why we will be successful - because people are passionate about this product and pushing for it, and we’re really excited about their support for Doc-ORTM and the positive impact it will have on communications throughout the entire healthcare system.
While it can be difficult to communicate with the patient’s family during surgery, because the surgical team is focused on the patient’s needs, we also came to the conclusion caregivers can improve their bedside manner with the patient’s loved ones by being more communicative. It didn’t seem right to make family members wait until the end of a surgery, which can last many hours, to get an update.
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INNOVATION AND GROWTH ARE BLOCKED BY LEADERS ON AUTOPILOT.” JAMIE RENEE, FOUNDER AND CEO I have found that in business and in life, you are either growing or regressing. Change is constant and time doesn’t allow for long pauses. Because of this, it is imperative that leaders remain vigilant, continually assessing if their organization is being positioned to grow or regress. Leaders must be willing to question conventional wisdom, the fundamental practices of their company, and the validity of their own assumptions through feedback loops.
Feedback loops invite divergent thinking. A great question for leaders to ask is, “how do we make this 10x better?” Innovation can come from anywhere; leaders must ensure that all voices are heard.
Contrary to traditional thinking, growth is not a goal; it is a byproduct of having a culture of inquiry and innovation. In fact, a Harvard study of over two hundred companies shows that strong culture increases net income 765% over ten years. Growth cultures can be spotted by their frequency and use of questions and feedback loops with their people.
Additionally, feedback from your clients allows you to know if you are on or off course and helps you identify where you may need to adjust. Two powerful questions to ask your clients are, “How would you rate this project or experience on a scale of 1-10? What would have made it a 10?”
In healthy cultures, teams practice empathy by being open to other people’s thinking even when it is different than their own. They practice skepticism by being open to the idea that their own thinking could be wrong.
Leaders steer teams towards success not by staying in a straight line, but – like riding a bike or driving a car – by making minor adjustments constantly. Feedback loops serve as a mechanism for leaders to gather valuable information on what worked, what didn’t, what was learned, and how to adjust for the future. Feedback makes leaders and teams great if they welcome it and do something with it.
People don’t need to be managed; they need to be unleashed. Leaders coach individuals and teams to greatness by providing them with inspiration, motivation, recognition, and feedback – not answers. A great quote by John Maxwell shares, “The greatest enemy of learning is knowing”. Questions are the primary way a person learns. In working with leaders, I have found that when they are on autopilot, they accept without questioning and they train their teams not to question. In unhealthy cultures, people who ask questions are often seen as uniformed, disruptive, or insubordinate. But what if we ask questions that shine a light on what is possible and what could change?
Leaders can get off autopilot and drive teams to achieve uncommon results by leveraging the power of questions and feedback loops.
Jamie Renee is the founder and CEO of Good Day Solutions, a consulting firm transforming why and how teams work together by aligning their strategy and their culture. The Good Day team is comprised of culture and strategy experts from a variety of sectors, including government, military, healthcare, secondary education, financial, technology, law, IP, traditional private, public, start-up, environmental and nonprofit. Good Day’s culture and strategy experts equip teams to unleash innovation, maximize opportunities, and fuel productivity by aligning their Purpose, their People, and their Processes.
Leader must be willing to be vulnerable enough to ask and be asked questions. That is how they become a catalyst of change and innovation. Leaders must create a culture of psychological safety for their teams to ask questions and provide feedback free from being shut down, blamed, or humiliated. Teams don’t learn from their experiences; they learn from reflecting on their experiences. That logic applies to both failures and successes. Successful teams perform retrospectives or after-action reviews where they ask the right questions to discover opportunities to refine and innovate together. Teams that have a healthy culture understand that they are greater than the sum of their parts. Feedback loops are a powerful tool to engage and leverage the entire team to provide and analyze data. Leaders can be transformed by what they hear if they ask the people doing the work for their feedback and listen for possibility.
Good Day Solutions 813.596.5711
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IF WE WANT TO SAVE THE VERY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT WE ALL DEPEND ON FOR FRESH AIR, CLEAN WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES, WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE APEX PREDATORS IN THEIR HOMELANDS CAROLE BASKIN, CEO
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein and is exactly why innovation is the only thing that will get us from where we are to where we need to be. Where we are is on a climate changing planet where scientists agree that today’s extinction rate is hundreds, or even thousands, of times higher than the natural baseline rate. It’s being referred to as the Sixth Mass Extinction and already most exotic cat species, who are at the top of the food chains in their regions, are facing extinction. Zoos promised to be the “arks” that would save them from extinction but in the past 200 years of holding wildcats hostage they have never come closer to fading from our planet than now.
a dreamer to make a difference though. There is so much that can be done right now with the technology we already have, to make the world a kinder, safer and more sustainable place to live. I think the biggest impediment to innovation is that most people will cling to what they know instead of reaching for the unknown and taking a risk. When it comes to our planet, we just can’t keep doing things over and over the way we always have and get a result other than the extinction of all species, including ourselves.
Any true conservationist will tell you that conservation means protecting habitats and the entire circle of life. No exotic cat in a cage is protecting habitat and no big cat, born in a cage, can ever be set free, so if we want to save the very life support system that we all depend on for fresh air, clean water and natural resources, we have to protect the apex predators in their homelands. We have the technology right now to grow the culture of innovation. Through motion sensored, Internet streaming, 360/3D cameras, we can be in the wildcats’ world without disturbing them. We can bring anyone with a smartphone or a virtual reality headset to any place on the planet via cyberspace. We have to outlaw the practice of taking wildcats from the wild, or breeding them for lives of captivity, and create demand for these immersive experiences in VR because captive breeding provides a legal smokescreen for illegal activities like poaching. If the only way you or your child can ever see wild cats is in the wild and via these strategically placed remote cameras, then it creates commerce for local people to protect their wildlife and the cameras. If the tiger is thriving in a forest, it is because the entire web of life is in balance. Entrepreneurs have to be visionaries who can look at what is and imagine what could be. You don’t have to be
Big Cat Rescue +1 813-920-4130 info@bigcatrescue.org bigcatrescue
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DISRUPTING THE GLOBAL BOOK BUSINESS
SVEN BOERMEESTER, FOUNDER, CEO, INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER, GLOBALVILLAGE.WORLD “With personal contact at an all time low in the world our book gifting business model is growing, we are a conference in a book. Books are the new business card that people do not throw away. They establish your expertise, credibility, and educate, which attracts clients and business opportunities.”
How is the commercial book publishing world being disrupted? Some clients joke with us that we are bringing back a dying art form as books are cool again. The business model however has changed completely, gone are the days of pay to play by selling advertorials or advertising. A great book on an ecosystem or industry needs to be authentic and all encompassing of all the major players sharing their story, not just whoever paid to be in there. To finance that we moved to a crowd funded book buying model where the market and the participants buy the books in bulk to use as gifts to clients, visitors, investors and employees. You also need to add technology to the printed book by embedding augmented reality videos into its pages, we do that by hiding QR codes behind the images that a mobile phone can read to activate a video. The books also need to be available online as ebooks, a blog and ultimately a forum where all the participants can communicate with each other.
How do you set up your business in new cities and countries? We look for skilled marketing professionals in each city that know their community well and form 50/50 partnerships with them where they collect the stories and we design and print the book. We are a fast growing tribe of fun and energetic publishing entrepreneurs, partners and friends. We all share a passion for innovation, beautiful places and cultures that we want to embrace, share and showcase with the rest of the world. We are always looking for marketing entrepreneurs to join our team, please reach out to me on LinkedIn or info@globalvillage.world.
Sven Boermeester is a global publishing entrepreneur with a career that spans over 20 years with stops in more than 100 countries. He was born in Antwerp, Belgium and grew up in South Africa. After completing his business studies in Cape Town, he opened his first media company and started publishing the trade and industry directories for South Africa followed by the launch of the Best of the World publishing series in Dubai. Fast forward 20 years and 183 ‘Best of’ editions across 60 countries, Sven now lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and young son. He is working on disrupting the publishing business by mapping out the Innovation ecosystems of every major city, in the U.S. and around the world, through his latest Innovation books and augmented reality video series.
How has COVID - 19 changed your business? We have been very fortunate and seen significant growth over the pandemic as events and exhibitions have had to reinvent themselves. We see ourselves as an exhibition of innovation in book form. Everyone is now innovating some part of their business and with face to face contact moving to zoom calls our books have been a great connector and touch point for companies and their clients.
info@globalvillage.world sven-boermeester-8605823 Global Village World
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CHAPTER 2
FUTURE CITIES & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
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“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” — MILTON BERLE
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When you combine Tampa’s little slice of paradise with our thriving tech and entrepreneurial scene, it’s the setup for an innovation success story. The word is out! Tampa is quickly becoming a hub for the country’s top innovators. When you combine our little slice of paradise with our thriving tech and entrepreneurial scene, it’s the setup for an innovation success story.
efficient and more effective on the services that we provide our community every day. As Mayor, my goal is to spark those conversations and make the connections so that Tampa continues to be on the cuttingedge of innovation.
Tampa is a city on the move, a city full of visionaries, entrepreneurs, innovators and some of the world’s most creative thought leaders. Our robust talent pipeline, low cost of living, diversity and vibrant social scene makes Tampa a top city to attract and retain some of the best and the brightest.
My plan to Transform Tampa’s Tomorrow, is laser focused on five key areas: transportation, community services, housing affordability, workforce development, and sustainability and resilience. Our city’s challenges must be approached through the lens of innovation. During the 2020 Synapse Summit, we launched a technology-focused initiative to help solve our city’s problems. “Intersection of Innovation” is a fast tracking collaboration that will provide opportunities and develop the
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next generation workforce right here in Tampa. Our goal is to build a smarter Tampa from within. We will accomplish this by removing the red tape. We will create opportunities for Tampa’s creative class, provide two-way value for startups and the City of Tampa with a broad focus across disciplines and industry. With Florida among the top 5 states dominating tech employment and the Tampa Bay region home to 20 percent of the state’s IT positions, our emergence as a leader in innovation and technology proves we can both nurture homegrown talent as well as welcome major tech companies relocations and expansions.
Jane Castor, Mayor
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UNLOCK TAMPA BAY. TREASURE AWAITS.
The independent study by Tourism Economics is part of the destination marketing organization’s annual review of the economic impact of tourism on the local economy. The report revealed an increase in visitor spending, hotel occupancy, revenue, employment and overall visitation, which reached an all-time high with more than 24.5 million. In 2019, the industry supported more than 54,000 jobs, generated $2.5 billion in total wages and saved every household $840 in state and local taxes.
The heart of Florida’s west coast beats in Tampa Bay. Visit Tampa Bay encourages adventurous travelers to unlock sun, fun and culture in Florida’s most diverse travel destination. As a not-for-profit corporation certified with distinction by Destinations International’s Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP), Visit Tampa Bay works with hundreds of partners to tell the world the story of Tampa Bay. Its mission is to create vibrant economic development for the community by collaboratively increasing visitation to the destination.
While 2020 obviously had a massive impact on the hospitality industry, the Tampa Bay region was highlighted by Forbes as the one destination in the country that is spearheading the recovery and its innovative marketing and sales efforts are industry leading. Consequently, the region was the most visited destination of the year.
Underlining the importance of the hospitality industry in its local economy, an annual economic impact report by industry analyst Tourism Economics, reveals that tourism accounted for pumping $6.9 billion into Hillsborough County’s bottom line in 2019, a 67% increase in the last decade.
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smell of fresh Cuban bread and café con leche linger in the air as travelers embark on a journey to the past at old cigar factories like the new J.C. Newman Cigar Company museum or the historic Jose Marti Park, which is still owned by the people of Cuba. Ybor City also tells the story of Tampa Bay’s diversity. It was home to Spanish, Cuban, Sicilian and German immigrants that worked in the cigar factories and inspired the layers of the famous Cuban Sandwich.
Tampa Bay’s remarkable growth is seen across the board from the Tampa Riverwalk that links downtown Tampa’s top attractions along a glistening waterfront to Sparkman Wharf, Tampa Bay’s favorite waterfront food hall with incredible artwork and mouthwatering delights. New hotels, including the J.W. Marriott, are emerging in downtown and are opening the door to luxury amenities and pedestrian-friendly offerings. World-class attractions are consistently adding new reasons to visit to both visitors and residents. Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay will open hybrid coaster Iron Gwazi and across the street, guests can take the plunge and beat the heat at Busch Gardens’ water park, Adventure Island, on the new Solar Vortex ride. Animal lovers can also venture through the native Florida Wetlands Trail exhibit at The Florida Aquarium or learn about the new Manatee Critical Care Center at ZooTampa where rescued Florida manatees are nursed back to health.
Whether travelers are coming with family, friends or colleagues, Tampa Bay is where treasure awaits and Visit Tampa Bay is committed to helping each visitor unlock those discoveries in Florida’s Most exciting destination. Visit Tampa Bay 201 N. Franklin Street, Suite 2900 Tampa, FL 33602 (800) 44-Tampa VisitTampaBay.com VisitTampaBay
Tampa Bay’s historic Latin quarter, Ybor City, is brimming with history and culture. From the new Hotel Haya to the centuries-old brick-lined streets, Ybor City tells the story of the once Cigar Capital of the World and home to Florida’s oldest restaurant, The Columbia Restaurant. The
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Right: Founders took center stage at Synapse Summit for the Pitch Madness competition. Far right: Synapse Summit 2020 at Amalie Arena, Tampa Below: The inaugural Synapse Orlando event connected 1200 innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, university and government leaders for a fun and impactful gathering.
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CONNECTING FLORIDA’S INNOVATION COMMUNITIES SERENDIPITY DOESN’T SCALE. THAT’S WHY WE BUILT SYNAPSE. Innovation is a team activity. No founder, creator, investor, or leader can go it alone. The good news is that Florida’s innovation communities are resource-rich and growing rapidly, making this one of the nation’s best places to build a business and have a great quality of life.
Connecting Talent to Opportunity through Innovation Challenges
Florida has a rich history of innovation, a culture built on authenticity and a can-do attitude where we support each other through wins and losses. From Gatorade to Disney World, as the homestate of SPANX CEO Sara Blakely and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, to the starting point for NASCAR and IBM’s personal computer, and so much more.
Whether it’s utilizing an otherwise empty soccer stadium to reimagining a retail solution for Goodwill, or creating an online platform to help kids have fun while learning the essential principles of financial literacy, there are talented makers, doers and problem solvers ready to lend their expertise.
This is our story to tell. Synapse has built a movement by innovators, for innovators, curating meaningful content and connections that has literally scaled serendipity.
Corporations, nonprofits and small businesses can leverage Florida’s talent pool by hosting an Innovation Challenge. In an average of 6-8 weeks, Challenges are faster than R&D and help organizations earn
Synapse accesses problem solvers across the state to help organizations source creative solutions to their innovation challenges.
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Synapse programs feature interactive sessions with experts from across the ecosystem, fostering new connections and a dynamic conversation.
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Celebrating innovation in art with a custom installation of some of history’s greatest makers, creators and thought leaders. Created by Gina Marie Foti of The Raw Art Studios and Bunny Hedaya of B&G Art.
innovative brand equity. Challenges produce multiple solutions to the same problem giving organizations options on a path forward, and often help fill their talent pipeline in the process.
Education & Inspiration Featuring Florida’s Experts Synapse brings the best of Florida’s thought leaders and experts to the community through innovative programming. We’ve brought together thousands of thought leaders and experts to inspire and educate the innovation community. Starting with the audacious inaugural Synapse Summit in 2018, more than 3,300 innovators, entrepreneurs, executives, founders and investors participated at Tampa’s Amalie Arena. In just two years, the annual gathering has grown to more than 7,000 attendees featuring more than 350 exhibiting companies in 2020. From an interactive art exhibition featuring innovation geniuses to a keynote address from Florida-native Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of SPANX, a new twist on pitch competitions and hands on experiences in virtual reality, Synapse Summit has become Florida’s annual innovation celebration. In October 2019, nearly 1,200 packed the Ace Cafe motorcycle bar in downtown Orlando for the inaugural Synapse Orlando. There investors and entrepreneurs mingled, and educators and innovators shared the stage to talk about innovations in transportation, gaming, art, beauty and more.
Synapse Summit 2020 featured mainstage discussions with thought leaders from across the state of Florida.
Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO of SPANX was the keynote speaker to an audience of more than 7,000 at Synapse Summit 2020. She’s joined on stage by Scott Omelianuk, Editor in Chief of Inc. Magazine. 43
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Above: The man wearing a VR headset is at Synapse Orlando. Left: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor with Synapse CEO Brian Kornfeld talks about how local government can foster innovation.
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Above: Over three-days, Synapse Converge featured 45 sessions with more than 120 speakers covering topics to help Florida innovators thrive in the new economy.
Jeff Hoffman, Chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network and formerly of Priceline.com returned to Synapse to share his “3R’s for Small Business Survival” with the Converge audience: Repurpose, Retool and Redeploy.
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Below: Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO of SPANX was the keynote speaker to an audience of more than 7,000 at Synapse Summit 2020. She’s joined on stage by Scott Omelianuk, Editor in Chief of Inc. Magazine.
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Meeting the Moment - Innovating Through Crisis • Crisis fuels innovation. The dramatic and sudden reality of the coronavirus pandemic required Synapse to innovate to meet the moment. The small Synapse team came together to “repurpose, retool and redeploy,” the framework shared by Jeff Hoffman, Chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Synapse keynote speaker. Without missing a beat, the Synapse team collaborated from their respective homes to focus on our mission and create three new tools to serve Florida’s innovators: • Synapse Resources, a dynamic free platform where innovators could post needs or resources available. • Libate & Learn a virtual gathering where innovators could learn together on a variety of topics featuring experts from across the state, from tools to maintain your mental health, to an honest conversation about racial injustice, to tangible tools to raise capital in the time of the pandemic. These regular gatherings have become a fun and impactful social touchstone in uncertain times. • Synapse Converge was a digital experience created to give visibility and tools to Floridians working through the new coronavirus reality. Over three days, Synapse hosted 45 sessions with more than 120 speakers who engaged in workshops, recruiting, networking, idea sharing and provided tangible tools. Innovation showcases featured Florida companies contributing in AI, Cyber, HealthTech and SustainabilityTech. We connected with a fun Libate & Learn and mixology class. We hosted important and honest conversations on racial equity in innovation and corporate integrity.
Synapse’s Libate & Learn series has kept the innovation movement connected over engaging conversations, relevant content and drinks!
Synapse’s Libate & Learn sessions focused on tangible tools for success during the COVID crisis, like how to effectively connect with investors.
Connections: Framework for Fueling Innovation into the Future Meaningful, intentional connections are the key to accelerating thriving innovation communities and driving Florida’s economic growth, while attracting and retaining top talent—now and for generations to come. Synapse will continue to lead, creating innovative ways to shine a light on the stories of Florida’s creators, makers, doers, and thought leaders. We invite you to join the movement. Reach out to us at info@synapsefl.com and learn more at SynapseFL.com.
info@synapsefl.com SynapseFL synapsefl synapseflorida Immersive exhibitor experience at Synapse Summit. 46
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A rendering of the future RITHM At Uptown
UPTOWN UNITED AND LIMITLESS: ALL THE INGREDIENTS ARE HERE FOR AN INNOVATION DYNAMO A sleeping giant is stirring. It’s big. It’s strong. It’s just beginning to realize its potential. It’s waking up and stretching its legs. When it hits full stride it will race to the front of the pack.
pushing the envelope with a new major ride attraction each of the last 2 years, but is also innovatively contributing to wildlife conservation and education.
For the past decade-plus, metros all around the globe have realized the value of an innovation district, but few of them have the unique array of elite assets that Tampa’s Uptown District has been consistently building upon for years. The University of South Florida is now the fastest rising public university on U.S. News and World Report’s Top 50 U.S. Public Colleges ranking. Moffitt Cancer Center is among U.S. News and World Report’s Top 10 Best Hospitals for Cancer as more than 150 faculty members are working there to tackle the disease’s complexity. The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital is the second largest VA hospital in the nation and top-ranked rehabilitation hospital in the world and breaking new ground with artificial intelligence in cancer detection robotic surgery. AdventHealth Tampa, part of one of the nation’s largest health systems, is home to the Pepin Heart Institute where new life-saving treatments are developed and put into action. Busch Gardens is not only
The healthcare and medical research complex in the Uptown District is one of the largest in Florida and possibly the fastest growing among them. An 8-story $40 million clinical support building is recently completed at Moffitt Cancer Center’s USF campus and Moffitt has begun construction on a 500,000-square-foot, $400 million hospital on McKinley Drive just south of the USF campus. Meanwhile, AdventHealth Tampa’s new 6-story, 300,000 square foot, $256 million surgical tower and James A Haley Veterans’ Hospital’s 5-story, $150 million, 245,000 square foot bed tower are expected to be completed early in 2022. Growth isn’t limited to medical institutions. In the fall of 2021, the USF Research Park will open its first new building since 2005: a $42 million, 3-story, 120,000 square foot mixed-use facility that will house laboratories, offices, and meeting rooms, as well as space for dining and retail. 47
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Dignitaries break ground for a mixed-use laboratory, office, dining and retail building at the USF Research Park
The building will stand at the gateway to the research park at the corner of Spectrum Boulevard and Fowler Avenue with floor-to-ceiling windows giving passersby a look at the activity inside. On 30th Street, less than half a mile from the USF Research Park, Yuengling has broken ground on a new restaurant, beer garden, conference center and microbrewery next to the existing brewery with future plans for a hotel on the site.
Another factor which has and will continue to bring investment to Uptown is that more than half of the area’s census tracts are federally designated Opportunity Zones. That makes the area even more attractive to a national base of investors because of significant tax breaks associated with investments in businesses and development within these zones. Nationally recognized Opportunity Zone consultant, Bo Kemp, has been involved with Uptown leaders in order to make the most of the situation by identifying investor-ready projects and attracting investment.
Right in the middle of it all is the 100-acre Rithm At Uptown, in the midst of a billion-dollar metamorphosis from University Mall into a live-work-play, urban innovation hub. New tech-sector tenants include the Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics (AMRoC) Fab Lab; the USF Institute for Applied Engineering, which has lifted off with an $85 million task order to develop solutions for Special Operations Command; and Diamond View’s Vū, a 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art virtual production studio that is home to one of the largest LED volumes in the world. Vacant big box stores are being renovated or razed to make way for a mixed-use innovation village. Construction is under way on a 373unit student housing development called the Hub, which will be the first residential activation on the property at its anticipated completion in the fall of 2022.
This is the transformation that the non-profit Tampa Innovation Partnership was created to bring about. Chris Bowen is the chair of Tampa !p’s board of directors and is the Chief Development Strategist for Rithm At Uptown. “Tampa !p’s primary objective is to unite Uptown in order to leverage and maximize the impact of the area’s elite medical and educational institutions and forge together that success with the energy and creativity of Uptown’s residents, growing tech community, and entrepreneurs, from artists to astronauts,” said Bowen. “With the right coordination and planning there is no limit to what our Uptown can become as an innovation community district.”
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A major milestone of Tampa !p’s mission to create a world-class innovation district was achieved in December of 2019 when the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners and Tampa City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Tampa !p and its anchor institutions that will result in a strategic action plan and related funding for the district. “For the first time we have the local governments and the major institutions in Uptown pledging to coordinate on a plan that will facilitate growth and leverage our innovation core for the betterment of the entire community,” said Tampa !p Executive Director/Chief Potential Officer, Mark Sharpe. In addition to advocating for better infrastructure and transit options, Tampa !p has been working to nurture the local tech ecosystem. In 2016 the organization partnered with CareerSource Tampa Bay to win a federal TechHire grant which has resulted in the educational advancement of dozens of tech career seekers. Tampa !p secured agreements from 135 companies to consider TechHire graduates for employment and has convened local companies at several events designed to help them get the talented workforce they need in order to compete. Sharpe sees artificial intelligence and cybersecurity as special focus areas for job creation efforts, along with engineering and medical-related pursuits.
The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital current and future (right)
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Future AdventHealth Tampa’s Taneja Center for Innovative Surgery
A volunteer setting up for Tampa !p’s 2019 Innovation Gathering
Mark Sharpe Executive Director “We are going to work with our STEAM education and workforce development partners on a program that will help people learn the skills they need to get on the career ladder to work in fields leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. That’s where the future is going and we want to make sure the innovators in those fields are here and they have the support they need to thrive. We have to be thinking 3, 5, 10 years ahead to be truly competitive in the innovation landscape and that’s what we intend to do,” said Sharpe.
Tampa Innovation Partnership TampaInnovation
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CONNECTING PHILANTHROPY WITH COMMUNITY’S NEEDS DURING COVID-19
Donors are encouraged to contact nonprofits on the Nonprofit Needs List directly to make a donation.
The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has mobilized both its funding resources and its ability to connect to the community during the COVID-19 crisis by establishing collaborative tools to match local nonprofits’ needs with givers.
The Foundation has offered matching incentives when its own fundholders contribute to a need on the list.
TAMPA BAY RAPID RESPONSE FUND Alternatively, donors can make a contribution to the Community Foundation’s Tampa Bay Rapid Response Fund, a trusted and reliable way to donate to relief efforts.
Since the crisis began, the Community Foundation has injected nearly $4.2 million into local nonprofits. And the numbers are growing as others — including businesses, foundations and individuals — respond to immediate requests from nonprofits that the Foundation has been gathering in a central location since March 25.
Organizations like Helios Education Foundation, Florida Blue and Humana joined the Community Foundation in seeding the Rapid Response Fund with $175,000. The Community Foundation will direct the funds from the Rapid Response Fund to address immediate and mid- to long-term needs through grants to local nonprofits.
NONPROFIT NEEDS LIST The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay created the Nonprofit Needs List, a centralized list of local nonprofits’ greatest needs during the pandemic and the specific dollar amounts needed to fund each project.
“As a community collaborator, we’re positioned to act quickly to support the local nonprofits who are best equipped to meet our community’s greatest needs,” said Spalten. “We’re helping philanthropists to connect with nonprofits, and multiplying their impact by matching their donations.”
“Some of the most immediate appear to be in basic needs, such as housing and food, resources for domestic violence, access to mental health services and alternative ways to engage and educate students. We’re continuing to analyze the requests to see trends,” said Marlene Spalten, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. “Nonprofit leaders are being very creative in finding new ways to serve our community while maintaining the health of their staff and volunteers.” 51
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MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID INITIATIVE LEARNING TO IDENTIFY, UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. Objective: To raise awareness of the prevalence of mental health issues in the community, reduce the stigma, and provide viable skills to address mental health challenges. This project will focus on training and empowering key personnel in nonprofits, faith communities, and other community settings to identify, understand and respond to signs of addictions, and mental illness. Overview: Even before the pandemic and social unrest of 2020, we knew that mental illness was a serious issue in our community and all communities. Pre-2020 research shows that 1-in-6 adults in the U.S. experience a mental illness within a given year. A study released by the CDC in August 2020 found that 40 percent of U.S. adults (2 in every 5) are struggling with at least one serious mental health issue during the pandemic. Those experiencing mental health conditions can be further impacted by stigma, which is caused by fear and a lack of understanding. It can lead to harassment, bullying, violence, and discrimination, which can cause isolation, shame, and prevention of treatment for those experiencing mental illness.
NEW PINELLAS OFFICE The Community Foundation of Tampa opened a new Pinellas office located at 110 Central Avenue, one of St. Petersburg’s most vibrant streets. The office in St. Petersburg will play a vital role in serving the growing number of the Community Foundation’s Pinellas County fundholders while improving the region’s quality of life through the power of charitable giving. Now, philanthropists, nonprofit leaders and community partners in Pinellas can collaborate on ways to address our region’s most pressing issues without leaving their neighborhood.
Value proposition: Mental Health First Aid (the CPR of mental health) is a national certification through the National Council for Behavioral Health that is proven effective. Peer-reviewed studies show that individuals trained in the program:
“We often look to the business and community leaders who serve on our Regional Councils to guide our work as a collaborator, convener and catalyst in bringing resources to local communities,” said President and CEO, Marlene Spalten.
Grow knowledge of signs, symptoms, and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions. Can identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental illness or addiction. Increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress. Show increased mental wellness themselves.
In addition, local nonprofits can hold meetings at the Pinellas office, and use the Community Foundation’s virtual meeting technology.
Studies also show that the program reduces the social distance created by negative attitudes and perceptions of individuals with mental illnesses. Mental Health First Aid USA is listed in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. NREPP is a searchable database of mental health and substance abuse interventions to help the public find programs and practices that may best meet their needs and learn how to implement them in their communities. All interventions in the registry have been independently assessed and rated for quality of research and readiness for dissemination. The project will concentrate on providing MHFA certification to those who work in nonprofit organizations, faith communities, educational institutions and other arenas that include members of the public who may be in crisis.
4300 W. Cypress Street Suite 700, Tampa, FL 33607 813-282-1975
Certification and training will be provided for at least 5,000 people in those communities over a three-year period. Many of those, who serve nonprofits in our community, will be provided training at no cost.
110 Central Avenue St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 727-777-5858 info@cftampabay.org. CFTampaBay
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dotTAMPA – Domain Names for Tampa dotSTPETE – Domain Names for StPete
net/police n w.tampagov. w w : rs se ui pa” the domai cr Department ityName.tam e nt lic .E Po w w pa m “w xonomy ickers on Ta used to the ta The bumper st ember. mpanians get Ta e nc O d easy to rem . an RL bering this U very intuitive is em m pa re m e ta ar e. ic w Fe www.pol
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All city relevant domains (police, fire, water, dmv, tax, etc.) will go online on day one and point to the already existing content at the city website. These and other efforts will lead to a “jump-start” of ‘.tampa’ and aid in the community-wide adoption of this new namespace.
dotTAMPA, LLC will submit an application for the domain extension ‘.tampa’ at ICANN. Internet domain names like ‘www.visit.tampa‘, ‘www.zoo.tampa‘ or ‘www.theatre.tampa‘ will become available to relevant Tampa based entities by 2022. There will also be a ‘.stpete’ domain extension by dotSTPETE, LLC as twin to ‘.tampa’.
‘.tampa’ is designed to be a well-regulated and managed resource for the Tampa community – a digital mirror image of the vibrant city we all love. dotTAMPA and dotSTPETE are seeking letters of concept support and sponsorships. Sponsors would be granted access to premium domains like “poolservice.tampa”; or “lawyers.stpete”; please contact us for details.
dotTAMPA, LLC (FL) is designed to be a Tampa stakeholder-group funded, owned & governed, public-benefit, non-profit effort to secure the domain extension ‘.tampa’. The identity of all domain name owners will be authenticated by relevant business associations or our own authentication provider. ‘.tampa’ domains will serve as trust labels for aiding the Internet user to more easily & intuitively identify websites of Tampa based entities; thus creating trust, identity and intuitive visibility. ‘.tampa’ will make the city even more attractive for visitors, investment as well as people & businesses that wish to relocate to Tampa.
dotTAMPA, LLC, Tampa, Florida / dotSTPETE, LLC, StPete, Florida
The project requires US $3 Million in total funding in order to foster endorsements and support from all relevant Tampa constituencies (associations, city government, civil society, media), covering ICANN application-related expenses, management & overhead costs as well as the launch of the domain extension - the ‘.tampa’ registry. Supervised and driven by associations & chambers businesses will be able to claim their exact match domain name for 3 to 5 years at no cost to create a “trend” in the business community.
Alexander Schubert, Co-founder of the 2012-round new gTLD applicant for “.berlin” An active participant at ICANN since 2004 Project lead for “.airport”: dotAIRPORT.com Project lead for “.denver”: dotDENVER.org Contact: alexander.schubert@dottampa.org or +1-202-684-6806 www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderschubert
dotTAMPA / dotSTPETE +1-202-684-6806 alexander.schubert@dottampa.org
All impacting business-related dictionary-term based ‘.tampa’ domain names (e.g. realestate.tampa, tires.tampa, books.tampa) will be distributed in a meaningful way within the Tampa business community, aiding to keep revenues in the city by supporting local business.
dottampa / dotstpete dot_tampa / dot_stpete alexanderschubert
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“Dare to dream, but even more importantly, dare to put action behind your dreams.” — JOSH HINDS
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DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE OF TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN INGENUITY EVERY DAY, SERVING CLIENTS IN MORE THAN 120 COUNTRIES.
Stuart Brown, Accenture Microsoft Business Group – Technology Officer, North America Lead
As a professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security, Accenture combines unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries. With its diverse workforce of 514,000 people, Accenture delivers on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries.
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“Tampa Bay has the perfect ecosystem and momentum to drive and sustain innovation and growth, with a growing, diverse workforce, local colleges and universities, and more companies moving to the area, says Stuart Brown head of Tampa Bay’s Accenture office. “We are excited to be part of that mix and proud to say that we have a wealth of diverse talent.”
PATHWAYS FOR AN INCLUSIVE FUTURE OF WORK Under the leadership of Stuart Brown, Accenture’s people aligned to the Tampa Bay office exhibit the global culture that is dedicated to creating “new skilling” pathways for an inclusive future of work — a future in which all workers have the motivation, means and opportunity to thrive in the digital economy. Creating an inclusive future of work will require workers, employers, and workforce development organizations to collaborate and invest in building solutions towards the common goal of a stronger new skilling ecosystem. At Accenture, what is generally called “reskilling” is rather referred to as “new skilling” because skill-building is additive. When asked about the significance of the phrase “new skilling,” Stuart explained that, “We aim to provide workers with new skills to supplement their existing expertise, rather than discredit or discount what has already been learned.”
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SCALING AI AND MAXIMIZING VALUE AI remains a black box to large parts of most organizations. Accenture’s unique approach to scaling AI, analytics and automation—and the data that fuels it all—to power every single person and every single process. Effectively, by making AI everyone’s business across the enterprise, Accenture creates meaningful change for its clients—both in short-term successes and long-lasting transformation. Accenture believes that the ability to see the value of sound AI execution and make it a part of the businesses’ operating model is what sets companies apart. Accenture knows that leveraging AI technology across a business has the power to bring new outcomes—from gains in efficiency to productivity.
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TECH HORIZON IN TAMPA Accenture strongly believes that the technology market is very important to Tampa. Stuart says, “We have seen some new logos in Tampa that have allowed us to grow our local market, which is a sign of the health of the market. Tampa is uniquely positioned. The number one opportunity in the area is access to talent. We have three of the largest universities in the country within a 90-mile drive.” The region is educating numerous high-tech skills professionals, and they are staying in Tampa, unlike other markets where Accenture operates. The company believes that there is high-tech talent, especially at the executive level, that has been imported in the past, that will instead be homegrown in the near future. Accenture is holding fast to the belief that technology innovation and a diverse workforce will continue to shape a cohesive vision that is starting to grow the region and bring multiple benefits to the area.
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Accenture Cherise Belnavis cherise.belnavis@accenture.com 704-232-0748 accenture
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DELIVERING AN ALL-ROUND IT PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS PROVIDERS TO REALIZE THEIR VISION OF SUCCESS SO, WHO IS CONNECTWISE?
OUR REACH
Short answer: we’re the longest-running, marketing-leading IT software provider in the industry. More technology solution providers (TSPs) use the ConnectWise platform than any other on the market, so you can say we help keep the IT world spinning.
ConnectWise is a global company with over 2,500 colleagues and offices worldwide, but we’ll always call Tampa home.
FUELED BY INNOVATION
As you can imagine, we’ve done a lot of work over the past few decades to get us to where we are today. Back in 1982, founder Arnie Bellini got his hands on a personal computer and saw its potential to change the world. From there, ConnectWise was born…as a TSP. Yes, we started just like our partners, providing IT support to small businesses across Tampa Bay. We’ve been here ever since and helped turn Tampa Bay into the hottest tech hub in the country (hottest both figuratively and, at times, literally). But we didn’t stop at IT support.
Innovation has been running through our veins since the very beginning, and that hasn’t changed. It’s what’s pushed our platform to become the most used in the industry—and rack up a few awards along the way. But it doesn’t stop with our products. Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes, from every team, department, and colleague.
As the industry changed, so did ConnectWise. We shifted from IT provider to software provider. We understood the needs of service providers and brought innovative solutions to the market. Every step ConnectWise has taken forward has pushed the industry in a positive direction, helping TSPs with operations, support, sales, and today, the industry’s greatest challenge, cybersecurity. ConnectWise 4110 George Rd., Suite 200 Tampa, FL 33634 +1-813-463-4700 Talent@ConnectWise.com ConnectWise
Attacks worldwide are on the rise in number and severity. Recently, TSPs—our partners—have become prime targets. They hold the keys to countless small businesses’ networks and infrastructure. All it takes is one TSP to get hit. Cybersecurity goes beyond another service to sell; it’s a responsibility to fight threats and keep everyone safe. We’ve never backed down from a challenge before, and we aren’t starting now. Our innovative spirit, culture, and talent have fueled us to become our partners’ trusted ally in all things IT, and it’ll drive us to work together to keep technology and the world a safe place.
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“ConnectWise has always been driven by innovation. From introducing ConnectWise Manage to the industry and tearing down the Silos of Chaos to leading the charge in cybersecurity, we’re innovating and fueling our partners to do more, make more, and realize their vision of success.” -Jason Magee, CEO, ConnectWise
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Sourcetoad is a technology and innovation company that specializes in delivering software and development services to cruise lines, resorts, hotels, and ferry companies.
Designing software for cruise lines can be tricky. Cruise ships are strange beasts; they have all the amenities and systems you would expect to find in high-end hotels, as well as those you would find in restaurants, amusement parks, performing arts centers, casinos, and shopping malls. On top of that, they are built to withstand the trials of intercontinental ocean travel and even arctic exploration. Most software developers have never written code for such a broad, and yet specific, use case. Designing a calendar system for reservations is not a difficult task for most programmers. But designing a calendar system for reservations where the time zone can change up to three times a day is a different matter. Add in the fact that ship time isn’t actually related directly to a time zone, and most developers would stare blankly at the drawing board.
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This is where Sourcetoad comes in. “That’s the kind of engineering challenge that’s really fun for us, is rewarding, and keeps us engaged,” says Greg Ross-Munro, founder and CEO of Sourcetoad. There are always lots of new projects, especially working in cruise and hospitality. We work best as small teams in a startup-like environment to deliver on projects that really have a massive reach. We’re working on solutions that are out on display for the world to see and to enjoy.” Sourcetoad was founded in 2008 in Tampa. During the last few years, the company has gone from being a relatively small consultancy to becoming a 40-employee organization, with an additional office in Perth, Australia. Sourcetoad has been on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for three years in a row, on the Inc. Florida regional list since its publication, and has been featured on Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Best Places to Work and Fast 50 lists. “Tampa is an exciting hub for a business like Sourcetoad to thrive,” says Ross-Munro. “There are a ton of people who have a computer science degree and impressive technical backgrounds who don’t want to work in a cubicle for a huge company cranking out disembodied code every day for the rest of their lives,” says Ross-Munro. “They want to work for a company of maybe smaller repute, but one that encourages them to think critically, to solve real-world problems, and to contribute meaningful work toward true innovation – and that’s what Sourcetoad is about.”
Sourcetoad 2901 W Busch Blvd #1018 Tampa, FL 33618 1-888-801-TOAD (8623) info@sourcetoad.com sourcetoad
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Local Software Firm Provides Vital Pandemic Unemployment Assistance During COVID Pandemic Relying on extensive experience providing continuity and reemployment resources for clients during catastrophic events, Palm Harbor’s Geographic Solutions quickly adapted to provide essential financial aid and recovery assistance. Nearly 30 Years of Innovation Geographic Solutions, a Palm Harbor-based software development firm, specializes in the design of custom online solutions for workforce development, labor market information, and unemployment insurance agencies. Since inception, the company has launched over 170 websites that serve over 181 million job seekers and employers across 35 states — far surpassing any other vendor in the industry. Geographic Solutions has a rich history of ‘firsts’ including the launch of the nation’s first labor market statistics website for public and government use. The company is also credited with developing the country’s first website designed specifically for career centers, which included tools to assist staff managing individuals benefiting from U.S. Department of Labor public assistance programs.
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In 2013, Geographic Solutions developed the first modernized unemployment insurance (UI) solution, which combined elements of workforce and unemployment benefits into one website to promote proactive reemployment. The system presents individuals claiming benefits with labor market information, job search capabilities, and training opportunities – encouraging them to return to work and preserving millions in state trust funds. The system has been adapted by numerous states to meet their reemployment needs.
timeframe for a new UI system can vary, but most deployments take upwards of two years.
States Look to Geographic Solutions to Provide Assistance Not Traditionally Covered by State UI Programs
PUA functionality first debuted in Louisiana eight days after the CARES Act passed. No other vendor was able to accomplish this task and maintain high levels of accuracy and timeliness of benefits paid. Shortly thereafter, PUA functionality was implemented for clients in Tennessee and Nebraska.
In order to deploy in much less time, Geographic Solutions adapted its Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) module to handle the requirements of PUA. Geographic Solutions began adding PUA to their existing client base and developing standalone PUA systems for new clients.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the country to enter into a state of economic crisis as a record number of Americans filed first-time jobless claims. The biggest problem: unemployment systems were underequipped to process Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims – assistance not traditionally supported by state unemployment systems.
Following suit, Arizona, West Virginia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania requested standalone portals. Geographic Solutions also met the challenge of developing portals for Guam, Palau, and the Northern Marianas Islands – all of which lacked government-run unemployment programs. The sites were built using parameters based on common UI system architecture.
Geographic Solutions recognized the crucial need for state agencies to move quickly so that affected workers and business owners could access vital support resources and financial relief. The development
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By April these systems were experiencing a never-before-seen influx of user traffic and almost all saw increases in users, site visits, and page views. Some systems experienced 10,000 concurrent users, peaking at almost 350,000 visits per day, and capturing over 31,500 claims in a single day – an increase of over 8,000% from the year prior. These numbers were a drastic increase from user visits just months prior to the pandemic. Many UI sites, supported by other vendors, crashed under the upswings in traffic and system usage. Systems provided by Geographic Solutions did not experience outages or crashes. From April through the end of 2020, Geographic Solutions distributed nearly $42 Billion in funds across all unemployment systems that they support. During that same timeframe, the company was also able to flag and detect over $10.7 Billion in fraudulent claim payments, greatly preventing the depletion of federal and state trust fund money for clients.
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Driving This Initiative with Local Talent
Recognized as Tampa Bay Tech’s Project of the Year for 2020
This feat was made possible through the tremendous efforts of the Geographic Solutions team. The sheer number of PUA systems that the team developed, launched, provided guidance for, and supported in the short time, is remarkable considering no development or support efforts were outsourced – and the company maintained its existing employee stack. Throughout the turbulence, Geographic Solutions withstood the first wave of mass unemployment and stands aptly prepared to support these individuals with labor exchange systems as they return to work.
Geographic Solutions was awarded the 2020 Tech Project of the Year during the 17th Annual Tampa Bay Tech Awards. The virtual ceremony, honored individuals and organizations leading the way in the Tampa Bay tech industry. The 2020 Tech Project of the Year Award recognized Geographic Solutions’ massive effort of successfully deploying PUA functionality for 10 clients during the timeframe from April to August – a record number of systems in a short period of time. President Paul Toomey acknowledged the hard work and dedication of his team to rapidly adapt its software to process PUA, manage complex interfaces, install and balance massive new servers, staff a 24-hour tech support hub, and field claimant inquiries via live chat and social media.
Geographic Solutions 727-786-7955 geographicsolutions geosolutionsinc geographic-solutions
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AHOY MATEYS! A Software Company Designed for Teams to Unify, Automate & Accelerate CROOW is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that is designed to help organizations unify teams, automate processes, and deliver profitable work. CROOW was founded in 2019 by CEO David Capece while he was leading INC 5000 award winning digital agency Sparxoo. At that time, Sparxoo had a strong culture, innovative services, and standard processes - but something was missing. David realized that he needed a tool that would help him manage the environment he had created.
client deliverables and ensure profitability. Having discovered a market need, David set out to integrate project management, creative collaboration, and predictive analytics to help others manage their business and create a game changer for organizational growth. CROOW is designed to be the next generation of software that enables companies to break through barriers and accelerate growth. It is more than a project management platform. It is a performance management platform that includes everything you need to manage a creative or services organization. CROOW is built on five critical philosophies that will help any firm Unite & Conquer.
Like countless others in the service industry, he searched for a software that would help him better run his agency. What he found were fragmented platforms that made it impossible to proactively manage 69
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CORE PHILOSOPHIES FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS & AGENCIES I N N O V A T E
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Unite. Great organizations are the ones that are aligned, collaborate, and operate as a single team.
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CORE PHILOSOPHIES FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS & AGENCIES
Create. Service design rooted in effective client collaboration can separate your company from competitors and set are it on paththat forare exponential Unite. Great organizations theaones aligned, collabogrowth. rate, and operate as a single team.
Create. Service design rooted in effective client collaboration can Operate. Companies must optimize resources and workflow to separate your company from competitors and set it on a path for consistently deliver excellence to their clients so they return and provide exponential growth. referrals.
David Capece Founder & CEO
Operate. Companies must optimize resources and workflow to Automate. Processes, systems and technology should be implemented and consistently deliver excellence to their clients so they return and automated to improve provideefficiencies referrals. and quality consistency.
Aaron Lipkin Lead Developer
David Capece Founder & CEO
Accelerate. The never-ending game of execution, measurement, and Automate. Processes, systems and technology should be implemented automated forward to improvelooking efficiencies and quality adjustment requires businessand intelligence, strategy and consistency. sprints of progress to leap through gates of growth.
Accelerate. The never-ending game of execution, measurement, CROOW’s software platform has been incubated through agencies, and adjustment requires business intelligence, forward looking marketing organizations, and in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Beyond strategy and sprints of progress to leap through gates of growth. the platform’s best-in-breed project management features, CROOW really shines with advanced collaboration and business designed CROOW’s software platform has beenintelligence incubated through for the creative class. It helps leaders predict upcoming work, optimize agencies, marketing organizations, and in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. thefaster. platform’s best-in-breedits project manageresources, and make smart Beyond decisions Approaching second ment features, CROOW really shines with advanced collaboration birthday, CROOW has already been named one of the 50 most innovative and business intelligence for the creative class. to It helps companies in Tampa Bay. CROOW is a designed high upside startup poised sail leaders predict upcoming work, optimize resources, and make into the national spotlight. smart decisions faster. Approaching its second birthday, CROOW has already been named one of the 50 most innovative companies CROOW is built to teams reach their fullupside potential. in help Tampa Bay. CROOW is a high startupReady poisedto toUnite sail into& Conquer? Join the theCROOW. national spotlight.
Aaron Lipkin Lead Developer
Lindsey Chapman UI / UX Designer
Lindsey Chapman Creative Director
Nick Ferry Marketing Leader
Alison Engelhardt Product Manager
Nick Ferry Business Development Lead
Alison Engelhardt Product Manager
CROOW is built to help teams reach their full potential. Ready to Unite & Conquer? Join the CROOW.
ket need, n, and a game
es e than a form that zation. ite &
CROOW David Capece HQ@croow.com
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CHAPTER 4
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS “Progress is not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.” — KHALIL GIBRAN
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T T E O TL A M I N N O V AI TN EN OB VR AI S & P BA A B T A H Y V O L . 1
ACCELERATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH AI Build new custom AI enabled solutions at unprecedented speed.
Innovation Strategy | Intelligent Systems Design | Emerging Technology Engineering | Rapid Prototyping and Fabrication I Platform Development | AI Framework Development | Advanced 3D Design | System
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WE ARE THE FIRST AI+X LAB Our award-winning, multi-disciplinary team is focused on designing and developing AI-enabled systems that learn and collaborate with humans.
WE BRING INNOVATION AT SCALE Our open, scalable AI architecture approach, combined with years of experience in interactive engineering and emerging technology innovation, allows for rapid prototyping and deployment of transformational concepts, products, and solutions designed to bridge the gap between humans and intelligent systems.
1320 E 9th Ave., Tampa, FL 33605 contact@theinclab.com
www.theinclab.com
m Architecture Design | Interactive Software Development | Emerging Technology Integration
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Making the Future in Uptown Tampa & Beyond
A History of Expertise
AMRoC Fab Lab: Making the Future in Uptown Tampa & Beyond AMRoC Fab Lab, a precedent setting 7500 sq. ft. public Fabrication Laboratory located in University Mall in Tampa, is a program of the non-profit Foundation for Community Driven Innovation. The Fab Lab’s primary mission is to build capacity, empower people through activities for creative self-expression and bridge workforce and economic opportunity gaps in the process.
Terri Willingham is the author of two books on public library makerspaces, Makerspaces in Libraries (2015) and Library Makerspaces: The Complete Guide (2017), for Rowman & Littlefield publishers, both of which are used as texts in Information Sciences programs nationwide. Terri also served as Regional Director for the national nonprofit FIRST Robotics organization, helping build and support youth robotics programs for the central Florida area. During that time, Steve served as Judge Advisor to the FIRST Tech Challenge program for the state of Florida.
The Past that set the Groundwork for the Future FCDI founders Steve and Terri Willingham worked in the informal education arena for over two decades, providing mentoring support to youth in FIRST robotics and to people of all ages in the maker community.
Their combined expertise in engineering, the development of public makerspaces and first-hand experience with the positive impact of FIRST youth robotics, moved them to create the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation in 2015, to bring these experiences to more people. Two years later, with seed funding from a Lightning Community Hero grant awarded to Terri in 2017, and a diverse and visionary board, FCDI was able to work with the equally visionary University Mall owners, RD Management, to create the living laboratory that is AMRoC Fab Lab. RD Management immediately recognized the power and positive impact a creative, capacity building facility like AMRoC can have in a community and how it complements their vision for the future of the Mall as it is redeveloped in the new mixed use city center soon to be known as RITHM at Uptown
They were the architects, in 2013, of the 10,000 sq. ft. HIVE makerspace at John F. Germany Library, the flagship of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. Developed in coordination with Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library administrators, and the professional and dedicated partnership of Sumo Software and PLUGHITZ Corporation, the HIVE was the first large scale public library makerspace in the Tampa Bay area and was one of the largest in Florida, helping set other libraries on the path to public creative spaces.
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A Future of Creative Empowerment Since opening to the public in June 2018, AMRoC Fab Lab has been both an innovator and an innovation incubator. It is innovative in the sense that it has repurposed a former sportswear store into a creative fabrication lab full of 3D printers, a workshop, classroom space and youth robotics competition fields, and it enables innovation by the very fact of those tools. There is nothing like AMRoC Fab Lab anywhere in Tampa Bay, or in Florida: a complete publicly accessible facility that encompasses full-scale K-12 youth robotics platforms and builds a scaled academic and workforce pipeline from there to adult training programs and creative opportunities. AMRoC Fab Lab is unique in concept, scope, and application. Since opening in 2018, AMRoC Fab Lab has: Welcomed over 1500 guests and visitors. Hosted four in-house youth robotics teams serving more than 50 K-12 students. Launched 20 new local businesses through the Fab Lab’s Equity in Entrepreneurship program, which aims to bridge the race and gender gap in early-stage entrepreneurship. Created the Uptown Tampa Community Collaborative to better network Uptown businesses and residents. Hosted professional development and special events like Manufacturing Day, National Day of Civic Hacking, Hour of Code and TechHire opportunities. Been awarded the 2020 Tampa Bay Inno Blazer, 2019 Hillsborough Children’s Board Social Enterprise 1st place winner and 2019 University Area Community Impact Award. Provided community workforce education training to dozens in
AMRoc Fab Lab 813-728-2822 Terri@ffcdi.org AMRoCFabLab amrocfablab amroc-fablab
automatic tech and more. Organized a distributed community factory helping provide thousands of PPE units in support of COVID-19 relief efforts. AMRoC Fab Lab always welcomes new collaborative and creative community partners, and looks forward to making an enduring positive impact in Tampa for many years to come.
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Electronics hardware startup. Kid-friendly development boards to inspire the next generation of STEM careers. yourself projects that foster skill sets such as soldering, teamwork, critical thinking, basic component knowledge, problem solving and analytical skills. We believe introducing children to printed circuit boards and hardware presents the idea that they can engineer toys, gadgets, and anything they put their minds to. Thinking innovatively has allowed us to think outside of the box and create kid-friendly, fun-shaped PCB’s to grab the attention of K-5th grade, and more advanced boards for 6th and up. Going forward we hope to introduce artsy electronics to children before they are asked what careers they would like to pursue. Making partnerships with organizations that teach coding, 3D design, and other essential software skills that will be beneficial to future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Collaborating on future projects with organizations in similar fields. Robotic automated solder arm. Mass production equipment.
Focused on providing engaging circuit boards for young learners. While coding with puzzle blocks become predominate for beginners, we hope to complement these open-source platforms with PCB’s that are fun shaped and populated with easy to understand components & programmable microcontrollers. Designing kits that challenge you to create, inspire and repeat. Hearing about the future shortage of technology talent and lack of people to fill STEM careers in America, we started thinking of ways to expose engineering concepts to children as early as possible. How could we help solve this issue? After searching for products that looked fun and provided edutainment, nothing that we had in mind surfaced. Marble We then realized that what we were looking for had run project. yet to be created. Bits4Bots table at Synapse Summit As the CEO of Bits4Bots, studying Electrical 2019, Amalie Engineering at the University of South Florida Arena and being an alumna of Hillsborough Community College, I brainstormed my first crab-shaped circuit card. The issue I had with electronics is that products in the market were either arbitrarily square-shaped, they were toys in a completed design, or they were too advanced for a novice. By keeping a younger audience in mind, we can conduct research and development using colors, shapes, sensors, IoT, and small microcontrollers from the Atmel ATtiny family. Our products are designed to help learners understand concepts in electronics. Providing do it 77
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Fun shaped printed circuit boards
Turtle proto board for electronic projects. Designed with KiCad open-source software
©
Bits4Bots LLC
Bits4Bots +1-813-922-8495 Bits4bots@gmail.com larsha@bits4bots.com Bits4Bots bits4bots-llc
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CHAPTER 5
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY
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“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.” — HIPPOCRATES
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Connecting today’s orthopaedic technologies to improve tomorrow’s surgical outcomes
THE SMART WAY TO OPERATE
LEADING THE WAY, WITH TECHNOLOGY
Today, every part of our lives is impacted by technology. This technology can be innovated and enhanced to create the future of how we connect. Corin is driving the future of orthopaedics by connecting intelligence pre, intra, and post-operatively in a never-before-seen orthopaedic digital ecosystem called CorinConnect. This integrated offering enables datadriven clinical decisions that ultimately improve surgical outcomes for hip and knee replacement procedures.
Corin Group offers a unique combination of clinically proven implant solutions that work in unison with cutting-edge technologies, known as OPS™ for total hip replacement and OMNIBotics™ for total knee replacement. The OPS technology was developed through the collaboration of expert biomedical engineers and orthopaedic surgeons. It uses specialized software to simulate each patient’s unique hip joint movement through a range of daily activities. These pre-operative 81
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simulations allow the surgeon to optimize many of the key parameters required for successful outcomes, including implant selection, sizing, and positioning. With OPS, surgeons can precisely understand the nuances of each operation before it has been performed — shifting complexity away from the OR so surgeons can focus more fully on the execution of their surgical plan. Similarly, in total knee replacement, OMNIBotics™ captures patient-specific data which surgeons utilize to objectively predict sizing, alignment, and balance prior to bone resection. These parameters can be adjusted in real time, allowing the surgeon to visualize different outcomes before carrying out their final plan with robotic precision. Traditionally, the assessment of knee balance and stability takes place towards the end of the knee replacement procedure and these assessments are largely subjective, dependent on surgeon ‘feel’ and experience. With the advent of OMNIBotics™ technology and the Predictive Balance™ technique, surgeons can quantitatively measure, plan and execute a more balanced knee leading to higher patient satisfaction. Importantly, the immense amount of data generated by these simulation-based technologies is organized and matched with patient reported outcome data (collected in CorinRPM™ — the remote patient monitoring app) that surgeons can easily access in a cloudbased dashboard. Surgeons can review this anatomic and biomechanical data to observe individual and population-based trends. Over time, anonymized aggregate datasets have the potential to provide enhanced analytics and key insights to better understand patient and surgical factors that may be associated with enhanced outcomes. These connected technologies are helping to pave the way for the next generation of data-driven orthopaedics in Tampa Bay and around the globe.
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Corin Ltd 12750 Citrus Park Lane, Suite 120 Tampa, Florida 33625 813-977-4469 Molly.MacLennan@coringroup.com Corin
coringroup.com
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Advanced Medical Integration is the nation’s leading business management firm for physical medicine centers that offer a multi-specialty approach to functional improvement.
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Technological advances in medicine over the past 75 years have been the driving factor behind improved patient outcomes. However, a collaboration between independent providers for the benefit of the patient has remained limited and a source of much grief and unnecessary complications for patients. AMI continues to innovate the healthcare sector by showing doctors how to implement systems that allow them to work with other provider types. This develops each practice to the new standard in desired holistic medical services.
AMI founders discovered more than a decade ago that the physical medicine practice of the future is needed now.The founders of AMI are Michael Carberry, DC and Coleen Carberry, PT. The Carberrys have been integrated since the day they met. Who would have thought that a chiropractor would marry the adversary of the profession, a physical therapist, and together go on to create the HEALTHCARE MODEL OF THE FUTURE?
Mike and Coleen Carberry, Founders
Social attitudes about what it means to be healthy, combined with a lack of responsibility and oversight in the medical and pharmaceutical industries have led to the current opioid epidemic in the U.S. No longer can practitioners stand on the sidelines hoping for change; it must come from within. AMI provides doctors with a proven path to make a positive change with a multi-specialty health care model that addresses physical pain and loss of muscle, bone and joint function. Every patient deserves to receive a customized treatment plan and the most conservative care options as a first-line remedy to their problem. A multi-specialty team consisting of medical doctors, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and rehab specialists make this possible.
AMI’s Effort to End the Opioid Epidemic by Innovating Healthcare: Americans spend $4.01 trillion dollars annually as of 2020 on healthcare. That’s $11,582 per person, or 19.7% of our national GDP. Yet among 180 nations, Americans rank 37th by the World Health Organization in the overall health of our people. Today, the most common reason someone goes to the hospital as an adult is to address back pain. If you go to the office of an ordinary American medical clinic you will likely walk out with a prescription for some medication. If you are in pain, it will be a painkiller like an opioid which is very addictive. During the 90s the drug companies, primarily Purdue Pharma, owned and operated by the Sackler brothers, created a group of painkillers, including Oxycontin. They were marketed as “nature’s miracle and were not addictive. Doctors began prescribing them right and left. The result has been people getting hooked on these opium-based drugs. Patients turned into addicts would then turn to cheaper drugs such as heroin, and then later to fentanyl, a deadly synthetic which is now being imported from Mexico. The prescriptions are for temporary relief, not a permanent solution. It seems that modern healthcare is primarily a Band Aid, a sworn devotee to Big Pharma’s answer to all health care issues. 84
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Adding these regenerative therapies alongside of a traditional conservative care physical medicine practice creates comprehensive practice that is changing the way health care is delivered. AMI emphasizes to it’s doctor network the importance of patient first, and right treatment for the situation—not undertreatment and not over treatment, but the right treatment. Combine that attitude with the often quoted line from the Hippocratic Oath, “first, do no harm”—and you have a recipe for outstanding patient outcomes and incredibly happy patients. Ending a Stigma - Why Medical Doctors and Chiropractors Should Want to Work Together: Years of bias and prejudice have led to a rife between Chiropractors and Doctors. However it doesn’t have to be that way. When a licensed MD and Chiropractor team up they can consult and coordinate to ensure the best treatment possible using a variety of methods.
WHAT AMI DOES AND HOW IT’S DIFFERENT:
Millions of patients benefit from chiropractic care, and millions more benefit from various forms of medicine. Any conflict between professions is based on a lie, or hidden special interests. The truth is that the vast majority of procedures performed by any medical specialty has a time and
The mission and philosophy of Advanced Medical Integrated clinics is that no drugs will be prescribed if the natural means of holistic treatment can handle the patient’s problem. This has proven to be a fact in 95% of the clinics created through AMI. Our philosophy and practice is a rock solid prerequisite to any clinic integrated through AMI. We will not help integrate any clinic without this understanding. What AMI has found is that when a patient has another option than an opioid there is a greater than 70% chance that they will choose something other than an opioid. And with most opioids being prescribed for back pain, which is something that our integrated clinics are exactly able to help with, we are able to reduce the amount of patients prescribed with opioids thereby helping to reduce and end the opioid crisis right at its root starting point. Innovating Healthcare with Regenerative Therapy: What is regenerative medicine? Regenerative medicine involves using Human Cellular Tissue Products (HCTPs) to help your body to heal itself. What is regenerative therapy? Regenerative therapy involves using HCT/ Ps (Human Cells, Tissues and Tissue based products) which is transplanted from a donor to recipient, often by injection, healthy donor material (stem cells, growth factors, exosomes, cytokines, Hyaluronic acid, etc). These powerful factors stimulate the body’s natural healing process. AMI doctors have reported that these regenerative therapy procedures have revolutionized treatment of chronic pain and injury patients.
place—a patient that can be helped. The solution is collaboration. And that is at the center of the patient treatment model espoused by AMI. When AMI succeeds in its mission, there are more medical professionals collaborating on behalf of patients around the country. And when AMI doctors succeed, patients win. When doctors build an integrated clinic as opposed to a chiropractic or family medicine center, they expand the scope of service to their patients
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and as a result expand their potential patient base. Additionally, with the expanded scope of service, doctors increase their access potential codes and reimbursements and increase the number of cash services as well.This is what makes integrated practices revolutionary in the healthcare industry. How AMI innovated to survive and help other businesses thrive during COVID: Despite the global pandemic, AMI managed to survive and thrive, while helping hundreds of medical practices to do the same. When asked how they did it, Dr. Mike Carberry said, “Our whole team stepped up. Our board of directors worked daily with our marketing team to create a daily show (videocast) for almost 2 months to provide practical and inspirational tips to help all doctors get through the shutdown that impacted medical facilities that offer what was considered by some to be non- essential services. The problem is that most medical services are essential, to the patient who needs them—not to mention the business that offers them. We used this situation to reach new doctors with our message. We helped them implement telemedicine, and develop other unique ways to continue serving those in need.” AMI made this series available to all doctors, regardless of specialty or affiliation. For months, AMI received letters of thanks from doctors who said that AMI’s work during the pandemic helped them to continue delivering care to patients in need.
“AMI is a company that challenges the status quo of healthcare. We believe that the power of healing lies within the individual.” — Dr. Mike Carberry, Founder of AMI”
The mission of AMI includes changing the focus of healthcare from symptom management to functional improvement. This is being accomplished one community at a time as AMI expands to cities and towns throughout the US. The goal is to have a multi-specialty medical center providing conservative physical medicine and pain relief in every community—giving every person the option to pursue healthcare that matches their needs, addresses the root cause of the problem, and maybe most importantly, does no harm. The purpose of the integrated clinic is to get to the root of the problem and go for the cure, not just symptom-handling with drugs. This is a very different system than what is seen in American Healthcare right now. In 7 years, Advanced Medical Integration has exported its model into 500 practices across the country. AMI has plans to boost that number to 1000 practices in the next two years. AMI’s focus is on helping clients to develop a positive employee culture with straightforward administrative procedures and effective treatment options, AMI is innovating the healthcare system by building the model for independently owned physical medicine practice of the future.
Advanced Medical Integration 601 Cleveland Street STE 600 Clearwater, FL 33755 888-777-0815
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We believe everyone – regardless of physical location – deserves access to quality care
Founded in 2017 and based in Tampa, Florida, Immertec is an awardwinning technology startup that’s pushing the limits of what is possible in virtual health. The company’s real-time virtual reality (VR) platform allows surgeons to instantly train on new medical devices, learn modern surgical procedures and collaborate on surgical cases from anywhere. By changing the way surgeons train and connect, Immertec is promoting a world where all people have access to the highest standard of care regardless of race, physical location, economic status, or nationality. In 2012, Jon Clagg, Co-Founder and CTO of IMMERTEC, received one of the early access developer kits from the Oculus Kickstarter campaign. He started as an enthusiast, but his ambition quickly grew. Even at this early stage of the industry, Clagg had two profound intuitions about the future of VR. Similar to the TV, internet, and cell phone industries, this industry would be led by companies that focus on creating real-world business
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value first. He also knew VR was going to be much more than video games. This motivated him to leave his 6-figure job and commit fully to developing his vision over the next few years. In 2016, Erik Maltais, a life-long entrepreneur and servant-leader, met Jon Clagg. Maltais was intrigued in Jon’s enterprising interest in virtual reality and after fully realizing the potential of Clagg’s vision, went on to co-found Immersive Tech Inc., otherwise known as Immertec in 2017. Later in 2017, Immertec debuted its technology at Facebook’s headquarters Menlo Park, California. Naturally gravitating to large capital markets, Maltais and Clagg quickly learned that they had more economic opportunity building outside Silicon Valley. Building in Florida made sense for Immertec, considering Florida continues to lead in healthcare innovation partly due to its growing geriatric community. As Immertec continues to grow, one focus remains clear--committing to find a solution that will promote the access of the highest quality healthcare to anyone regardless of race, physical location, economic status, or nationality. director-level recruits from Apple, Microsoft, Surgical Intuitive, Stryker, and Magic Leap.
Clagg knew that creating scalable business value through training in VR would require technology to create 3D content and connect people at the speed of business. This was the basis of the IP he built, which allows companies to disrupt the way they train. Companies leveraging this technology can avoid utilizing large development or production teams and provide physicians and healthcare stakeholders the ability to train in VR from real-world, real-time training opportunities.
For future startups, where they are located will have more impact on success than their proximity to capital resources. COVID-19 has expedited the push into virtual meetings and remote collaboration. As a result, startups can meet with the right capital partners without living close to large startup hubs. Instead, startups have a unique opportunity to build in regions where the problem they are solving has the most impact.
Fast forward to 2020, and COVID-19 has transformed the medical landscape, necessitating the implementation of Immertec’s surgical training platform, Medoptic, across healthcare systems. More than ever, physicians needed remote ways to collaborate. Extending and then closing a $12 million Series A raise in July 2020, Immertec successfully expanded its VR observation platform to new locations and formally launched the product on Android and Apple app stores. The funding also allowed for the onboarding of a strong leadership team, including executive- and
For Immertec, building in Tampa Bay has allowed access to partners who understand the problem and have access to resources to help Immertec continue to bring remote surgeons together. Immertec 1910 N Ola Ave, Tampa, FL 33602, United States +1 650-353-5503 88
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A NEW STANDARD FOR COMMUNICATION IN HEALTHCARE.
The time a patient’s family waits during a surgical procedure can be an excruciating experience. And the more serious the surgery, the greater the anxiety can be for those loved ones who patiently wait to receive an update from the surgical team. Fast Pathway Inc, a Medtech startup from Tampa Florida, has created a new version of its application called Doc-ORTM, which enhances communications between the surgical team and family members. Doc-ORTM takes the silence out of the waiting game for people with family and friends in the operating room. Now, the agony of not knowing has been replaced with real-time updates via iOS and Android smartphones, and delivered around the world in seconds. The feature works by inputting a provided passcode which allows the user access to a secure channel that is updated with text messages, images, and even video, all delivered through secure 256-bit encrypted channels with full HIPAA compliance. “Now medical facilities can offer customized, real-time messages with information for those waiting on news from the operating room. Not only does this increase efficiency, but it also drives up patient satisfaction rates while offering more comprehensive patient care,” explained Eric Carter, CEO at Fast Pathway Inc, the software development team behind the app.
Eric Carter is a co-Founder of Fast Pathway Inc with Brandon Sultemeier and Kevin Makati. He currently practices family medicine and works as a hospitalist in Tampa Florida.
Doc-ORTM is easily deployed, easy for the staff to use and easy for the family to get timely updates,” says Carter. “It hasn’t been an easy process to get there because of the legalities and we also didn’t want to create more work for the busy surgical team. So we have preset messages that are already scripted out so all a Surgeon has to do is hit send.” In today’s world, communication has become a priority for many – and medical facilities using Fast Pathway’s Doc-ORTM have a significant advantage over those which don’t. Doc-ORTM streamlines a vital channel of communication to friends and family who are eager to hear the latest updates while allowing physicians and surgeons to focus on delivering exceptional patient care and a successful outcome.
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Ultimately, that is why our company will be successful - because people are passionate about this product and pushing for it, and we’re really excited about their support for Doc-ORTM and the positive impact it will have on communications throughout the entire healthcare system.
The app’s smart design offers an intuitive, user-friendly experience that can be customized easily – staff can also track and audit the progress of a procedure through an analytics module, as well as create consent forms, access permissions, and more for complete control of information shared with third parties.
The need for this product became magnified to me on a personal level when my father had health issues that required him to have open heart surgery - a procedure that lasted 8.5 hours. As a family member whose father was undergoing a high-risk procedure, there was a fountain of emotions because this was my loved one.
Doc-ORTM works alongside the app’s standard features, which leverage the power of technology to streamline the typical waiting room at medical facilities for appointments. The app increases patient satisfaction with enhanced communication and notifications, while also relieving pressure on already-busy front desk staff.
When my dad’s surgeon said this will take 4.5 hours but that he might have to make game-time decisions once he’s in there, the anxiety really began to build. The doctor said he would keep us informed, but when you are sitting in a waiting room and three hours have passed by, your desire to know what is going on increases exponentially.
When Fast Pathways was testing Doc-ORTM, it was such a hit that patients and their families were asking to use it again, according to Carter. “That is exactly what happened with our product in the development and pilot phases with real patients in real surgeries,” says Carter. “We had a tremendous impact on the patient’s experience to the point that family members were relieved and thanked us for allowing them to use our product and we had requests, from patients facing a second surgery, to use it again.”
Doc-ORTM eliminates this type of scenario - which was too real to me and for anyone who’s family member undergoes surgery. When you stay in communication with family members, even when they are as simple as, “hey, we’re still working and everything is going as expected,” that’s very reassuring to them.
For more information about the Doc Clocker app and its innovative DOC-OrTM feature, please visit http://www.docclocker.com. Fast Pathway officials have spent the past few years tweaking Doc-ORTM to make it more friendly for the end users and for the surgical team.
Fast Pathway is ready to move from a minimally viable product to one that is easily deployed and is user-friendly for both staff and family members.
Doc-ORTM became an even more integral communications tool for those in the healthcare industry this past year due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Since family members can’t visit their loved ones stricken with the disease and after some hospital banned hospital visitations altogether, Doc-ORTM permits people to stay connected electronically.
After our first operation with Doc-ORTM, the family was so grateful for the communications tool that I called my dad and said, ‘my job is done.’ Knowing that family members find comfort in our product has made this long and tenuous journey worth the trip. For more information about Doc-ORTM please visit fastpathway.com
2202 N, Westshore Blved, Suite 200, Tampa, Florida 33607
Fast Pathway Contact@fastpathway.com 833-362-2562
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ACCELEQ SOLUTIONS UTILIZE INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY, IMPROVE QUALITY OF CARE, AND REDUCE COST.
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efficiently interact with patients to deliver quality care and provide appropriate treatment plans. Our platform reduces wasted time by tracking interactions, automating scheduling and transcribing of notes all of which are saved directly to the patient’s electronic health record (EHR). Through our care delivery optimization we efficiently coordinate care between speciality providers and primary care physicians by automatically communicating admissions, discharges , and treatment plans. The accelEQ platform streamlines disparate systems and provides an end-to-end solution that empowers medical providers and their patients to effectuate real change within the healthcare system. The story of accelEQ starts in 2014 when Omar Fuentes’ (CEO and Founder of aEQ) father passed away after recovering from a major stroke while dealing with diabetes. His father did not receive the care he needed and passed away prematurely. In 2019 Omar Fuentes left a successful 18 year career within healthcare to start a health benefits consulting company. Focused on levering technology to create greater efficiency and drive down costs Omar launched his company in the first quarter of 2020. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This caused Omar to reevaluate the company’s business model, the true need within healthcare, and where they could make the biggest impact. In their research it was evident that resource constraints, time and efficiency pressures on the patient/provider lifecycle created process inefficiencies, ineffective health outcomes, and an increase in cost. So, in 2021 accelEQ (aEQ) was born to address these issues and provide innovative healthcare solutions to fit the needs of medical professionals and their patients. During this time Omar and his family dealt with the passing of his brother due to suicide and his wife, after three long years of health issues, being diagnosed with hodgkin’s lymphoma. This fueled the determination and resolve of the company.
Our purpose is to challenge the norm and utilize intelligent systems to design solutions that optimize delivery of care. accelEQ’s technology and strategies eliminate waste, promote transparency, reduce cost, and empower all those involved in the healthcare system. accelEQ is the premier virtual care platform that utilizes intelligent systems to enhance the patient/provider lifecycle. Through our innovative virtual communication modules medical professionals can 91
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ACCELERATING EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY OF CARE BY UTILIZING INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS
For far too long healthcare has been plagued by inefficiencies and cost. It’s time for real change and to challenge the norm”.
accelEQ calls Tampa Bay home, which has provided opportunities to be a part of multiple innovative organizations such as Synapse, Bunker Labs, and the Florida Association of Veteran-Owned Businesses. Being part of a city full of innovation has accelerated the company from an idea to development and now to practical application.
— Omar Fuentes, CEO ,USMC Veteran
accelEQ’s focus is to continue to build its innovative platform, empower medical professionals to effectively provide quality care in the most efficient manner, ultimately making a positive impact to their patients’ health and wellbeing.
accelEQ omar.fuentes@acceleq.com 866-242-9006
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CHAPTER 6
DEFENSE
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“The future depends on what you do today.” — MAHATMA GANDHI
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SUPERIOR SKILLS PROVEN PERFORMANCE Tampa, with two military commands and a thriving, globally connected business community, is the ideal location for Quiet Professionals’ ambitious projects. “Our company is dedicated to growing this region by bridging the technological gap between the government and private sectors,” says Mr. Wilson. Quiet Professionals is also active in the philanthropic space, with partnerships including Hiring Our Heroes, the Tampa Bay Chamber Operation Partnership, the Florida Veterans Foundation, the Black Dagger Military Hunt Club, and more. Quiet Professionals attracts brilliant talent to the Tampa area, building a network of information-savvy veterans and other professionals. Overlooking Tampa Bay and MacDill Air Force Base from our headquarters on the island of Rocky Point, Quiet Professionals is well positioned to connect the strengths of both worlds.
Andy Wilson, President & CEO of Quiet Professionals, LLC Bridging the gap between government and private sector innovation, Quiet Professionals started as the brainchild of president and CEO Andrew Wilson in 2013. Quickly growing into a world-renowned defense contractor, the company has its roots in the Special Operations community. Mr. Wilson and his team bring a wide range of expertise to bear as they provide operational support, global intelligence support services, advanced data analytics, and geospatial and cloud-managed services. Quiet Professionals’ most recent innovation, Cerebra Grey, adapts Esri’s ArcGIS software to provide an impressive array of geospatial data in real time. Other expansions include acquiring cutting-edge company Echo Analytics Group, experts in the field of open-source intelligence. As a result, Quiet Professionals serves their clients with a wide range of analytical capabilities and web-based tools, from open-source data to cloud services compliant with evolving government requirements. Quiet Professionals Head Quarters at the Island Center on Rocky Point 95
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ATS’s most recent innovation, Cerebra Grey, first adapted Esri’s ArcGIS software to manage an impressive array of geospatial data in real time. The Cerebra Grey platform has since expanded, with clients able to access cloud-based artificial intelligence and machine learning to tap into facial recognition, natural language processing, and other sophisticated functions without having to invest in costly, time-consuming independent infrastructure. And because Cerebra Grey relies on open-source technology over proprietary systems where possible, it adapts to new sources of information and ways of processing it, making its products and data future-proof. Quiet Professionals’ Advanced Technology Solutions brings incredible innovation in its rapid and versatile development of advanced data analytics tools to the Tampa area, ensuring its customers can access evolving cloud-computing technologies in real time.
Quiet Professionals Camp Dawson Conference Room
Quiet Professionals’ Advanced Technology Solutions division was created in 2019 to bridge the gap between commercial sector innovations and government agencies. Launced by Chief Systems Integration Officer Leo Kryszewski, ATS provides advanced data analytics via a subscription-based platform. ATS rapidly creates cloudbased solutions that work remotely and integrate with customers’ chosen platforms and technologies. Many of today’s problems aren’t about obtaining enough data, but about curating and reframing existing data into an authoritative source—then delivering it exactly as the customer needs it. ATS prides itself on being agile enough to provide custom applications and visualizations developed and delivered over months, not years.
Leo Kryszewski
Quiet Professionals, LLC 2701 N Rocky Point Dr. Suite 500 Tampa, FL 33607 813-902-3557 marketingandmedia@quietprofessionalsllc.com
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RESEARCH. ANALYZE. DECIDE. Founder and Executive Vice President Buddy Jericho developed the Discover, Develop, and Monitor D2MTM analytical methodology while training the special operations community to combat online activities by adversaries abroad. Now Echo Analytics Group brings their training to a wide range of students, from special operations to law enforcement to the public sector. They are currently developing the first master’s-level program to meet the demand for a new generation of talented opensource intelligence leaders.
Publicly available information is everywhere on the Internet. Echo Analytics Group, a Quiet Professionals Company, trains analysts to choose among thousands of tools to rapidly produce trustworthy open-source intelligence. Focusing on analytical methods rather than any specific tool allows Echo Analytics Group to adopt and adapt to new tools as they are being developed.
To assist in organizing thousands of open-source, web-based intelligence tools, Echo Analytics Group developed the Cyber Intelligence Dashboard. The CID is a unique “toolbox of tools” that helps analysts focus on the problem at hand—not on where to start researching it. Partnering with All Things Possible Ministries, Echo Analytics Group has entered a special mission to help law enforcement find and rescue sex trafficking victims. Called “Torch,” the mission leverages EAG’s network of analysts and All Things Possible Ministries’ expertise in finding and rescuing trafficking victims to help save trafficked lives. Acquired by Quiet Professionals in 2021, Echo Analytics Group has impact in the Tampa community, making it a “one-stop shop” for open-source intelligence expertise, connecting government and private businesses while attracting innovation and talent.
Echo Analytics Group, A Quiet Professionals Company 2701 N Rocky Point Dr. Suite 700 Tampa, FL 33607 813-523-8863 info@echoanalyticsgroup.com
Andy Wilson, President & CEO of Quiet Professionals, LLC, and Buddy Jericho, Founder of Echo Analytics Group
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Imagine What You Can Do
Tom Lipscomb, Founder & Executive Vice President, Scion Analytics
Jim Eddy, CEO, Scion Analytics
In Tampa, we design and develop innovative tech solutions that build our city into a hub for visionaries, entrepreneurs, and some of the world’s most creative thought leaders. Tampa is especially appealing for individuals who are excited to make an impact on the community and the tech industry.
by an organization is unstructured: word documents, spreadsheets, presentation decks, emails, marketing campaigns, images, video, and audio. Yet very few organizations have the capability to leverage that data into content that has value. Through the Scion Analytics platform our mission is to empower companies to tap into that hidden value of unstructured data”.
In 2014, founder Tom Lipscomb, had an idea for a solution to automate the proposal process in the government contracting industry. With roots in the Washington D.C. area, Lipscomb wanted a company where continual ideas are transformed into new capabilities. He envisioned the Professional Document Analyzer with endless possibilities where our employees are directly involved in innovation.
As the digital transformation ensues, Scion Analytics sees limitless possibilities for innovative uses of the content analytics platform to spark a content revolution that changes the way the world works with digital content. This is a glimpse into our company mission rooted in ingenuity contributing to innovation in our city. This is the moment for Tampa tech companies to be energized with opportunity, to radiate such brilliance in innovation that the world takes notice.
Lipscomb’s vision developed into Scion Analytics; a leading content analytics platform company supported by the diverse tech talent in the Tampa area. In 2020, in a world gripped by the pandemic and economic challenges, Scion Analytics created opportunities. Under the new leadership of CEO Jim Eddy, we successfully bridged the gap between government contracting and commercial industries. This was accomplished using artificial intelligence (AI) & natural language processing (NLP) to scale business capabilities.
Scion Analytics 2701 N Rocky Point Dr. Suite 950 Tampa, FL 33607 866-238-6207 info@scionanalytics.com
For Scion Analytics, the future is bright as it leverages AI and other advanced technologies to derive value from unstructured content and help scale businesses. Eddy remarks, “On average, 80% of the data stored 98
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GLOBAL SOF FOUNDATION
The Global Special Operations Forces (SOF) Foundation (GSF) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that aims to build and grow an international network of military, government, commercial, and educational stakeholders in order to advance SOF capabilities and partnerships to confront global and networked threats.
And a nexus is needed. The conduct of war continues to shift: from largescale clashes between nations to those characterized by unconventional methods, as well as longterm engagements with and against non-state transnational groups. Countering these globally networked threats requires a global “good-guy” network that can innovate and operate at speeds that traditional governments cannot.
Special Operations Forces, better known in the community as SOF, are by nature somewhat mysterious. Much of SOF conduct their missions in the shadows and strive for anonymity.
NOTHING BEATS FACE-TO-FACE ENGAGEMENT AND CONVERSATION TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
For that reason, a professional association for the community may seem odd. But behind every Operator is a support network responsible for everything from the equipment they use, to the intelligence they obtain, to the training they’ve received. The more connected and refined that network is, the sharper and more capable the Operator. Additionally, there are many SOF mission sets that do not focus on “door kicking”, nor do they require absolute secrecy.
The Global SOF Foundation (GSF) was founded in 2014 to begin forging that network, bringing together military, government, industry, and intellectual leaders from around the world for the purpose of advancing the capability and efficacy of SOF. Stu Bradin and Meaghan Keeler-Pettigrew realized that the SOF community had no institutional organization that supported it like other professional associations supported the Services. That led them to team up and form the Foundation, which in over six years has become a thriving community.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the business and the proclivity for “stove-piping” SOF organizations, those networks are often small and disjointed. And that’s the case in just the U.S. Army. When you add in other U.S. SOF units (Navy SEALS, for instance) and the special operations units and commands of U.S. partner nations across the globe—you’re looking at a huge web of overlapping communities with no real nexus.
While the GSF does develop educational products, from an annual SOF Imperatives document that is provided annually to the U.S. Congress to the SOF for Life Survey on Military Transition, the primary focus of the Foundation is growing and nurturing the network. 99
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Nothing beats face-to-face engagement and conversation to build relationships and--more importantly--trust. Because of that, the GSF hosts multiple events throughout the year to convene the community.
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GSF event arsenal. Ft. Bragg is the hub of U.S. Army SOF, so it’s a desirable location to get a strong military presence. For this reason, the GSF is focusing this event on exhibits and live demos—which will even include opportunities at a live-fire range.
Engagements The Foundation hosts a variety of Symposium events—the Global SOF Symposium - US has occurred five times in Tampa, FL, the Global SOF Symposium - Europe occurs in a different European host nation each Fall, and the Modern Warfare Symposium, which is co-sponsored by U.S. Army Special Operations Command, takes place in Ft. Bragg, NC.
You don’t need to attend one of these events to get involved with the GSF—you can dip your toe into the network by becoming a GSF member or attending one of our many smaller scale reception, huddles, or virtual learning opportunities.
The U.S. Symposium is held in Tampa, not just because it’s the home of the GSF, but because it is also home to USSOCOM, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), and U.S. Special Operations Command - Central (USSOCCENT). Plus—it’s held in the early spring, which is a great time to visit Florida no matter where you live.
Last year marked the fourth European Symposium, which will took place in Brussels, Belgium, from October 1-3, 2019. Previous events were in Vilnius, Lithuania; Bucharest, Romania; and Madrid, Spain. The locations are based on demand from the host nations—each one has been held with cooperation from the local SOF community with high-level speakers ranging from the Chief of Defense of Spain to the President of Romania!
Global SOF Foundation info@gsof.org GlobalSOF global-sof-foundation
gsof.org
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AMERICAN PATRIOTS ASSISTING AMERICAN HEROES TO SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITION INTO THE CIVILIAN WORLD.
STAR Co-Founders
About Us
invaluable leadership skills and have exceptionally high degrees of integrity, self-motivation, creativity, focus, discipline and drive. Their “no fail” mindset gets projects done right on time with high quality. Their senior executive leadership skills sharpened under incredible circumstances in ambiguous complex and in many cases, dangerous environments enables them to compete for C-Suite executive positions in the private sector.
The term “Special Operations Forces” or “SOF” refers to our nation’s most elite group of warriors from our US Department of Defense that includes Army Green Berets, Night Stalkers and Rangers; Navy SEALs and Combatant- craft Crewman; Marine Raiders; and Air Force Pararescueman and Combat Controllers. These Operators possess
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STAR Member giving “Elevator Pitch” to STAR Business Partners helps create deep military-civilian connections and strengthens our Tampa Bay community. The STAR Network is grateful to and appreciative of the senior leadership at the United States Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base for their encouragement and support.
Military transition into the civilian world can be extremely stressful and challenging for a variety of reasons. Experienced mentors can provide them with the much-needed assistance. Starting with listening to their needs, assisting them with how and where to begin the transition process, translating their military experience into skills and value, developing a personalized transition plan to track progress, guiding them on challenging careers that best leverage their capabilities and passion and helping them network with the right business leaders to seize career opportunities.
The STAR Network assists our transitioning special operators in 6 primary ways. 1. STAR Dinners - The lasting connections within the STAR Network initially developed through monthly dinners, which provide an environment conducive for mentoring and networking, Through these events, operators gain a more meaningful and deeper appreciation of the civilian culture, build a business network (key for landing their next career), rehearse their 60 second elevator pitch and translate military experience into industry skills and value. These interactions serve as a military to corporate language immersion course, while helping operators
Realizing that local Tampa Bay patriots were eager, willing and ready to assist our SOF Operators, Co-Founders Mark Rosenthal and Anthony Weiss launched the STAR Network in 2015. Since then our STAR Business Partners have unselfishly devoted their time and efforts to ‘give back’ to our STAR Operators, whose selfless service keeps us safe. This special relationship reflects mutual admiration, respect, and gratitude which 102
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Operators- Comfortable in Complex Situations Combat-Boardroom 4. Fellowships – Many of the STAR Transitioning Operators have a desire and opportunity to experience the industry/sector they are interested in through Department of Defense sponsored Fellowship/Internship Programs. These have been great as mutually beneficial “Test Drives” for both the Operators and sponsoring Company(s). The Operator remains on active duty with their appointed place of duty at the Company. The Company’s obligation is to provide good insight into the functioning of the business/sector. If interested in this opportunity, please contact Arch McLellan (arch.mclellan74@gmail.com or star.network.tampa@gmail. com).
understand different industry sectors and career paths, find a trusting sounding board for life issues and interact with highly successful local business leaders. 2. Speaker Series - This initiative provides an opportunity for our military heroes to benefit from subject matter experts on how to best address key transition challenges. Topics include gaining insights from lessons learned, transition success stories (for example, how I went from wearing a uniform to landing a 6-figure civilian job), resume writing, LinkedIn, 2-minute elevator pitch, building and leveraging networks. how to be an entrepreneur, conducting effective negotiations, financial gut-check and how to tell your warrior story.
5. The STAR Network is partnered with Tampa Bay Job Links (TBJL), which is a non-profit organization that provides professionals with career guidance and job-search coaching. TBJL offers veterans a comprehensive career transition program at a nominal cost.
3. Job Shadows - Experiencing a day in the life of a STAR civilian leader provides an opportunity for our STAR operators to better understand potential career paths, which leads to more informed choices of industries that align with their capabilities and passion. STAR Operators have expressed that full-day engagements in different industries and professions are one of their most meaningful and powerful experiences.
6. Partnership with LinkedIn - Nancy Laine runs Project Transition_ USA (ProjectTransitionUSA.com) and teaches a free monthly LinkedIn course at MacDill Air Force Base. 103
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SOF Operators - Leadership Competencies
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High Emotional Intelligence Self Motivated with a Can Do Attitude Breakthrough Thinking Straight Talk & Genuine Leaders Decisiveness Developing Talent Team Leadership Personal Accountability Drive to Achieve
“STAR was critical in preparing me for the next chapter. The civilian partners guided and mentored me to the next step by 1. Helping me believe in myself and helping me define what I wanted to do 2. Providing critical guidance and being a sounding board 3. Encouraging me to take that last step. The best way I can express it is...your first parachute jump....trust in your training, your team, and lastly have the guts to “just do it”. Last point, there is no direct line to the next phase of your life, sometimes you need to learn the ropes of what drives business before you head down your respective path...” (President: Maritime Technology & Training Company)
Help strengthen Tampa Bay! Our STAR civilians are eager to participate in local business and professional events, initiate operator panels and roundtables with Tampa Bay C-Suite executives to make them aware of the leadership skills and business value our STAR operators can immediately provide.
- Tristan Rizzi, Retired US Navy Captain (SEAL)
Testimonial 1 Co-Founders & Co-Chairs: Mark Rosenthal & Anthony Weiss Board Members Noel Boeke, Business Partner Lead Arch McLellan, Operator Lead Tony Hudson, Logistics and Comms Lead Cynthia Rogers Brian Zuckerman
“At just under two years prior to my retirement, I became involved with the STAR group. We are so privileged to have this incredibly selfless and uniquely talented collection of men and women from the Tampa business community to mentor us through our transition from the military. Over the course of several individual personal engagements, countless Shadowing experiences and amongst the many dinners specially orchestrated to broaden our individual exposure to myriad market sectors and business models, my anxiety with retirement was assuaged and my excitement about my next adventure into uncertainty grew. Walking through many incredible personal stories of success and failure with the STAR network helped me realize that true opportunity was available to discover and pursue with confidence.
American Heroes - 200+ highly accomplished SOF Operators from SOCOM at MacDill AFB have signed on to STAR since its inception. American Patriots - 150+ successful local business leaders, who represent diverse industry sectors, volunteer their time and effort to assist our American Heroes.
We are fortunate to be able to benefit from the STAR network’s genuine interest in our success through their knowledge, access, placement and sometimes tough honesty.” (COO- Robotics Technology Firm)
If you are interested in learning more about the STAR Network, contact us via email star.network.tampa@gmail.com or find us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/ groups/12017113/
- Jim Miller, Retired US Army Colonel (Special Forces)
Testimonial 2 Strengthen our STAR Civilian Team by recruiting additional business and professional leaders from all Tampa Bay growth markets.
I will soon conclude 26 years of service in the Air Force and Air Force Special Operations Command, having gained experience in strategy design and large scale organizational transformation. Through the STAR network, I connected with dozens of mentors that are committed to helping transitioning service members, as well as an incredible network of connections and opportunities in the Tampa area. STAR helped me translate my military experience into corporate skills sets, which helped me to secure a fellowship opportunity with EY consulting.
SOF Transition Assistance Resource (Star Network ) star.network.tampa@gmail.com SOF Transition Assistance Resource (STAR) Network
- Jeremiah Monk, retiring Colonel, US Air Force (Air Force Special Operations Command) 104
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“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” — BOBBY UNSER
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We integrate assurance into the risk management equation
Max Aulakh, CEO & Founder
Ryan Gutwein, Director
Ignyte Assurance Platform As a veteran-owned company, we began as MAFAZO in 2012 to address the growing gaps in cybersecurity that many organizations were facing. Daily threats were increasing, regulations were becoming more complex, and security teams were understaffed. Since then, we’ve partnered with companies across the U.S to help focus their efforts by developing and implementing best practices with regard to security, governance risk, and compliance. We got good at that — really good, and we believed we needed a system to help enable our clients to become more self-sufficient in gathering and managing their security environment.
Ryan Gutwein and Max Aulakh both served as Security Specialists in the Air Force traveling all over the middle east conducting recon missions, gathering data and intel and have taken those security features and implemented them into cyber governance, risk management, and compliance. For over a decade, organizations have focused on managing security issues primarily through risk and compliance management. Ignyte offers a radically different approach by bringing cyber assurance to the forefront of executive stakeholders.
So, we created a platform to assist with data collection, analysis, and to help streamline processes across multiple security frameworks at once. We changed our name to Ignyte Assurance Platform™ in April 2018 and began bringing our risk management solution to organizations and teams across the country to make their jobs more manageable.
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Ignyte handles every project with precision and care. We have a diverse team of individuals from across the world all working to deliver a simplified version of compliance to our clients. We keep current on all changes in regulations, standards, and guidelines because it’s our passion. Every member of our team is dedicated to providing the best in class customer support to maximize your experience working with us.
new digital products and services create a host of new risks that require IRM technology. If a client needs to be compliant with FedRAMP and HIPAA, they want to see how much extra work required for FedRAMP work compared to HIPAA. Ideally, we should be able to collect, map and integrate cybersecurity into an end to end eco-system. This integration should start from legislation, business impact and then down to technical components. Today’ we are seeing lots of innovation with the technical side of cyber but very little on the management side of cybersecurity.
To learn more about how Ignyte can help solve your business and IT challenges, contact your local representative or authorized reseller — or visit us at ignyteplatform.com. If you are an existing Ignyte Platform customer and have questions or require additional information about licensing, please contact Ignyte at support@ignyteplatform.com
3: Advice & Best Practices
INNOVATING MATTERS TO US 1: Your Perspective on Innovation
Ignyte keeps up with and is ahead of the pace of change. Innovation is the lifeblood of our company and part of every Ignyte team member’s thought process. Collectively our aim is to solve emerging enterprises’ risk problems ahead of time and at scale. Compliance, risk management, and governance, especially as the threat landscape, increases with cloud deployments, adaptive & smart automation is an integral part of today’s organizations. Regulations and mandated frameworks are continuously changing. Specifically in Tampa, as we are growing substantially as a technology leader, so do the risk and critical hospitals, financial institutions are having difficulties managing these workflows internally and struggling with internal and external audits. Innovating matters to us because we live it on a continuous basis when implementing AI/ML algorithms and NLP to map all of these complex regulations/frameworks into one single pane of glass that is usable to the C-level executive.
Know your customers, work ahead of their issues, change the narrative, and know the product and your industry. Becoming a subject matter expert in your domain is critical to today’s success. Create your own story and build from there, be involved in panels, conferences, write content on LinkedIn or offer to assist with content creation for the organization you work for.
4: Why Your Region
Florida, in general is a business friendly state and Tampa is spearheading a great deal of the growth within the state. We have a strong eco-system here full of new businesses and some old businesses that are still thriving. Young entrepreneurs are excited and motivated to learn new technology and work here. Ignyte is an extremely talented supplier of cyber products & services. Many of the current cyber companies in Tampa leverage Ignyte as a backbone of their offering. The cyber realm is growing rapidly here in Tampa and we have the ability to integrate and partner with organizations operating in this eco-system as we continue to scale, secure, and improve the evolving innovation here in the Bay Area. Ignyte Assurance Platform +1-727-278-9660 info@ignyteplatform.com IgnytePlatform ignyteassurance
2: The Future of Innovation
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BlockSpaces is changing the way businesses communicate with full service, reliable blockchain system integrations. By completely reimagining the world of blockchain integration through their seamless APIbased software, BlockSpaces Connect, in beta 2021.
BLOCKCHAIN INTEGRATION. SIMPLIFIED BlockSpaces believes in a future where every business will transact with more trust, transparency and security. Our mission is to blockchain-enable traditional business applications to leverage the unique features and benefits that various enterprise blockchain networks provide. Through our B2B integration platform, we manage blockchain connections, data flow and configurations, so our customers can plug-and-play into any existing system. BlockSpaces is simplifying the blockchain integration experience for all business applications and use cases.
Large enterprise companies have deployed blockchain networks and are realizing significant ROI as they streamline their operations, but these networks require participation of a network of business ecosystem participants to realize their full potential. Due to a variety of barriers, mid-market participants in the ecosystem in particular are falling into the gap of this technology adoption curve. This stifles the growth of these networks for all businesses The BlockSpaces Connect platform allows the easy integration of enterprise applications and blockchain networks and hides the complexities associated with managing blockchain technology in a business environment. “We know every participant in a blockchain network needs to collaborate and share transactions in order to deliver on the promise of the transparency and trust this technology provides across what we know will be a multi-blockchain world” said Rosa Shores, BlockSpaces Co-Founder/CEO. “How these multiple blockchains will come together, co-exist and share data in a business setting is a challenge that is further compounded when companies lack the budget and know how to implement and manage this emerging technology. We want to be the solution for business leaders and enterprise developers who need to connect to a blockchain but aren’t sure how to execute with their existing resources.” 109
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OUR STORY BlockSpaces grew organically from a series of blockchain and cryptocurrency related meetups that were started in Tampa Bay by co founders Rosa Shores and Gabe Higgins in late 2013. The space, which began as a blockchain startup innovation hub, started focusing on custom development and enterprise consultancy in 2018. Today, The team remains actively involved in both legislative and community affairs that impact the technology, through work with the Florida Blockchain Business Association, the Florida Blockchain Task Force. BlockSpaces is an IBM registered business partner, an R3 Corda technology partner, a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, and is a registered software vendor with both the state of Florida and University of South Florida. The team remains actively involved in both legislative and community affairs that impact blockchain technology, through work with the Florida Blockchain Business Association, the Florida Blockchain Task Force and as a member of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Ag Innovation Workgroup to examine cutting-edge opportunities for Florida’s sustainable agribusiness. BlockSpaces has received recognition as Tampa Bay Inno on Fire company 2 years in a row, and was recently named as one of Tampa Bay’s 21 StartUps to Watch in 2021, as well as a selected presenter for Florida Venture Forum 2020. The company closed a $1.2M seed round of funding in March 2021 that brought together local heavy hitter tech investors as well as Silicon Valley venture capitalists, and became the first woman led blockchain startup in Florida to raise over $1M in investment capital. blockspaces
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“It's exciting to watch as Tampa emerges as a nationally recognized cyber hub. We've got several well-known, mature cyber firms in the area, and each year we're seeing more cyber-focused startups choosing Tampa to launch their ideas and products. It's great to be a part of this ecosystem.” - Stephen Majot, Founder & CEO
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COMPLIANCE
INNOVATION IN OUR MARKET
ASSESSMENT PLATFORM
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Phone: (888) 999 - 1690 Email: info@complyup.com
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CHAPTER 8
SPORT & WELLNESS
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“Self-confidence is the memory of success.” — DAVID STOREY
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PEERFIT’S MISSION IS TO EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS TO LIVE HEALTHY AND ACTIVE LIFESTYLES. PEERFIT IS A DIGITAL FITNESS PLATFORM THAT GIVES EMPLOYERS, THEIR EMPLOYEES, AND MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MEMBERS, ACCESS TO A VARIETY OF FITNESS STUDIOS, GYMS, AND DIGITALLY STREAMED WORKOUTS, THROUGH THEIR BENEFITS PROGRAMS.
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Peerfit started in Gainesville, FL in 2011, while CEO, Ed Buckley, Ph.D., was working toward his doctorate at the University of Florida (#gogators). His study on digital health and the effects on human behavior was the catalyst for Peerfit. In 2014, Peerfit moved to Tampa to participate in Florida Blue’s HealthBox Accelerator Program and pivoted from a direct-to-consumer model to focus on corporate wellness. Peerfit set out to disrupt a legacy industry that had not changed in decades. Healthcare and the wellness programs they provide have been stale and exhibiting a check-the-box mentality. Peerfit set out to redefine the corporate wellness industry by providing a consumer-grade product at an enterprise level, innovating the way health plans offer wellness. Peerfit is proud to be headquartered in Tampa, FL. The value that Florida and the south bring in terms of startups and innovations has helped propel Peerfit to where it is today and continues to aid in its growth trajectory for the future. Peerfit has been recognized by top publications and has won many awards for top company culture and best workplaces including, Inc.com’s “The 250 Most Successful Companies in Florida”, Forbes Best Startup Employers in the Nation, “Top Company Cultures” for 2018 by Entrepreneur, “Great Place to Work® Certification” by Great Place to Work Institute®, “Best Company Leadership”, “Best Company Managers”, “Best CEOs for Women”, and “Best CEOs for Diversity” by Comparably and USA Today and an Emmy® award for their commercial “Corporate Wellness, Redefined”.
Peerfit +1-813-392-3333 info@peerfit.com peerfit peerfit-inc
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A MORE EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY TO ACHIEVE A MORE “FITR” LIFE Neuro20 Technologies founder developed the FITR System to recover from injuries sustained during his service to our country and wants to offer all people struggling to reach their fitness and health goals, either from injury, lack of time, or lack of data, a more efficient technology to achieve a more “FITR” life.
results as 4-6 hours of traditional training according to recent university findings. The FITR system provides clients and trainers the freedom to individualize technology in order to elevate their personal health goals. CEO and Founder, Dennis M. Schmitt, served his country in the US Marine Corps 2nd Force Recon, separated with 50% disability. He continued his service for 10 years as a government contractor providing high threat personal protection for multiple government agencies in which he suffered another serious injury. Unable to be an operator, DJ started his life as a serial entrepreneur. He successfully built a Defense Contracting company in Afghanistan and upon a successful exit, founded multiple profitable businesses in the United States. His pain from the injuries worsened and limited his ability to live a normal functional lifestyle. He slept on the floor due to pain, was unable to run and play with his son, and was unable to exercise, all of which caused weight gain and depression. Refusing to use opioids he embarked on a journey to find a healthier approach to life. He moved to Europe, where he discovered the benefits of EMS training and began his road back to a normal lifestyle. However, he noticed serious limitations to the utilization of the technology in Europe and recognized
The Functional Impulse Training and Rehabilitation System (FITR) is the evolution of wellness for the 21st century. The FITR System reinvents the way in which electro muscle stimulation is applied to the fitness, defense and medical industries. FITR combines our optimal wearable textile (“Smart Suit”) with our advanced performance software to move wearable technology beyond progress monitoring, to a smart wearable technology platform that actually delivers the resistance training and fatigue resistance of muscles either isolated or full body, individually, or up to 10 clients at a time. Our “Smart Suit” is machine washable and hygienic, wireless, and offers free range of movement to support any method of training in any training environment. FITR is the most efficient training platform on the market, as 2 X 20 minutes sessions will yield equivalent 117
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US market solutions for industry sectors that EMS competitors just did not see. Activating his network of leaders and using his engineering experience, he designed the FITR System and founded Neuro20 Technologies. He surrounded himself with experts in multiple fields to support entry into the defined verticals, and the rest is history in the making. Neuro20 Technologies is now positioned to become a disruptive force for good and the reconceptualization of wellness for the 21st century.
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volunteered to secure PPE, connect air filtration companies with clients and organize their brand materials, secure BSL 3 lab space for a company needing to conduct preventative testing, and link our distributors with thermal spectrum imaging companies. Our founder team did this important work as we strengthened our supply chain, added an executive team, improved our product and sales channels, opened an office, learned through incubators, and managed a capital raise. Although 2020 was a difficult and tragic year for all too many and the majority of start-ups may not have survived this crisis, we now turn the corner and see light at the end of the all too dark tunnel. We are both humble and proud that historical trends favor young companies who emerge from periods of crisis stronger than before. The most valuable companies of the next decade will be those that did not just look forward to a better tomorrow, but held true to the ideal that principled responsibility with leadership creates our envisioned future into being. We are proud to be Neuro20 Technologies, taking our place in the Tampa Bay technology eco system and beyond.
Our team is a collection of thought leaders whose innovative mindset drives our research and development and identifies solutions for specific problems to support our large market verticals: fitness, defense and medical. Tampa is part of the High-Tech Corridor and the ideal location to capitalize on our three market verticals. Fitness is a concern to almost everyone, as the weather makes Tampa an outdoors city. Central Command, Special Operations Command and MacDill Air Force Base have made Tampa a Defense Industry hub. Our partnership with USF and their commitment to support companies focused on using technology to do good while cultivating the thought leaders of tomorrow gives us access to those future leaders today. Lastly, the presence of James A. Haley VA Hospital, a world class spinal rehabilitation center, combined with the rapid growth of the Life Sciences and Manufacturing Industries within “The Corridor” makes Tampa the ideal location to headquarter a company with the belief that technological growth is revenue growth. After unveiling our product in February 2020 at the Synapse conference, our plans quickly changed as the pandemic swept the nation and refocused all life science companies towards unparalleled collaboration. We were a new small player with limited resources and hoped to utilize the momentum from Synapse 2020 as a catalyst for our growth, however shifting economic conditions and the moral need to help demanded us to shift our efforts. From March 2020 through February 2021 we strictly
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CHAPTER 9
EDUCATION & TRAINING
“The only way you survive is you continuously transform into something else. It’s this idea of continuous transformation that makes you an innovation company.” — GINNI ROMETTY
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around us. Our commitment to partnering with industry is unyielding. We continually seek to promote the influential nature of our achievements through effective partnerships.
PASSION
Our success is a reflection of both the quality of education we offer and the rate by which we balance change with adherence to our foundational ideals and values. Our evolving vision to foster a global approach to engineering by capitalizing on the international perspectives and diversity of students and faculty is driving value in the community. With our engineering enrollment skyrocketing to nearly 7,000 students in recent years, it is evident that the best and brightest minds are choosing USF to pursue an engineering education. Providing students with the opportunity to engage in real-world research, study abroad, innovate and
The College of Engineering at the University of South Florida is at the forefront of engineering research and education, cultivating knowledgeable, passionate engineers who are dedicated to needs-based, solutions-oriented engineering. We are innovators. We are explorers. For us, it’s all about helping people. As the only engineering research and teaching institution in Tampa Bay, our urban setting provides the college with a unique opportunity to attract creative and innovative talent. After more than 55 years of pursuing excellence in engineering, we remain young in spirit and full of hope for the future. Alumni, students, and faculty are playing a pivotal role in the evolution of high-tech innovation in Tampa Bay. With hundreds of patents issued to both faculty and students, it’s fair to say that innovation is our passion. As a result of our entrepreneurial mindset, more than 200 patents have been issued to our engineering faculty in the past five years. Each day we work harder to shape our understanding of mathematics and science for the greater good. We’re proving again and again that engineers have the willpower and capacity to directly and positively impact the world 121
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interns, faculty fellows and emerging research in small satellite, unmanned aerial systems, cybersecurity, resilient communications and other key areas that support the SOCOM mission. Our Institute of Applied Engineering was awarded a contract worth $85 million from U.S. Special Operations Command that paves the way for researchers and students to collaborate with SOCOM to help solve significant challenges facing the nation. These partnerships are characterized by speed and agility — key attributes of a robust solutionsfocused initiative with energetic creativity and innovation. The USF Institute for Artificial Intelligence+X is at the forefront of producing new forms of AI and new applications to solve realworld problems. The Institute is led by two engineering professors and comprises more than 100 researchers, inventors, educators and industry leaders working to advance AI and develop today’s students as the AI innovators of tomorrow. collaborate across disciplines and present their research at scientific conferences, it’s no surprise that our student retention rate from first to the second year is over 92 percent. We are producing a world-class talent pool for the emerging Tampa Bay high-tech community, especially critical to attracting top-notch start-ups and established companies looking for a highly creative environment. The College of Engineering is partnered with U.S. Special Operations Command and the Doolittle Institute at SOFWERX to craft a highly innovative environment that includes student
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering has one of the few Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity degrees available in the United States to prepare students for careers in one of the country’s fastest-growing industries. We are pushing the boundaries in innovation at the leading edge of artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, audiology, transportation, rehabilitation robotics, design and prototyping, wireless and microwave technologies, materials, clean energy, nanotechnology, and entrepreneurship. Our Department of Medical
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Engineering offers a unique experience for students with faculty comprised of both engineers and physicians. The Global Center for Hearing and Speech Research is the number one research center in the world for agerelated hearing loss. Our Center for Urban Transportation Research is an internationally recognized resource for policymakers, transportation professionals and the public. Our environmental engineering program is an internationally recognized provider of water and wastewater solutions. The Center for Assistive Rehabilitation and Robotics Technologies engages in life-changing prosthetic research increasing independence and community reintegration of individuals with reduced functional capabilities. The center works with patients throughout Florida and locally at the Haley Veterans Hospital. The Mini-Circuits Design for X Laboratory is a unique, collaborative maker space for students to pursue meaningful multidisciplinary engineering projects that move ideas from design to prototype. The USF College of Engineering is uniquely positioned as a key member of a vibrant preeminent research university to provide both engineering solutions and well-educated engineers and innovators in the Tampa Bay area.
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THE VINIK SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: CREATING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW THROUGH INNOVATION AND DEEP TIES TO THE INDUSTRY
From the NHL to NASCAR to esports, a common thread that resonates throughout the sports and entertainment industries is the talent that emerges from a graduate program begun at the University of South Florida in Tampa just eight years ago. The pipeline that has staffed front offices, from marketing programs to analytics departments across the nation leads to the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program in USF’s Muma College of Business. The program began under the direction of Bill Sutton, an impresario in the business of sport and entertainment management. He began the program after Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, agreed to fund the startup costs. Sutton created the blend of traditional business-school education and industry application that became his calling card through a 40-year career that has included stops at Robert Morris University, Ohio State, UMass and UCF, along with a four-year stint at the NBA’s TMBO division and a steady flow of consulting projects. Since founding the program and elevating it to one of the best in the world, Sutton has appointed Michelle Harrolle, PhD, the new program director as he transitions into retirement. Despite his new chapter in life, Sutton remains very involved with the program. A lot has happened since the inception of the Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management program. The program this year was ranked No. 3 in the United States and No. 4 in the world by SportBusiness International and boasts a job placement rate of 99 percent for graduates of its program within six months of graduation, an accomplishment that is based not just on the quality of the graduates and on-the-job experience gained through the program, but also through the networking done by Harrolle, Sutton, and the dedicated and innovative faculty.
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Members of the faculty have participated in externship programs in which they take time away from teaching and research to help businesses find creative solutions to the issues they face. In turn, the externship opportunities give the educators a chance to connect with the business community, as well as provide fresh material to teach upon returning to the classroom. Another innovation that sets the curriculum apart is the fellowship requirement for students, who must spend the second year of the two-year program working in a marketing or analytics department for a professional or collegiate sports department or an entertainment-based company. The result is a graduate well versed in the workings of these businesses and who is ready to step from the commencement stage into the front offices. Graduates walk into their careers with a master’s degree in sports and entertainment management and an MBA from an AACSB-accredited business college. Students don’t have to venture far for these opportunities as USF is the only major research
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university in Florida located within a major metropolitan area. Sports teams? The Tampa Bay Lightning, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies all have hosted students as interns or fellows and in many cases, hired them after graduation. “What is truly unique about the USF program,” Vinik said, “is that it places students through an intensive fellowship program with Tampa Bay-based sports teams, marketing agencies and entertainment companies, best preparing them to join the industry.” The vision shared by Sutton and Vinik, who in 2017 made a $6.5 million gift to the Muma College of Business which named the program in his honor, is to recruit the brightest minds and educate them in the sports and entertainment industry to create a pool of future executives who will lead the industry in the years to come. “I am pleased to say that USF and its leaders are exceeding expectations,” Vinik said, “building a growing pipeline of talent with masters’ degrees that helps the Lightning and dozens of other
organizations – locally and nationally – fill open positions with very well-prepared young people.” The crop of talented young graduates, bursting with innovative ideas for the future, is now being placed not only in the front offices of traditional sports entertainment venues, but in emerging industries such as esports, a budding billion-dollar industry. In its effort to keep abreast of trends – and as an example of its innovative, forward-thinking vision – the program has introduced esports into its curriculum. “Our students are more than qualified from the time they leave our program. They have experience in areas ranging from operations to business intelligence to marketing and partnership development,” said Harrolle. “The Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management program is creating a pipeline of talent that the industry needs,” she said. “Our graduates are entering organizations and setting themselves apart as top employees who make a positive impact on companies and communities.”
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BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP BETWEEN EDUCATION, BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY TO EDUCATE, ENLIGHTEN & EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATION! Not only is competition for tech talent fierce, students are graduating college without the skills needed in industry today. Enter Next Gen Tech 360 (NGT360) , an innovative program designed to bridge the skills gap between the next generation and today’s workforce needs. Based in Clearwater, NGT360 is a youth technology “Shark Tank” type of program, plus so much more! High school students form teams to solve real-world problems with technology-based solutions. They attend workshops where they learn what it takes to develop a technology solution in the real world. The focus is on the product value proposition and all of the non-coding skills that make the difference in successfully delivering a working product. Each year, about 150 students from Pinellas County participate in the program under the guidance of approximately 50 mentors representing more than 25 companies based in the Tampa Bay area. “Students select a real-world problem that they want to solve ,” says Robyn Mussler, CEO & Founder of the NGT 360 program and its parent organization, ConnectIT 360. “The foundational skills we teach, under the guidance of mentors from our business community, help student teams take their raw Ideas and turn them into a minimal viable product (MVP) that can be taken to market.”
NGT 360 is designed to teach our youth what it takes to work together effectively as a team, analyze a problem, and find solutions. They define customers’ needs and build a product to deliver value with a good customer experience. “Students develop a solid skills tool kit and learn about different career opportunities,” says Mussler. “Non-technical people believe that the world of technology is all about coding, and there are so many more opportunities than that!”
“Students see how we all work together, bringing different skills to the table, and how it is a combination of these skills and roles that is essential to the development of a good product,” says Mussler. “A main focus of the program is to teach tech with a purpose. We don’t develop fancy tech for the sake of fancy tech. It has to have customer value with a good customer experience, that’s extremely important.”
THE FUTURE IS NOW!
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Agility and grit are also valuable lessons taught in the program. The necessity of agility became readily apparent this past year when Mussler was forced to pivot to a 100% virtual program to complete the 2019-20 season. She then retooled the program to make it a virtual experience for the 2020-21 season. It is about finding solutions no matter what obstacles lie in our path!
Testimonials: … we need to move at the speed of business and technology to build solid and impactful marketable solutions to meet today’s challenges. NGT 360 nails this! Preparing our youth with the essential skills not just to survive but thrive in this new economy.”
Connect-IT 360 has partnered with two companies to drive the NGT 360 program during the pandemic. GNOWBE, a mobile microlearning platform, helps drive clarity and provides opportunities for the students to be more engaged and interactive. The second partner is Pelocity, a skills assessment company. “The students take an assessment which allows them to understand their talents and the different career pathways available to them,” says Mussler “ We are then able to match their skillsets to potential internships and career opportunities. These partnerships have made the NGT 360 program much more robust.” Another exciting venture for 2021 is our partnership with Citizens High School, a nationally and regionally accredited virtual high school, to offer two high school courses for academic credit to students. Looking to expand this accredited program to include summer enrichment and bootcamp programs as well.”
—Kevin Harrington Original “Shark”, Shark Tank
“… the true value is in the mentorships and the foundations of starting a true technology start-up. … the skills I’ve learned ….. benefit me in both my personal and professional life.” —Matthew Werneken, 2019 NGT 360 Winning Team
“NGT 360 is so robust! In addition to technical competency, it teaches; soft skills, communications, work ethic, presentation skills, critical thinking and time management.” —Dr. Jodi Kirk Teacher, Tech High at Seminole
Mussler’s vision is to expand NGT 360 beyond the state of Florida and make it an educational experience that connects students and businesses around the world for all communities to benefit and thrive.
“This program nails teaching these kids the skills that are deficient in young adults entering into the workforce…..” — Kishen Sridharan Overreach Executive & Mentor, Raymond James
NGT360 provides businesses through sponsorships: The ability to influence and develop future talent Fulfill corporate social responsibility commitments including diversity and inclusion Pipeline of skilled talent Insight to the needs for future products and services allowing your business to be competitive in the new economy
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EVERY STUDENT SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO QUALITY ACADEMIC SUPPORT –– BUT THEY DON’T. KNACK IS HERE TO CHANGE THAT.
Knack is an edtech company that empowers colleges and universities to power and scale peer-to-peer tutoring programs. The company onboards and trains qualified student leaders to serve as tutors as an army of frontline campus support. As these college peer tutors serve their needy classmates, Knack is also helping them acquire 21st-century soft skills in the process valued by employers. The result is schools being able to provide meaningful and flexible campus employment opportunities for their top-qualified students, while in turn, providing streamlined and oftentimes free tutoring for students in need of support. It’s a win-win.
Tutoring is no different. Often, it requires significant financial and/ or emotional investment that, for many students, especially younger students, is inaccessible. This our team knew from firsthand experience. Samyr Qureshi, Co-Founder & CEO of Knack, moved to the United States when he was six years old. Not long after, teachers alerted his mother that he was the “opposite” of gifted and that he was going to need extensive tutoring to make it through school. Samyr’s mother became his first tutor, spending hours upon hours with him, and together they proved the system wrong. Samyr left high school after his sophomore year to pursue an Associate’s Degree at St. Petersburg College, where he became Student Body President. He then transferred to the University of Florida, where he graduated early and went on to work as an Emerging Technology Account Executive at Gartner.
Proving the system wrong, one student at a time Our educational system has never been perfect. Inequality has always existed, but COVID-19 has really thrust disparities amongst students into the spotlight. How can we expect students to focus on virtual school if some of them don’t have computers at home, or internet, or even a home to work from?
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While Samyr was at Gartner, the sharing economy started to explode. Folks spent a lifetime learning not to get in the car with strangers or stay at their houses, and now most all of us do it regularly via an app. Technology was really being leveraged as a trust mechanism for the first time, and after having a long talk with Dennis, now Knack’s Chief Product Officer, both saw an opportunity where they could apply this model to drive increased access to individualized tutoring. Shortly thereafter, Samyr quit his job at Gartner, recruited two other co-founders David Stoker, a friend from UF serving as Chief Technology Officer, and Shawn Doyle, a former coworker serving as Chief Marketing Officer to join the exciting journey, while Dennis enrolled Knack in The Gator Hatchery, UF’s student startup incubator. Knack was part of the first graduating class at The Gator Hatchery, and Knack really had two goals: 1. Validate the idea and 2. Test assumptions. Knack participated in that year’s Startup Weekend in Gainesville, and, well, it didn’t go well. The next year, the Knack Pack had their first major win, beating 300 other teams to win UF’s Big Idea Business Plan Competition ($25K Cash Prize), and they then moved the company to Tampa shortly after.
If this year has taught us anything, it’s that the future of entrepreneurship needs to be diverse. Tampa Bay, and Florida as a whole, certainly has that. Innovation needs to be rooted in equality, and having a successful business hinges on the ability to be bendable, but not breakable. Nobody is immune to outside forces, like coronavirus. As we disrupt our respective industries for the better, we also have to be stewards of innovation naturally happening around us.
Since then, Knack has raised over millions in venture capital, launched the model on over 70 campuses nationwide, won the Lumina Foundation’s Education Innovation Grant Prize, partnered with Florida Power and Light and dozens of educational institutions to provide free tutoring for students. The Knack Pack is now seventeen full-time employees running strong.
Knack has been innovating the education space since the start. That’s the entire business model. But, the company is also tasked with supporting our partners and the institutions they work with to adapt to an increasingly digital-first environment. 80% of college courses don’t offer tutoring - let alone virtual tutoring - and Knack’s role is to enable educational innovation, as much as it is to innovate as a nimble startup.
Sitting on the dock of the Bay
Knack’s story has always been about making sure every student has the resources to reach their full potential - to prove the system wrong, one student at a time. That story is still very much in progress.
Tampa is home. It was the first place Samyr landed when he came to the United States, and to not only be able to bring Knack back here, but to make an impact and contribute to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem has been special.
Consider this Chapter 3 of 20. Knack 530-968-8867 info@joinknack.com Knack joinknack Knack App
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DYNAMIC COMMUNITIES SPARKS INNOVATION THROUGH CONNECTIONS Dynamic Communities offers in-person and virtual technology events, community engagement and professional training to more than 280,000 members representing 68,000 companies worldwide. One of the largest independent organizations of its kind, Dynamic Communities brings together tech users and partner companies from diverse industries, platforms and software applications to network, share best practices and exchange product knowledge.
“Dynamic Communities serves as a hub of innovation for individuals and partner companies seeking direct access to the latest technologies, trends and thought leadership as they navigate the complexities of digital transformation,” said Rob Schwartz, CEO of Dynamic Communities. “Our goal is to help members drive greater business value through the power of exceptional educational content, resources and connections.”
Exceptional Content, Resources and Connections Dynamic Communities’ extensive portfolio of offerings includes nine user groups, each focused on various Microsoft business applications and platforms, as well as an executive leadership council and a channel marketing alliance. The organization also provides technical training and certification programs through the Dynamic Communities Academy. In addition to member forums and professional education, Dynamic Communities produces large-scale events held across the globe and online.
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a fragmented ecosystem of tech professionals using the same software solution. Then a CIO himself, Hafer organized a casual meeting of other software users with the goal of sharing real-world experiences, common business challenges and strategic ideas. The group quickly grew in number and reach, inspiring the business model behind the success of Dynamic Communities. More than 15 years later, Dynamics Communities has grown into a destination for technology users and companies from North and South America to Europe and Australia, but its strong connection to the Sunshine State remains. One of Dynamic Communities’ signature events, North American Summit, attracted more than 6,000 users, members and partner companies to Orlando in 2019. And locally sourced user group forums can now be found in nearly every city and region of Florida.
“The user group helps users gain a broader picture of the potential uses of the applications, increase their support network and allows for specific skill development.” – User Group Member
New Innovation for a New Decade By focusing on innovation and learning, Dynamic Communities continues to drive new ideas and experiences for members in 2020. In addition to leading with a mobile-first strategy, Dynamic Communities is transitioning many of its signature, in-person events to a virtual platform. Attendees have access to the same great content, speakers and networking they have always come to expect from Dynamic Communities without the need for travel.
“The user group brings together knowledge and fuels collective growth. Because of this, I look forward to the next challenge and sharing it with my community.” – User Group Member
“Our focus in 2020 and beyond is to extend the value and reach of our membership community by developing new offerings and attracting additional technology users throughout the globe,” said Schwartz.
+1-701-639-4779 wearedynamiccommunities dynamic-communities-inc
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OFFERING BOTH LIVE INSTRUCTOR-LED (IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL) AND ON-DEMAND DELIVERY OPTIONS TechSherpas 365 is built on the core belief that the foundation of happy and productive workforces starts with empowering individuals to advance their knowledge, skills sets and careers through education. The company’s mission is to support both the local and nationwide IT community by providing access to innovative training solutions in today’s cutting-edge technologies.
Diversity & Inclusion Technology is a universal language, and over the past two and a half decades TechSherpas 365 has trained tens of thousands of students from all different genders, cultures and ethnic backgrounds. As a woman-led business, the company is especially passionate about supporting and creating training opportunities and programs to help bridge the gender gap in technology fields. We are excited to champion the diversity and inclusion cause for females as well as other underrepresented groups in 2020 and beyond.
Training Delivery Methods TechSherpas 365, a woman-owned and operated company based out of Tampa, FL, has over 25 years experience providing world-class IT training to private corporations and government agencies across the US. TechSherpas 365 offers training solutions across a range of technologies, with a focus on role-based certification courses in popular software programs and disciplines including Microsoft 365 & Azure, CompTIA, Cisco, Cyber Security, ITIL, Project Management and others. Our robust course catalog boasts over 200 classes, offering both live instructor-led (inperson and virtual) and on-demand delivery options. The original TechSherpas was founded in 1995 and has been recognized as a nationwide leader in the IT training business for many years since. In early 2019, the assets of the company were acquired by training industry veterans Della Wyler and Raymond Friedman, and the new and improved TechSherpas 365 was born. 2019 was an exciting period of rebranding, growth and restructuring for the organization. 131
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We offer a variety of training delivery methods so students can choose what works best for their learning style and needs: • Instructor-led, in-person live training is delivered face to face in a traditional classroom environment. This is a highly popular method for learning complex computer and technology topics. • Instructor-led, virtual live training (VLT) allows students to attend a live instructor-led class from the convenience of their home, office, or other location of choice. VLT offers all of the benefits of traditional classroom instruction with the added benefits of flexibility and convenience. • On-Demand training is a solution designed around the student’s schedule, budget, and learning needs. On-Demand combines highquality video, reading, and knowledge checks in a self-paced format to help students build skills as their schedule allows. • Private training delivery options allow us to deliver custom training either virtually or in-person at any location of choice. Training content can be tailored to the specific needs of the organization and participants can take full advantage of the interactive, hands-on training session from the comfort of their own work environment.
TechSherpas 365 +1-813-287-8876 innovate@techsherpas.com TechSherpas SherpaTraining techsherpas365
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Bringing personalized learning to all levels of an organization
The Problem As humans, we are most engaged in our own development when we have awareness of our current strengths and opportunities and a developmental path forward personalized to us. Unfortunately, this type of approach at scale can be costly and tedious using traditional tools. This means that only the senior leaders at organizations receive development personalized to them and most employees are left with one-size-fits-all development plans (if anything at all) that do not actually fit anyone.
On A Mission
ATLAS Navigator is a software-as-a-service company on a mission to “Democratize Personalized Learning”. Our vision is a world where personalized learning is used at all levels of an organization to achieve both personal and company goals. Customers use our software to administer custom multi-rater assessments that determine which of their curated learning content the employee is directed to, thereby creating personalized individual development plans for each employee.
options could not solve effectively. At the time, he was the training program leader of a large, construction materials company and he was struggling with the primarily manual process of delivering high quality, personalized learning to its employees. He had assessment data and a library of learning content, but the two were not connected and, without significant manual work, he could not get the assessment data to inform which learning content his employee base was directed to.
The companies that we work with are in all types of industries, from asphalt paving to healthcare and range in size from a few dozen to thousands of employees. What they all have in common is a desire to develop their people.
After searching for an existing solution and coming up empty, Scott brought the idea to two Virginia Military Institute alumni, Nate Salatin and Ted Davis. Several months of market research and multiple false starts with different development partners later, ATLAS was born.
The Founding
Like many innovative ideas, ATLAS was launched when one of the founding partners, Scott Luberto, had a problem that current technology 133
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Initial Traction In the beginning, contracts were challenging to get since we had no brand, no product (yet) and very limited resources and capacity. Our simple, yet powerful approach struck a chord in the talent development community, however, and assessment administrators loved the practitioner designed backend. We also added prospective customers’ feedback directly into the technology roadmap, making them partners in the process. Finally, we performed frontend consulting to help customers at the beginning of their learning journey accelerate their progress and drive cash flow to fuel technology development.
The Future
Based in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, ATLAS has established relationships with key organizations in the area, partnered with industry groups like the Association for Talent Development and has customers across the Southeast and Midwest. We have worked with for-profit, nonprofit and government entities – any organization with a passion for developing its people. Surveys show that talent development is top of mind for leaders and employees alike and personalized learning is the approach most expect to be using in the coming years. As our customer base expands, so will our ability to continually improve our technology to serve this very human need and bring personalized learning to all levels of our customers’ organizations.
ATLAS Navigator 540-292-3394 info@atlasnav.us
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our STORY
HIGHERED HigherEdSocial is a global community of social media managers and digital communication professionals working in the education sector. The organization offers a supportive community of peers and experts as well as training, meetups and conferences. The original HigherEdSocial community was founded in 2015 by Dr. Kasandrea Sereno as a place to bring together social media managers working for colleges and universities. Headquartered in Tampa, the organization has grown to become the largest and most recognizable society for digital communication professionals in the world. Recently the organization expanded to include members working in primary and secondary schools with the launch of the K-12 Social sub-community. “The future of higher education will rely on reframing the narrative around the value of a college degree. Our members are at the forefront of this conversation shift. They are the keepers of brands for some of the most
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recognizable names in the education space. The work they do everyday impacts the way education is viewed around the world.” says Dr. Sereno. Now a full professional society with multiple membership levels and continuing education credentials, HigherEdSocial has launched an all new member portal to accommodate professional development opportunities including webinars, research projects, a library of templates and mental health resources, as well as expanding the existing mentorship program and collaborations with multiple international conferences. An all new job board as well as a database of digital communication graduate certificates and master’s degrees are new additions to the platform as well. Membership in the organization is available to those working at a school, college, or university in a digital communication or social media related position.
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DSOCIAL our FOUNDER Dr. Kasandrea Sereno is an alumna of the University of South Florida, holding a bachelor’s degree in business, a Master’s in Education, and an MBA. She recently completed her doctorate in Higher Ed Organizational Leadership & Policy at Vanderbilt University. She has spoken at professional, higher-ed, and technology conferences around the world and regularly presents to college campuses about generation z and how to use social media to build an educational brand.
our MEMBERS “This group has helped me in so many ways, but primarily it has helped me realize I’m not alone! The world of higher ed social can feel really isolating at times but this group has brought people from prestigious universities all the way to small schools like mine into a community where people help one another freely, rejoice in the wins, and commiserate on the hard days.” - Gianna Green “This group is like family. It’s a mix of professional development, community support, sharing of ideas, am I crazy or...?, and laughing at situations that only us in social media would relate to. It’s the first group I go to when I have a question.” - Ashley Bowles Jones “Having switched from the corporate world to higher ed, #HigherEdSocial has been instrumental in helping me understand the differences (and similarities) in social media approaches between the two. I’ve been able to make the transition much faster and more effectively, thanks to what I’ve learned here.” - Kathryn Royster
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IT’S ALL ABOUT SYSTEMS THINKING
PlanetBox is a miniature ecosystem developed by JustLearn that is brought to life inside homes and classrooms empowering teachers, students and parents to observe and study the most important ingredients and cycles of life and of the planet we live in. JustLearn was born in Tampa and is currently supporting tens of thousands of students through hands-on, project-based learning using PlanetBox. Powered by aquaponics, PlanetBox represents an emerging technique in sustainable food production, whereby ammonia, the main bi-product from fish, is nitrified by beneficial bacteria through the nitrogen cycle, into nitrates, the main fertilizer for plants and for photosynthesis. JustLearn is leveraging the sciences behind these natural phenomena to explore not only food production but also biogeochemical cycles, ecological and environmental sciences. PlanetBox is currently most aligned to environmental science, the second fastest growing STEM subject by 137
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enrollment in K12 and is releasing add-on modules and digital tools that expand the hands-on learning experiences into other STEM fields in electricity, programming and genetics. In a world that is increasingly online and urbanized, the upcoming generation is becoming disconnected to the outside world. JustLearn has made it its mission to bring the outside world into the learning environment as a means to inspire curiosity and action in many of the pressing challenges of our time such as loss of biodiversity, renewable resources and food production.
JustLearn Phone: +1-813-770-9616 djimo@justlearn.io djimoserodio
JustLearn wouldn’t be where it is today without the partnerships with the science departments of school systems, such as Hillsborough and Pinellas counties within the Tampa Bay area.
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© Paws. All Rights Reserved.
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Pop Culture Icon Garfield Teaches Kids Cyber Safety
THE CHALLENGE
40% have connected or chatted with a stranger online. Of those youth, 53% shared their phone number, 30% texted the stranger, and 15% tried to meet the stranger.
Children today are being raised in a connected world, yet they lack the knowledge necessary to keep themselves safe online. They have ready access to smartphones, tablets, and laptops starting at young ages. There are countless apps, video games, and websites where children can interact with complete strangers. Yet, children do not understand the dangers associated with their online activities.
OUR SOLUTION Our study made it clear that more needs to be done to educate elementary-age children to prevent them from oversharing personal information as teens. Garfield’s Cyber Safety Adventures is a multiple award-winning educational program designed for young children.
Center for Cyber Safety and Education conducted a study of kids in grades 4-8 to better understand their internet usage habits. Some of the findings of the Children’s Internet Usage Study include:
Center for Cyber Safety and Education, a 501 (c)3 nonprofit, creates and provides cyber safety lessons for youth. The program content is developed by top certified cybersecurity professionals in the world, which sets our lessons apart from other children’s internet safety programs available.
90% have at least one device (phone, tablet, or computer in their bedroom) to access the internet. 139
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Photos by Moyano Photography
Our exclusive partnership with Jim Davis and Garfield allows us to connect with children through a character they already know and trust. Our goal is to teach kids how to be safe online and how to use internetconnected devices responsibly.
We offer innovative Corporate Social Initiatives for companies: Adopt a School Cyber Safety Day College Scholarships
Garfield’s Cyber Safety Adventures is available in multi-media formats for families, schools, and the community. The Center offers the Garfield program in low-tech/no-tech versions as well as self-paced eLearning platforms.
Take Your Kids to Work Day Employee Volunteering Employee Digital Health Benefit
Visit IAmCyberSafe.org to Donate or Partner with our 501 (c)3 nonprofit
+1-727-339-6508 center@isc2.org IAmCyberSafe iamcybersafe
HOW YOU CAN HELP Bringing children’s cyber safety education into the community is easy and fun, whether for your child’s class, youth group, or STEM fair.
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CHAPTER 10
APP & WEB DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
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“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.” — EURIPIDES
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CREATE STUNNING WEBSITES THAT DEVELOP TRUST & CONVERT CURIOUS VISITORS. ALLDAY WEBSITES EMPOWER PEOPLE TO FIND WHAT THEY NEED.
Since 2015, AllDay has been evolving the process of creating websites and pushing the limits of design usability, accessibility, and web-technology to connect customers through better online journeys. With two craftsmen running this web department, AllDay has grown its creative collective of partnered specialists to support the full-spectrum of digital services and result-driven web marketing services.
these two freelancers, they joined forces to create AllDay - a small but mighty website creation company. Co-founders, Henry & Ken, introduced AllDay to help simplify websites and the creation process while pushing the limits of personalized online user-experiences across mobile, desktop, and tablet screens. For the first few years, while learning their biggest entrepreneurial lessons, these creative craftsmen found their footing with the national restaurant franchise, Smashburger. Working directly with their corporate marketing team, AllDay revitalized the website, created customer journey landing
Exhausted from the daily grind of marketing agency life & corporate policy, website freelancing seemed to be the only viable path toward living the remote lifestyle. But as bigger opportunities came through for
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pages for paid promotions, custom coded emails, and supported their ongoing digital marketing efforts. Henry & Ken also worked with marketing giant Red Ventures for several years, creating their website, blog, and many internal websites to support a 3,800 person staff. These days, AllDay is focused on creating accessible web design systems for franchises like Tampa Dunkin’ that empower visitors to find what they need, while optimizing business results. Henry & Ken believe in creating progressive websites that are fun and add value. Through their process of deeply understanding each brand they work with and the needs of its customers, AllDay’s goal is to create a personalized digital layer between a business and its prospects. Guiding end-users through an intuitive design system and helping them take action requires constant innovation, as people’s relationship with refined technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Everything’s great when we innovate. When we break down boundaries around website simplicity, we better align the engagement process from start to finish. Brands have a deeper need to authentically connect with their online audience, as people are searching for information they can trust. Common experiences are best shared through storytelling, and AllDay are experts at building strong brand narratives that guide perception of a quality business online.
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While Henry & Ken’s agency-lives taught them to create at the high-caliber of personalized corporate branding, their first several years of website projects were for smaller businesses, startups and entrepreneurs with tighter budgets. To better support these groups, AllDay developed a website platform for smallbusinesses that simplifies the creation process to accommodate a more personalized end-user experience and connected customer journey. These websites are built as progressive web-apps (PWA) that are designed to scale with the future of web-technology. To AllDay, innovation means constantly creating solutions that gradually improve people’s relationships with brands, through authentic websites that help them thrive.
The time-lapse of Tampa Bay’s growth from smaller downtowns to a booming network of all-sized businesses is exciting to witness. But even as the city continues to evolve, there remains a focus on revitalization to its local roots, community and history.
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With AllDay’s collective background in destination-marketing working with regional Convention & Visitors Bureaus (CVB), it’s taught them how important a growing local culture is in stimulating positive change from the source. With all of the wonderful improvements and expansions happening around Tampa Bay, the new business possibilities are limitless in this destination city. AllDay is excited to help local businesses grow by combining usability with future technology. Websites can be an extraordinary support tool to serve any audience, but they must be personalized, usable and designed to represent quality through authentic presentation. As we move into the interactive online future, AllDay is excited to better serve people’s needs through custom websites that adapt layouts and update information based on each individual’s preferences.
AllDay +44 (0)910-233-1274 henry@allday.io alldayio AllDay
AllDay has found a sweet spot as a creative web department helping successful franchises and emerging brands reach their full potential through website marketing and customer satisfaction.
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Designing and developing mobile applications since the iOS and Android platforms were first made available Haneke Design is a custom software development firm focused on delivering user-centered solutions for connected devices. Our core services center on iOS and Android mobile application design and development and website/web application design and development. Haneke Design has been designing and developing mobile applications since the iOS and Android platforms were first made available and have been designing interactive digital user experiences for the web for over eighteen years. The Haneke Design team is comprised of a cohesive, creative, and dedicated group of designers, developers, and project managers all collaborating in our downtown Tampa office. Haneke Design completes all design and development work on-site so that team members can work closely during all project phases to ensure open and constant
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communication. This not only fosters our iterative approach, but it ensures that industry best practices are considered, discussed, and applied to ideas, business objectives, and project deliverables throughout the entire project lifecycle. Haneke Design was created in 2002 by Jody Haneke as an interactive design agency, leveraging the experiences he had working with companies of all sizes and industries to help improve their customers’ and prospects’ end-user experiences. As mobile devices, such as the Blackberry and the Motorola Razr, gained popularity, the challenge of designing for these various screen sizes and web browsing capabilities also increased. With this challenge came the realization that mobile was the next frontier in all things tech, and Haneke Design was ready to take on this challenge. Then came the iPhone and the announcement that Apple would be providing a Software Developers Kit (SDK) allowing for the creation of custom-installed applications. It was at this point when Haneke Design decided to expand into a custom software development shop. We knew there would be a huge demand for service providers to help companies embrace this new platform, and we wanted to be prepared and ready to assist.
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Since the shift from being an interactive design-focused firm to a full-stack development house, we aim to use the latest technologies and expand our services based on the needs of our clients and the community. We have expanded to creating mobile apps, websites, and custom digital solutions, and we are at the forefront of emerging areas such as virtual and augmented reality, IoT, and wearable technology. Haneke Design has been able to stay ahead of the curve by identifying trends in the tech industry that will be able to provide a commercial advantage, which is critical to a company’s success.
we bring through the pipeline. Our client base ranges from start-ups to small-to-medium sized organizations, to Fortune 500 companies. The common denominator across that base is a client looking to deliver high quality, enterprise applications and turnkey solutions that meet and often exceed the expectations of their end-users.
When you are a tech company outside of the major industry hubs like California or New York, you automatically face an uphill climb, but we have fought to put Tampa on the map for this type of work. Tampa’s innovative culture has gained a lot of momentum over the last few years, which is continuing to attract creatives and thought leaders to the area. There were years where finding talented developers was nearly impossible in Tampa, but the tide has turned for our city. Tampa has become a hub for young people, facilitated by our wonderful universities and local coding academies, which has attracted talented individuals. At Haneke Design, we keep our employees engaged and on their toes by the type of work
Haneke Design +1-813-605-3619 contact@hanekedesign.com hanekedesign haneke-design
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RED WALL MARKETING IN THE BUSINESS OF HELPING PEOPLE Red Wall Marketing was started from the ground up with one goal in mind: Helping people. Founder and President JR Griggs began working with local businesses one at a time to see how he could help them truly grow their business. He would dissect their business, locate problem areas, and strategically build a plan to solve them. The best way to help them was to remove 149
the jargon and focus on what the business needed, not on just selling them something. As word spread from clients having success, Red Wall’s client base began to grow. JR never intended to build an agency, nor had he ever worked for one, so he wasn’t sure if this was the path he wanted to take. Eventually, however, there came a point where a decision had to be made: continue to
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work one on one with clients, or build an agency. An agency it was. When the decision was made to build a team and grow roots here in Tampa, the overall goal was still the same. There were just more goals now, bigger goals. Help people - The overall goal is the same throughout each area of Red Wall Marketing: help people. The reality is, we don’t really work with businesses, we work with people. From the owner to the employees, to the customers they serve, we’re helping people. We also don’t hire employees, we hire people. People with dreams and problems. People who want to be seen, heard, and valued. We are all people, and therefore always want to be investing in the lives of those we serve.
Build a great place to work - Work, in general, can have enough stress on its own, even if it is someone’s passion, but having a good work environment can help alleviate some of that stress, not add on to it. The goal was to build a company people would want to work for: one that was fun and dedicated to building up the team members.
Continue to help businesses in any way possible - We want businesses to be successful, regardless of what that takes. They don’t always know what they need, so by truly dissecting a business, we are able to reveal any areas a business needs the most help, even if that help is not coming from us.
Give - We want to always be giving in some way, whether that is serving our community, helping non-profits, or just being available to those who need help but cannot afford it. We want to be known as a giving company.
Educate and be transparent with every client - The more they know, the more they understand why we do what we do. We want to be as transparent as possible with our clients so they can solely focus on their business, not worry about their marketing.
500 E Kennedy Blvd #307 Tampa, FL 33602 Phone: 813-530-1122
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BUILDING, ARCHITECTURE & REAL ESTATE
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“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building on the new.” — SOCRATES
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Family-Operated and Woman-owned, D-Mar is Built for Innovation
BUILT TO LEAD Each and every day offers an opportunity to build something new, the chance to seek new solutions, and provides the foundation to innovate.
and mechanical applications. Yet, our greatest service is to lead innovation in our work, in our industry, and in our communities.
At D-Mar, we believe that every challenge we face can be overcome. Regardless of the requirements or their complexity, every project we take on comes with an inherent obligation to look at the unique elements and find a way to meet the needs of clients and do so in a way no one else could.
We see our work as not simply the details that make up a commercial kitchen or public parking structure. We look beyond the steel and stone that make up our world and see an opportunity to lead through thinking differently and acting accordingly. Innovation is not just in the big wins and noteworthy successes. For D-Mar, it is in a unique approach to everyday challenges.
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in enhancing our communities and creating long-lasting relationships beyond physical labor.
For nearly 40 years, D-Mar General Contracting & Development has provided superior construction services and continues to dominate the industry today. We pride ourselves on the reputation we have built on ingenuity, expertise, value, and focus on the community.
D-Mar General Contracting & Development is family operated and female-owned. In a male-dominated industry, we are tough and bring a fresh perspective. We bring our life values to work and aim to help our local communities thrive while creating relationships that last. We lead, we build and we are built to serve.
Throughout the United States, we have partnered with a variety of industries to help make their visions into realities, including quick-service restaurants, healthcare, education, entertainment, and airline catering, to name a few. D-Mar’s ability to add value comes from more than its list of clients and the successful projects that come with it. D-Mar’s success stems from a very simple principle and that is the belief that a community will not grow unless we are patrons of that community.
BUILT TO SERVE
Helping to serve those who serve others is our passion at D-Mar and we are grateful for our clients and the communities we have been able to touch.
D-Mar General Contracting Contact: Dorren Caudell, CGC/ WMBE/DBE info@d-mar.com
Our mission is simple: we help communities flourish by offering uncommon solutions to complex challenges. Our values are cemented
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Olympus Pools is a custom, luxury pool construction company and a Tampa Bay leader in design and technology. At Olympus Pools, we offer complete backyard solutions using the latest software for both the design and management element of each project. With over 150 years of combined experience, we not only turn dream pools into a reality, we also provide the highest quality of pool construction. Each one of our pools are built to surpass code requirements and include additional features that many other builders would consider a possible costly upgrade. We take pride in delivering not only the most beautiful backyard oasis, but also the safest and one that will be enjoyed for years to come. In addition to swimming pools, we offer several enhancing features to compliment your space such as spas, waterfalls, outdoor kitchens, firepits and landscaping.
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look like. We also provide our quotes through an online contracting platform, allowing customers to review the details of their project at their convenience. Our highly skilled designers are trained on a software program called Pool Studio. Pool studio is a 3D design tool that we use to bring our clients vision to life. This intuitive interface not only allows our designers to create a live video of a custom designed pool but also the client’s entire home and backyard space as well. With this technology, our clients can see exactly what their future backyard will look like from a 360 angle, from dawn to dusk. Designing a beautiful pool and backyard space with Olympus Pools is an experience in itself. Our three luxury showrooms, located in Lutz, Lakeland and Lakewood Ranch/Bradenton, were all designed to allow our clients to not only see what their dream design would look like, but to feel and touch the elements as well. Clients can compare different types and styles of deck material, such as travertine or pavers, as well as see samples of the many pool interior finishes available. All of our showrooms also have an outdoor kitchen display for our clients who wish to add this feature to their outdoor living area. By immersing themselves in the elements, our clients can truly envision what their future backyard space and pool will look like. We encourage our clients to come into our showrooms and sit down with their designer so they can see their ideas come to life. Our sales designers are trained to provide an interactive experience and create a custom backyard design for each and every client. They take their time to show every component and thanks to the innovative software, can make changes or upgrades in seconds.
2020 has been a year to remember. As with many other businesses, we experienced some major challenges as we faced a global pandemic. Our employees and clients’ safety has always remained our top priority, even as we continue to see a historical increase for demand in our industry. As many families suddenly found themselves working remotely and/or attending school online, it ignited a desire for homeowners to improve their outdoor living spaces. Olympus Pools was ready to take on the challenge. We hired 40% more staff, onboarded more quality subcontractors, expanded our business hours and allocated a new office space for our planning and development, allowing for this department to grow and better serve our clients. Our dedicated and educated staff has worked at full capacity to keep up with high demand for new pools to the best of their ability, continuing to create and build beautiful new pools. With all of the challenges so many people have faced in 2020, Olympus Pools made sure to help our community and give back. In 2020, Olympus Pools donated over $50,000 to local charities such as Feeding Tampa Bay, local schools, The YMCA, Fire Fighters Charities of Pasco and the American Nurses Foundation.
After a client has moved forward with their pool purchase, they are invited to take advantage of a user-friendly application called BuilderTrend. Olympus Pools was one of the first pool companies to utilize this software, which was created for contractors. Olympus pools completely customized BuilderTrend to fit both our industry and our clients’ needs. This software not only helps our team of schedulers and project managers streamline the construction process but it also allows each customer to communicate internally within the company, pay invoices directly and access important information on their project such as scheduling, documents and photos. Olympus Pools is a company that is constantly looking to improve in all areas, including client communication, which is why they have chosen to integrate such a client friendly application into their business.
Olympus Pools is looking forward to continued growth in 2021. Our goal is to bring new pools to life through custom design, quality construction and even better communication.
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CHAPTER 12
PRODUCT & SERVICE INNOVATIONS 157
“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.” — GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
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LUXURY TRAVEL PILLOW THAT BEATS ALL OTHERS WITH MEDICAL BENEFITS. Creator Dr. Micheal Majette tells the story of why he decided to combine his wants and needs as a traveling consumer with his knowledge and experience as a physician to create the perfect all-in-one pillow: “Since I was a child I have had a spirit of serving others. I have always been concerned with the comfort of those around me and have found that helping a person in need brings me great joy. That same spirit has benefited me well as a physician. Like many of my colleagues, I often find myself treating the same conditions of chronic neck and back pain repeatedly. My goal is always to help each patient achieve a better quality of life through a combination of in-office care, suggestions for at-home care and products that aid in expedited recovery. “A common complaint I am presented with by many patients is pain associated with travel along with providing medical benefits for at home use as well. As an avid traveler myself, I was always on the pursuit to find products, especially travel neck pillows, that enhance the “getting there” part of the travel experience. I have tested hundreds of
different travel pillows hoping to find one I could not only use myself but also recommend to patients. This goal seemed simple, but after over a decade of searching, I learned nothing like that existed.” “What I found through my research is that there are endless amounts of neck pillows on the market, but none were exactly what I wanted. Most are made of cheap materials and don’t offer the structural integrity and design required for long-term use. I greatly value the artisanal skills and passion that go into creating a product by hand. That one of a kind quality you can only achieve with non-mechanized production. This lack of focus in design quality is a common theme among most travel pillows on the market today. “This is where my story begins. My search for the perfect all-in-one pillow has led me to the creation of MyJet Luxury Travel Pillow. Hand-made of quality materials with a patented inner skeletal system for ultimate support, the MyJet Luxury Travel Pillow stands the test of time and has been thoughtfully designed with the same level of care that I show all my patients. 159
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I love this product because its uses have become unlimited. It has revolutionized the way we think of the common travel pillow. Whether it’s used for flying across the country, watching TV in the comfort of your own home or to relieve neck tension after a long day at work, I truly hope this product enhances your life as much as it has mine.”
Each pillow will be shipped with: • Extra foam blocks for adding or subtracting additional padding/support to create the perfect fit for you. • One elastic 3-button strap, allowing for connection to any headrest or existing pillow. • Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.
A Flight First Aid Kit: • Include Adjustable foot rest, adjustable phone holder, small blanket, face mask, with an optional headphone, all fits into a small bag that attaches to any carry-on. All TSA approve.
Pillow types: • Coach class: Will consist of 2 color schemes, all breathable, lightweight, durable cloth material. You can always upgrade your pillow to a higher level cover at any time. • Business class (the most popular): Will consist of 4 different leather and cloth combinations. Also features a black suede inner-lined pocket on the top half to add temperature control packs for heat or cold and LED light. • First class: Coming soon. This version creates a user experience unlike any other. Includes all the above items, custom leather cover, superior Bluetooth remote phone and speakers and first of its kind surround sound. • The high-quality materials used in creating the handmade covers improve with time and use. • The ability to make the pillow warm or cold without the use of batteries or power provides an unmatched level of comfort.
What makes the MyJet Travel Pillow Unique: • Customizable to all body shapes and any seat position using adjustable foam levels. • Adjustable patented internal frame and elastic strap not only hold the neck and head in perfect position, but also help to decompress nerves in the neck and shoulder to relieve pain. • The pillow can come with a few additional items that ensures a new level of comfort to be found while sitting up. So comfortable that for the first, anyone can get to R.E.M. sleep in the seated position, and preventing JetLag, most of all allowing millions of travelers to save money by not having to upgrade their seats to a higher class. • A lifetime warranty on the Businesses & First Class versions.
TESTIMONIALS I can’t say enough about this pillow! Last year I took it on a mission’s trip to Africa. After 16 hours in my economy seat, I was so thankful to have this pillow with me. My favorite feature is the strap that connects it to the back of your headrest. Anyone who’s been on an airplane knows it’s impossible to get comfortable in an economy airline seat and the typical travel pillow doesn’t prevent you from falling over onto your neighbor’s shoulder. With this pillow, I was able to comfortably fall asleep without worrying about my head shifting to the side. Definitely one of my best travel purchases!!” — Patsy C.
I have had issues with my neck for over 20 years. Even after surgery, I still suffer from pain. I don’t travel that often, but my Doctor recommended the MyJet pillow for when I’m at home relaxing and watching TV. It really helps relieve the pressure and tension on my neck.” — Tom B.
813-463-3401 info@myjetpillow.com
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TAMPA-BASED US GREEN TEK IS MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE ONE COUNTRY AT A TIME.
As its work continues in African nations like Morocco and countless others that have water and food insecurity issues, US Green Tek’s vision for future business development includes establishing relationships with farmers, landscapers, golf course greens superintendents and government officials in its home state of Florida, California and countries located throughout South America.
For the past 25 years, US Green Tek has been providing sustainable water and soil solutions to nations around the world. By meeting 15 sustainable solutions of the 17 goals for sustainable development, as prescribed by the United Nations, US Green Tek is creating a better tomorrow for mankind and the planet.
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Led by the team of Mel S. Jacobson and Samir Mamrani, US Green Tek provides solutions via their Power Green Series, which improves water and soil quality and preserves these precious natural resources.
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Corporation, a foreign aid agency, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which administers civilian foreign aid and provides development assistance around the world.
The Power Green Series consists of a highly developed fertilizer that increases PH values, has an absorption capacity that’s greater than 95 percent, provides constant humidity at the root system for plant life, maximizes water permanence for the plant and is effective for seven to ten years. The Power Green Series also protects the environment because it is an organic, non-toxic fertilizer that does not harm plants, the soil and groundwater.
In many of these nations, water quality and/or a lack of this valuable resource contributes to soil erosion and soil degradation, which lowers agricultural production and increases food insecurity. US Green Tek also offers desertification (agriculture in the desert), soil erosion/salinity in land and mine sites rehabilitation, dam water reservoir siltation/ sedimentation, and green climate technologies transfer, among other initiatives.
This innovative technology has earned the company high praise for its sustainable practices and also won numerous innovation awards from around the world. More importantly, the results of the Power Green Series are tangible proof that the product works.
With an array of services and a vast worldwide customer base in need of its services, US Green Tek will continue to address quality of life issues that, once solved, will lead to a more sustainable planet for future generations.
In Morocco, sugar cane growers witnessed a 48 percent increase in their yields and a 25 percent increase in the overall content in the sugar, which has led to higher prices for these farmers. Across various regions of that nation, water savings have improved between 35 and 50 percent for those areas that have implemented the Power Green Series into their production protocols.
Our Vision: To be a respected, well recognized and trusted company that’s committed to improving our world by implementing sustainable programs, sharing resources and products through advanced technology, distributing quality food and protecting the future of our land for generations to come.
Additional results include 30 to 50 percent water and fertilizer savings in trees and fruit trees in Africa, providing less frequency of irrigation for those trees and vegetable crops, a 90 percent limitation of soil erosion, and faster and better germination of plant life.
Our Mission: To provide reliable and competitive resolutions through knowledge and transfer technologies to combine physical, emotional and logical elements into one exceptional customer experience; providing safe, high-quality products and the values and techniques that contribute to a better world.
In Florida, Plant City officials are utilizing the Power Green Series to realize between 50 to 75 percent savings in water conservation. A company goal for US Green Tek is to work with all Florida cities to implement these sustainable solutions to enhance agricultural production and landscaping practices, while conserving water and improving soil quality across the Sunshine State.
US Green Tek 3825 Henderson Blvd. Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33629 813-876-3131
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RELIEVEIT: THE FIRST PLANT-DERIVED ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG DISCOVERY CREDITED TO A BLACK-OWNED COMPANY IN U.S. HISTORY
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RelieveIt is a pain relief medicine and the brainchild of W. Caleb Williams, founder and CEO of SprainGo LLC, Tampa. It was derived from a remedy created by his grandmother, Arabella Skinner, a community healer for the common people as modern medicine was inaccessible to them on the island. Mother Skinner discovered the extraordinary restorative qualities of the resin from the Caribbean Pine in the late 1800’s and blended it with other natural ingredients to produce healing remedies. Mother Skinner’s remedy remained dormant for over 100 years until 2013 when Williams’ son suffered a severe ankle sprain during a pro soccer tryout and his older brother suggested using the family remedy.
“7am the following day my son indicated that most of the swelling and pain was gone, allowing him to complete the tryouts,” Williams said. “Witnessing an overnight recovery from a sprain that could have sidelined my son for weeks became one of the driving
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In the United States, nearly 200 million (60%) people had at least one chronic condition, 42% had more than one and 12% of adults had 5 or more chronic conditions. Many of these people are unable to enjoy the freedom of movement and enjoy active lives. RelieveIt is a solution for chronic diseases because it addresses the underlying issue which is inflammation and is void of harmful side effects. Earlier this year, RelieveIt made its television debut on the Home Shopping Network, selling nearly 2000 units of its foot spray in a matter of minutes during live programming. The company has been featured in the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa Bay Inno, and Bay News 9.
forces that led my walk away from an executive role in the financial services industry. I realized that weekend that my grandmother’s healing remedy was special.” Natural products for medicinal purposes have played a significant role in healthcare for centuries. Now there is a renewed interest in natural compounds for the development of new products as consumers seek more holistic treatments for pain, and RelieveIt meets that need head-on. “Renowned scientists from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa spent months isolating compounds in the Caribbean Pine resin, and in June 2019 the most active component was identified and became the first plant-derived anti-inflammatory drug discovery credited to a blackowned company in United States history. Further testing determined this active component is superior to Arnica, CBD and Diclofenac, the active ingredient in popular topical pain relievers,” Williams said.
+1-813-716-9318 info@relieveitb4.com relieveitbefore spraingo-llc
Chronic diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks chronic diseases as the greatest threat to human health. Global mortality rates in 2019 due to chronic diseases reached a staggering 43.5 million.
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Shoes and Floors: The Final Frontier C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:79
C:95 M:40 Y:61 K:20
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Downtown Saint Petersburg-based PathO3Gen Solutions is a nextgeneration technology company focusing on a 360-approach to disinfection and is a leader in transforming the definition of clean. The original concept of a shoe sanitizing station was developed by Asher Gil and his son Daniel Gil. Avid technology enthusiasts, the duo wanted to create a safer and cleaner world with fewer healthcare-associated infections. Few studies showed how easily and quickly floor-based pathogens are spread to high-touch surface areas by simply walking via our shoes. The two scientists instinctively knew shoes and floors were often disregarded within facilities, save a mop and a bucket.
PathO3Gen Solutions harnesses Ozone + UVC technology and holds multiple patents for both their proprietary UVZone technology and the company’s first product, the UVZone shoe sanitizing station. UVZone is the first and only Ozone + UVC disinfection technology and eliminates up to 99.999% of the most harmful pathogenic microorganisms, including Human coronavirus, C. diff, Norovirus, MRSA, E. coli, and Candida auris from shoe soles. The UVZone is on average 110 times more effective than UVC light alone, and as much as 346 times more effective for certain pathogenic microorganisms studied. Floors and shoes are so often overlooked as we walk throughout our day on sidewalks, parking lots, grocery stores, schools, public facilities, and throughout our homes. We accumulate and track much more than just dirt on our shoes as our everyday foot traffic walks-in dangerous pathogenic microorganisms into otherwise clean and sanitized spaces.
John Bolte, CEO, PathO3Gen Solutions learned of the technology and immediately committed to bringing the technology and product to market. After some initial redesigns and their patents filed, the UVZone shoe sanitizing station was introduced (pictured). 165
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Studies show that disease-causing pathogens including Human Coronavirus, MRSA, C. diff and E. coli are carried on peoples’ shoes and quickly spread to surrounding high-touch surfaces increasing the likelihood of infections. As part of a 360-approach with hand washing, hand-sanitizing, and increased disinfection protocols the shoe sanitizing station creates a visible sign of safety. The patented technology has been integrated into disinfection protocols at not just local hospitals and medical facilities here in South Florida, but also at MOSI and even the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee utilized the UVZone shoe sanitizers at their private events during the celebrations of the big game! Municipalities, food processing facilities, and healthcare facilities throughout the U.S. are using the technology as part of their 360-approach of disinfection. The UVZone shoe sanitizer takes only eight (8) seconds to use, and is compatible with any footwear or shoe cover, making it a great product to implement into any high traffic areas including elevators, office space, schools, hotels/restaurants, resorts, cruise ships, healthcare facilities, and anywhere where increased disinfection is important. The UVZone shoe sanitizing station plugs into a standard 120V outlet, is UL Listed, NSF International Approved, CE-marked, and is manufactured by an IS0 9001 facility right here in Tampa Bay. The Tampa-St Petersburg-based company is privately held and can be found at www.pathO3gen.com
PathO3Gen Solutions Maria Paula Garces maria@patho3gen.com
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727-300-1069 PathO3GenSolutions
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MOST PEOPLE CAN’T ESTIMATE TIME!
To get from here to here
This is what Belinda, mom of two, realized when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. After watching a video explaining why it is essential to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, she started watching her family’s handwashing habits.
You have to do this
SURPRISE! They NEVER hit the 20-second mark. No matter if they sang “Happy Birthday” twice, counted from 1 to 20, recited a poem, or anything else – unless there is an actual timer involved, it’s just not going to happen.
for a MINIMUM of
20 SECONDS But you don't – do you? Because this, is NOT this!
20-second built-in timer with beep helps you to wash your hands long enough.
And that is why you need this!
Searching for a better way, Belinda got a little timer and stuck it to the mirror. She instructed everyone to set the timer before washing their hands. Epic fail, AGAIN! If they remembered to set the timer (not very often), the process went like this: set timer, open the tap (1-3 seconds), get soap (3-5 seconds), actually wash hands (12-13 seconds), timer beeps, rinse hands. So, even by using this timer, they still missed the handwashing for 20 seconds minimum requirement. Contemplating if there was a better way, she came up with the idea to build a timer into a soap dispenser – this would solve all the identified problems! She rigged a regular soap dispenser with a makeshift timer to test the concept and immediately noticed an improvement.
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Teaches your kids to wash their hands for 20 seconds. This is how Poppy Pig was born. An automatic, touchless soap dispenser with a 20-second built-in timer. It even has three soap settings, depending on how much foam you need. As soon as the foam has been dispensed, Poppy starts flashing a green LED light, and you can count with her, if you want to. After 20 seconds, an audible beep will sound, indicating that you can now rinse your hands. So, you can think of other things, continue talking to someone, watch your phone, all while washing your hands. As soon as you hear the beep, you know you have washed for the recommended 20 seconds needed to kill viruses!
Fun for kids. Belinda can finally relax knowing her family is cleaning their hands properly, as, within a few days, they were conditioned to wait for the “beep” sound before rinsing. And she could make them go back and do it again, every time they walked out of the bathroom before the beep. With Poppy’s help, this mom now has one less thing to worry about!
Scan this QR-code to find out more.
Touchless foam dispensing is more hygienic.
Hygiene HygieneWorx HygieneWorxUSA hygiene_worx
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CHAPTER 13
SALES, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
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“Innovation is the calling card of the future.” — ANNA ESHOO
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In our 5th year of business, qualifiedMEETINGS continues on our growth trajectory! Through adding additional members to the leadership team, employees, partnerships and additional services, we are committed to achieving excellence at scale in both technology sales and as an employer.
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for clients who may want their SDR team in-house. By recruiting the right team, training them in our persona and vertical-based methodology, providing best practices, orchestrating the most efficient tech stack and providing best-in-class data, QM can help clients accelerate their sales efforts to become more scalable and predictable regardless of where their team sits.
QM has become the #1 outbound tech sales partner of ZoomInfo. For companies who invest in data, what do you do next? QM specializes in helping tech companies intelligently use their data to get a significant return on investment in a strategic way that is a scalable, long-term sales solution. After solely focusing on the outsourcing of sales development programs for tech companies, QM is adding additional service lines to help clients with their sales needs. Sales recruiting, sales training/ mentoring and building internalized sales programs will now be options
In the last year, QM has added several members to our core team in order to provide our clients the ultimate sales partnership experience. Dan Koehn has joined QM as Chief Experience Officer and partner. He brings a wealth of knowledge from over 20 years in the tech sales industry.
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“I discovered QM while I was consulting for companies in Silicon Valley to help them accelerate revenue and align their marketing and sales messaging. I knew that QM offered a compelling advantage to its clients and I wanted to be a part of growth. My primary role is to ensure that we are delivering on the promises we make to our clients and continue to innovate our offerings in the market. One of the great privileges I have is to continue to drive for intentional diversity and reach earlier in people’s careers and provide onramps to successful futures. This also means ensuring that we remain focused on our true competitive advantage and value...our people. It’s been exciting to help our clients realize an advantage over their competition. But what’s even more exciting is to help people get started in their sales career and watch them progress and play a role in shaping them and the company. We are forging a new category that we call the Prospect Experience. Competition only increases over time. It is critical for every company at every stage to expand its customer base, win new deals, and listen to the market on what they need. QM is in the unique position to help companies do that better than they can. Whether a brand-new company that may not have found it’s repeatable go to market strategy to large enterprise that want to test innovation solutions, we help companies learn more and scale faster. If you are going to slow you will be passed, and our goal is to not allow you to let that happen.”
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will be developing software to help companies use data for their sales data to be predictable, meaningful and more impactful in understanding how to intelligently approach markets.
A NOTE FROM OUR CO-FOUNDERS 2020 was an extremely challenging year for every startup. Whether your business was servicing areas of business that had explosive growth during the pandemic or massive setbacks, it was stressful. 2021 is all about hitting the reset button, focusing on your team and your customers. I’m extremely excited about the leadership we’ve been blessed with and it’s my job as CEO to keep our business exciting enough to keep them here”
Aftiam Ramli, Manager of Customer Success, started with QM as the team lead for one of our largest client programs. Through leading and learning how our programs are created for clients, Aftiam has been promoted to Manager of Client Success. “The most exciting part of my job is helping QM’s new clients build their sales development infrastructure from the ground up. Companies that have matured beyond the organic growth stage look for us to accelerate their expansion into new markets and audiences. We partner with startups to broaden their relevance in, and understanding of, their addressable market.”
— Matt Wheeler, CEO
Rachael Bunn joined QM as our ZoomInfo Data Specialist and is responsible for ensuring the leads provided to SDRs meet the Ideal Customer Profile, align with the Go-To-Market Strategy and contain all data points required; saving our reps time and maximizing their efficiency, resulting in revenue for clients.
I’m thrilled to see QM continue to grow by adding great humans to our team to help us on our mission. Each person brings so much talent and experience to our team and it shows through the excitement and success of our clients. We look forward to continued innovation, growth and success in 2021 and beyond!”
“At QM, we leverage the powerful data of ZoomInfo to not only get the best quality data, but to also find triggering events which help our SDRs create personalized pitches that directly highlight a prospects pain or upcoming project. Using this tool ultimately allows our team to help shorten our clients’ sales cycles.”
— Whitney Marshall, EVP David “Fern” Fernandez is the newest member of the leadership team, joining QM as an SDR Team Leader. “I am passionate about inspiring a sales team and finding what it takes to set up each SDR for success each day. During the interview process, everyone I interacted with was passionate about growth and success. I want to be a part of a team that is full of passionate leaders and contribute to the growth and success of QM.”
.COM
qualifiedMEETINGS 802 E. Whiting St. Ste 203 Tampa, FL 33602 813-816-3819 qualifiedmeetings2352 QualMeetings
qualifiedmeetings
The biggest question we get is, what’s next for QM? Outside of continuing to expand our offerings to include Sales Enablement services such as marketing, content creation, consulting, training and sales recruiting, QM
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FOUNDING
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John T. Krotec, Founder
WAS A WAY TO HONOR THE FREEDOM TO IMPROVE BUSINESS
GreenZone Hero is a cause-marketing business directory connecting veterans, active-duty military personnel, their families as well as civilians and their families to military- and veteran-friendly companies through increased awareness, positive branding, and recognition for companies serving those who had served. The website utilizes search-engine optimization and geo-caches so that any user anywhere can easily find military and veteran-friendly businesses. GZH first identifies these businesses through its cyber-medal award program, through which companies qualify for
recognition in five unique ways: • Offering veterans special pricing • Being a veteran-owned or veteran-managed business • Employing veterans • Hiring disabled veterans • Donating to veteran-focused charities or causes with time, money, or resources. Cyber-medals can be added as a company expands its services for veterans. GZH also produces e-newsletters, media campaigns, social media, and digital marketing to promote these directory members. 173
John T. Krotec founded GreenZone Hero in 2016 after serving in the military himself. “After college, I’d gone to work in Corporate America and realized that despite doing well, I wanted something more,” John says. “I joined the Army later in life with the purpose of earning money for law school, but I also ended up learning the power of discipline and how to value myself. Founding GreenZone Hero was a way to honor the freedom to improve business.” Currently, 22 million veterans reside in the US, and another 20,000 leave the service every
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month. The “Military Affinity Population,” which includes all active-duty forces, the National Guard, the Reserves, and veterans and their families, accounts for one-third of the US population, with a spending power of nearly $1 trillion annually. Connecting this consumer base with companies who have walked the same path empowers everyone involved. “We wanted to make it easy for consumers to show their appreciation in making these companies their first choice when buying goods or services,” John says. In addition to offering military-friendly companies a place on a robust and easily searchable online platform, GreenZone Heroes offers social media and digital marketing services to its members, increasing their exposure to those already eager to support them. Chief among GZH’s strategies introducing its member companies to cause marketing.
In branching into other forms of media, GreenZone Hero also created the podcast Straight Outta Combat, which challenges and diminishes negative stereotypes of combat veterans. The podcast also serves as a place for healing, offering combat veterans themselves an opportunity to share their stories.
“When choosing between two brands of equal quality and price, 90% of US shoppers are likely to switch to a cause-branded product, and 88% of shoppers want to know about companies’ social responsibility” John says. “We’re proud to help GZH-listed businesses earn new customers and grow in the way they deserve by leveraging these insights.”
“At the end of the day, veterans and their supporters support businesses who appreciate them,” John says. “We give companies a place to let America know that they care about veterans, active-duty personnel, and their families. It’s a way to honor freedom, honor ourselves, and honor those fellow Americans who’ve sacrificed much for the freedoms we all enjoy.” 174
GreenZone Hero Phone: +1-941-400-7333 Email: john@greenzonehero.com johnkrotec GreenZoneHero
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Captivate Your Customers When You Communicate with Charisma
cha-ris-ma /kə’rizmə/ noun
THE CHARISMA WAY Over losing customers as fast as you landed them? Unsure of how to create a brand story that will draw in and keep the right customers?
Compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others
At Charisma Communications, we captivate your customers and draw them away from competitors. Our content queens attract & hold customer’s interest; increasing referrals, recognition, and trust for brands in growth mode.
Charisma Communications helps modern entrepreneurs achieve business results through great online customer experiences. We are committed to making every impression count! Since 2016, our all-female marketing team has partnered with clients of all sizes to scale and impact client experience in ways never thought possible. Charisma’s content queens create compelling designs for businesses looking to appeal to discerning customers both online & off via search engine optimization (SEO), blogging, email marketing, web design, and more.
OUR STORY
We believe in being magnetizing.
Magnetic. Sincere. Alluring.
You and your company are unique. By being one-in-a-million and focusing your purpose around what matters most for your customers, the right people
Synonyms: charm, presence, aura, personality, force of personality, strength of character, individuality
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strategies that meet and exceed client expectations to drive profits and achieve business results.
will feel a connection to you and be drawn to your business. Everything we do is to make you unforgettable, and inspire devotion from your customers.
Our experts are Innovation Enablers. Charisma Communications is your virtual customer experience and content marketing team. Our ongoing focus on curating how businesses meet and retain their best clients enables today’s entrepreneurs to be more agile & innovative in how to better serve their audience. With us, companies can create a culture where everyone cultivates relationships and turns the online experience into great in-person ones.
We’re passionate about empowering companies to authentically connect with their customers. At Charisma, we know you need to reach & wow them wherever they are. Our personalized touches keep your best clients with you, speaking highly of you with everyone they meet, and ultimately becoming true brand advocates. This means that you’ll charm future clients away from your competition too.
We believe in making a statement.
COMPELLING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES
In today’s busy world you have to stand out – in a good way. We’re here to create something that your clients – and you – care about. We help you tap into the connection you have with buyers. It’s more than developing your skills to inspire and influence your customers and your team, it’s about building a relationship that lasts.
“People are our business. What brand doesn’t want to inspire devotion from their clients?! Many business owners are so focused on the day-to-day that they keep pushing off what can help make a business grow and be more fun. My dad was a business owner and after years of long hours – the struggle was real and he closed his dream restaurant.
Charisma Communications is led by marketing and advocacy expert, Corin Harmon. Friends affectionately call her ‘Corisma’ because she becomes best friends with everyone within five minutes. Charisma Corin has a Master’s Degree from Emerson College in Integrated Marketing Communications and has over 10 years of experience. Make every impression count - brand your charisma at www.gocharisma.com.
It is important to me that Charisma does our part to help business owners achieve their dreams & spend time enjoying life however that means for them.” -Corin Harmon, CEO (around here, that’s Chief Experience Officer)
MEMORABLE MOMENTS:
Having insights and an action plan to manage marketing & sales is one of the most important things a business can do. Charisma tells brand stories based on genuinely compelling customer experiences. By blending marketing, sales, and service, prospects can guide their journey and get what they need from the brands we work with. This keeps them coming back for more! And ultimately, the right people choose to do business with the brand so sales stay steady.
$90K from one article for a client. $38K in new leads from one event-related blog post over just 72 hours! 500+% increase in online traffic in just a few weeks for a local massage therapist who has now expanded to a second location. Charisma Communications +1-813-563-0248 hello@gocharisma.com
CHARISMA CONNECTS THE DOTS The unique approach of our team spreads customer-centricity throughout all aspects of an organization. We develop marketing
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Marketing Leadership Through Collaboration and Partnership
It is not uncommon for a business owner or founder to look up one day and find themselves in need of someone to help them with the tasks they can no longer do on their own. It’s not that they can’t do them, it’s more that they shouldn’t be doing them. Depending on the business, industry, and stage of growth, when this happens will vary but it usually begins to bubble up within the first two years.
will be able to handle everything from strategy to metrics reporting. But marketing, like so many things, is more than a simple set of tasks that you complete. Marketing is an entire industry; and like other industries, it requires experienced leadership and talented people to be truly successful.
More often than not, marketing functions are some of the first to begin to cannibalize a founder’s time. They are time-consuming on the best of days and unless you have experience in the field, they can come with a pretty steep learning curve. And, even if you are successful, those successes will become hard to sustain.
Coconspirator is an Outsourced or Fractional CMO firm that empowers entrepreneurs with flexibility without sacrificing impact. We provide access to strategic leadership, thoughtful creative, and marketing problemsolvers to help guide, support, and execute your marketing.
There are a number of options to turn to when this happens. The most common is to hire a marketing person with the expectation that they
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your business to understand your needs and to pull together the plans and tactics that will fulfill them. With access to a network of marketing talent across a wide range of specialties, Coconspirator provides the services of an agency with the focus of an in-house team and the scalability that comes from outsourcing. This allows us to execute that strategy, allowing you to put more of your marketing dollars in-market. We mitigate the overhead of a full-time marketing executive, in-house marketing team, or the inefficiency that can come from a traditional marketing firm or advertising agency. Coconspirator was created from the idea that small businesses and startups have the opportunity to benefit most from seasoned marketing talent and that quality marketing talent will always seek opportunities for creativity and innovation. By paring these two elements together, we are able to produce results and support prosperity for all involved. We see opportunities everywhere. Whether it be in the rebranding of a local, woman-owned, family-operated, general contracting firm to align their identity with their ability. Or in the medical lab-testing e-commerce brand repositioning and recapitalizing to provide real healthcare and not just healthcare alternatives. Coconspirator is your ally when you need a partner in performance and an extension of your team. At Coconspirator, we abide a few simple truths. Connection and thoughtful work are our highest achievements. Connection opens conversation. Thoughtful work opens minds. Collaboration creates value. Iteration is our most valuable opportunity. Feedback gives us insight. Failure provides learning. Practice drives results. Engagement is our obligation. Authenticity builds favor. Honesty strengthens relationships. Relationships create prosperity. Shane Needham Founder & Outsourced CMO
Coconspirator letsconspire@coconspirator.co
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Making it better together is our best practice to achieving the greatest results Our Motto:
Much like the Synapse & Innovate community believes that working together to “find what you need and share what you have” is the best practice, Genesis Direct, working together with our talented, innovative staff and clients, find that making it better together is our best practice to achieving the greatest results
With over 25 years of service to our clients we have earned and built trust and confidence with each client by consistently executing successful direct mail programs. Each of our clients is assigned a dedicated team, starting with members of our Client Services department serving as liaisons to all other Genesis Direct departments including Database Management, Data Processing/Programming, Creative, and Production. Throughout the development and production of each campaign, whether it’s a simple mailer or a multi-tiered, data-driven direct mail marketing program, Genesis Direct provides full-scale, personalized service to ensure each client succeeds. This formula has helped Genesis Direct develop and maintain long-lasting relationships and meaningful business partnerships.
At Genesis Direct we will be the first ones to admit that we’re a little old school in our beliefs when it comes to taking care of our clients. We pride ourselves in our culture of fundamentals and principles based on trust and partnership by engaging with our clients at all levels with all forms of communication. We still believe in face-to-face meetings and picking up the phone to strategize, brainstorm, and simply work through the details. 179
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When it comes to our technology, knowledge, and execution Genesis Direct is far from old school. We are on the innovative edge for our industry. We maintain this edge through our exceptional database marketing and state-of-the-art variable printing solutions. With this technology, we target and segment key prospects that mirror our clients’ best customers/members.
production platform with the latest in high-speed variable data printers. Our 58,000 square foot facility operates around the clock, six days a week, (seven during peak season), to help our clients meet tight deadlines and deliver integrated print-through-fulfillment services that offer excellence in quality and absolute efficiency, providing faster job processing without sacrificing quality.
Our production facility is innovative, housing an advanced direct mail
Need to reach targeted prospects? Want to cross-sell or upsell your current customers/members and increase their value? Whatever your goal, Genesis Direct works with you to leverage available prospect and customer/member data with innovative creative design, the latest data technologies, and years of expertise to create personalized and targeted direct mail campaigns. Direct mail that gets the best results for your marketing dollars with solutions customized for your business. We don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach. We apply our proven database marketing principles to your customer and prospect data to deliver direct marketing programs that fit your business. We call it intelligent direct mail. You’ll call it smart marketing. Our team has been partnering with clients for over 25 years to create effective direct mail marketing campaigns. We continue to be one of the leaders in direct mail marketing. To learn how Genesis Direct can help your business grow, call or email Mike McNally (Senior Account Executive) for a free consultation.
Genesis Direct Phone: +1-813- 855-4274 x1265 Mobile: +1-813-610-5931 Fax: +1-813-855-0969 mmcnally@genesisdirect.com
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When elements of a culture are weaved into the tapestry of the strategy, we believe that the message becomes meaningful In 2008, rumbo emerged as one of the few multicultural advertising agencies operating in Florida. Coming from traditional agency backgrounds, our founders recognized the opportunity for their clients to foster stronger relationships with audiences of diverse and ethnic backgrounds. There is a tremendous amount of spending power among ethnic groups, yet they were often left unseen and underserved. At rumbo, we employ a broad range of advertising services to create tailored campaigns. Creative development, media planning, public relations, and account management are par for the course. Our value is in recognizing how cultural nuances play a role in crafting campaigns that speak to the heart of a client’s target audience. When elements of a culture are weaved into the tapestry of the strategy, we believe that the message becomes meaningful. Over the past 12 years, we have had the privilege to work with clients representing a variety of industries, as well as partnerships with other national advertising agencies looking to connect brands with target audiences regardless of language, ethnicity, or behavior. Since our inception, we’ve recognized that innovation had a place among ethnic groups, and that helped us understand their consumer behavior. At rumbo, we’ve incorporated the latest in advertising technology to enhance the connection brands have with emerging audiences. Our agency culture is as unique as the people on our team. We take pride in our diversity and it shows in our work. The life experiences we each bring to the table helps to elevate the services we provide our clients. We not only understand the audience they are trying to connect with – We are that audience. The role of diversity and inclusion in advertising is important to us. Creating relatable campaigns that help shape our economy is our mission, and we will continue to help our clients foster meaningful relationships with their customers.
+1-305-507-9084 hello@gorumbo.com RumboMarketing rumbo-cultural-marketing
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Nothing comes before creative excellence At Three Chairs Productions, we are passionate about creating videos that are visually compelling and captivating. We are a creative group that believes there’s more to a story than what can be seen through the lens of a camera. It begins with a strong idea and doesn’t stop percolating until we deliver the final edited video. We started Three Chairs on one simple idea – Nothing comes before creative excellence. We’re a unique team of producers, editors and creative thinkers who believe in the collaborative process. We are grounded in strategic thinking and pull from 25 years of combined experience in branded commercial and broadcast production. Our shared love of craftsmanship and quality has brought us together. And our scrupulous attention to detail is what sets us apart. Consumers watch more video on their smartphones than the shrinking amount of time people spend time watching linear TV. This popularity on mobile means video will also increasingly be available on social media platforms. It’s not surprising that video accounts for 82% of the content consumed by consumers today. Before a project begins, we ask two simple questions; why is the video being created and how will it be distributed? We ask these questions because of the shift in how people have been consuming video. Every day, millions of Generation Zers, Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers turn to social media to connect with friends and family, but they’re also there to be entertained. Billions of hours of video are being watched daily on social media channels in multiple countries and languages. As we look to the future, our sights are set on producing highly creative, data-driven video content that aligns with the watching preferences of our clients’ audiences.
Three Chairs Productions +1-813-857-7790 info@threechairsproductions.com ThreeChairsProductions three-chairs-productions threechairsprod
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HARDEEGROUP HardeeGroup is a branding/production agency that partners with likeminded marketers and clients to create and produce work that magnifies our client’s products, boosts their profile, and their profitability. We’ve worked with brands such as Circle K, Toyota, Chevrolet, Beef O’ Brady’s, and Visit Florida and agencies like Rhoads Group for the past 19 years. We’ve bolstered their successes, and shaped our work to help them navigate the maze that is the modern media landscape.
Formerly Creative Director at 22 Squared where he launched the Outback Steakhouse brand and its sibling concepts, Doug started Hardee Group in 2001. Reflecting the nature of innovation and the needs of businesses and services, we bring together the best designers, editors, cinematographers, writers to launch and rejuvenate brands regardless of size. We specialize in restaurants, service-based industries, automotive and most any industry that seeks innovative concepts and approaches to branding and production.
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How We Came into Being The world of business has undergone a seismic shift in the last 20 years. Today, great brands come in all shapes and sizes, from optimistic startups, to companies that want to pivot in a new direction, and either engage in a new market or expand their horizons. It’s a daunting new environment, for sure. But those challenges are what motivate us. If you have a dream, we would love to help you realize it, and bring that vision into the marketplace on a multitude of efficient platforms.
Also an Author Doug is also the author of Rock The Cosmos! (Rock ’n’ Roll in Outer Space Series - Book 1)
TESTIMONIALS “Doug has an uncanny ability to translate client business-speak into spot-on messaging for the defined audience. What we initially ask for isn’t always what we want, and he is the ‘client-whisperer’ able to turn the ask into the perfect deliverable.” -Kim James - Senior Director – Global Center of Excellence, Merchandising & Marketing, Circle K “Doug is able to create work that is both spot on for the brand, but also highly engaging for the retail target audience. He’s a storyteller, with insight, wit, and a depth of marketing knowledge.” -Loren Rhoads (President - Rhoads Group) “When you want work that is highly creative, that engages and connects with your demographic audience, Doug Hardee is the go-to source. He does his homework and then some. Our campaign for CFO of Florida helped win 64 of our state’s 67 counties. That’s market penetration on a grand scale. We’re all reaching for the stars, Hardee Group can help you get there!” -Jeff Atwater (CFO of Florida, 2011- 2017. Current Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and CFO of Florida Atlantic University)
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We are MORE THAN DIGITAL MTD Marketing was founded on the principles of bringing a global, enterpriselevel marketing strategy to start-ups & local businesses. We are much more than your typical Digital Marketing Agency – and that’s how we got our name – MTD stands for More Than Digital. At MTD, we pair our expert-creative team with profit-centric marketing strategies to ensure your business is maximizing potential. This thoughtful approach makes us one of Tampa’s top marketing agencies. MTD Marketing will help you strategize how to best utilize your time, money & resources to hit your goals. We learn your business from the inside out and use that knowledge, combined with our expertise, to build a strategy that scales with your business and fits your budget. Our Story MTD Marketing was founded by President & CEO, Alex DeMarco, in August of 2018. MTD is a results driven Marketing Agency, focused solely on helping you achieve your business goals. Relationships are the foundation of a functional partnership and we make sure every business we work with feels valued. In September of 2019, Alex expanded MTD Marketing to include a niche, athletic-based marketing agency, MTD Sports. MTD Sports works with organizations from the youth to the professional level, as well as brands and businesses who want to closely connect or integrate into the sports marketplace. 185
Our Core Values • We are MORE
THAN DIGITAL • We are 100% RESULTS DRIVEN • We help our clients make INFORMED DECISIONS
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Our Services • Social Media Management • Story Telling & Content Creation • Branding & Graphic Design • Strategy Consulting • Targeted Ad Campaigns • SEO & Web Development
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INVASION DIGITAL MEDIA
Invasion Digital Media is a creative agency specializing in digital product creation, automation, and sales funnels. We work as an endto-end solution specifically for influencers and high traffic businesses on their digital presence and strategy. There are always new opportunities that arise when there are gaps left in emerging markets. Invasion Digital Media (IDM) was born after partners, Jake Hoffman and Chris Sassouni, noticed a trend within the already booming digital marketplace. Social media usage, digital purchasing, and overall internet reliance have continued to climb to astronomical levels. With the rise in popularity, it has brought a new brand of celebrity or “influencer” not just to the internet, but to the business community as well.
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Most big brands and businesses have utilized influencers the same way they have in traditional advertising; by paying them to endorse products and be photographed using the product. On the flip side, creators and artists have historically been under-compensated, if not taken advantage of for their talents. Invasion Digital Media partners with influencers to provide them with the tools and services to create a fully functioning business model for utilizing their platforms. In short, we enable creators to become business owners. On the more traditional business end, we also enable companies to improve their digital strategy by implementing the same tactics used by the most prominent online businesses and digital marketers in the world.
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IDM creates, builds, and markets full digital campaigns for businesses in a way that few others can; by utilizing those that are inventing the newest trends. We focus on selling 100% digital products such as courses, books, and membership websites so that no inventory needs to be purchased.
Our Team In the first year, our team has grown to 10 full and part-time employees comprised of photographers, videographers, digital strategists, copywriters, advertising specialists, web developers, and digital marketers. Unlike many traditional agencies, we don’t take work to build out projects and move on to the next, but instead we offer a full solution to individuals and businesses looking to invade the online space for the long term.
Milestones The first campaign was launched in 2017. Since then our total follower reach is a combined 19 Million people with over 500,000,000 video views. Two of our influencer partners have received YouTube’s Golden Play Button Award for acquiring over 100,000 subscribers. Our videos, clips, and interviews have been featured nationally on ESPN, UFC, NBC, ABC, CBS, Oxygen, MTV, Fox, and many more. Our current partners include a list of professional athletes and sports agents, fitness & health personalities, digital marketing influencers, professional fishermen, blockchain companies, and more.
To see our work and more information, please visit
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A DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY WHERE GOOD ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH TALENTED CREATIVES & CODE MASTERS TEAM UP FOR INNOVATION & GROWTH Roger West Creative & Code is a digital marketing agency based in Tampa, Florida. The company offers a full range of marketing services, including branding and positioning, website design and development, creative services, paid search and social media, content marketing and just about everything it takes to help clients flourish within the digital landscape.
The Cure for Mediocre Marketing The agency was founded in 2007 by CEO Michael Westafer, a Clearwater native and lifelong creative who was tired of seeing work and outcomes that were just “good.” His solution? Try his hand at ownership with an agency committed to delivering excellence, every time.
Roger West partners with organizations across the U.S., with a focus on clients in the tech, healthcare, restaurant and fulfillment/logistics industries. However, the agency is most proud of its portfolio of clients headquartered in the Tampa Bay area.
Shortly after taking the entrepreneurial plunge, Westafer enlisted the help of developer Chris Aybar – adding the “code” to Roger West Creative & Code. The agency’s mission has always been to provide a dynamic, engaging environment for marketing experts to thrive. It wasn’t long before Roger West became a haven where creatives and developers could team up with clients to drive traffic to vibrant online destinations and elevate messages that pack a punch.
“I am especially proud of the culture we’ve built and the passion and dedication our team brings to every client relationship”
The goal? To masterfully blend form (creative), message (branding) and function (code) in order to drive business growth. Plus, it’s the kind of workplace people love. Roger West earned Best Places to Work recognition
—Michael Westafer, CEO
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“2020 made our team stronger. It’s reminded us to not take any day – or person – for granted. Our clients see it. They know we are a trusted partner they can count on when the unexpected happens. We aren’t going anywhere.” —Michael Westafer, CEO from the Tampa Bay Business Journal in 2019 and 2020. “I am especially proud of the culture we’ve built and the passion and dedication our team brings to every client relationship,” said Westafer. The agency celebrated its 13th anniversary in 2020 with its first appearance on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies. Roger West also came in at No. 7 on the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2020 Fast 50 list, making it the fastest-growing marketing company in the Tampa Bay region with two-year revenue growth of 249.2%.
2020: Growth Amidst Chaos Despite a year of chaos and unpredictability, Roger West added new logos to its client roster, along with an expanded leadership team and service offerings in 2020. The agency attributes a successful year to embracing challenges and acting quickly to make necessary adjustments. That includes helping clients do the same as they also navigated the unexpected, from healthcare to restaurants. According to Westafer, resiliency is a mindset the agency brings to every project. “2020 made our team stronger,” Westafer said. “It’s reminded us to not take any day – or person – for granted. Our clients see it. They know we are a trusted partner they can count on when the unexpected happens. We aren’t going anywhere.”
Roger West At-A-Glance • • • • • •
Bigger, Better, Best Bigger investments in team growth and development, packaged marketing solutions and expanded client services are just a few of the plans Roger West has on tap for 2021. The goal? To continue living the mission of ‘good isn’t good enough’ here.
Full-service digital marketing agency Founded in 2007 Michael Westafer, founder & CEO 20+ team members Healthcare, Tech, Restaurants, Non-profit, Manufacturing/Logistics Web design & dev, brand, creative, messaging, digital, UX
“We keep growing because of our clients’ trust in us and the consistently great work from our team,” Westafer said. “Our philosophy is to keep our team and clients happy, and being the best naturally follows.”
6730 W. Linebaugh Ave, Suite 201, Tampa, FL 33625 +1-800-237-5969 info@rogerwest.com rogerwest.com RogerWestCreative
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WE HAVE AN ENDLESS PURSUIT OF FORMALIZING CURIOSITY HCP Associates (HCP) is a research-based marketing and communications firm headquartered in The Channelside District of Downtown Tampa. HCP strategizes with senior-level leaders to advise on big decisions that increase awareness and brand equity while giving back to communities through public/private agencies and non-profits in Tampa Bay and beyond.
“We give them pause from the day-to-day operations and look at the longer-term view of where the organization is going, determine the needs of those they serve, how it is evolving and changing, what are their real needs and desires, and how do we step back in with a plan based on what was learned,” Coniglio said. “We facilitate this process while supporting our client’s implementation teams. Some seek growth, while others seek a shift in direction; whatever the situation might be, we are focused on listening attentively to the leadership objectives, gaining a clear understanding of market demands and becoming the catalyst to align where clients want to go.”
Whether working with a large corporation, non-profit, or small business, HCP has a long history of developing trusted relationships with CEOs, Presidents, and Board Chairs in the public and private sectors. Through these relationships, HCP assists them through complex initiatives during strategic planning. Whether fielding quantitative or qualitative research, developing new product or service strategies, being a sounding board for senior management to align sales and marketing, or handling a crisis communications issue, HCP is a value-added strategic partner. The firm’s leaders feel that marketing cannot be successful without proactive, strategic planning that includes measurable objectives, grounded in research, and evaluated for a return on investment.
The HCP team provides business consulting, research, strategic planning, branding, communications, and marketing services to an extensive list of domestic and international clients. Client categories and niche vertical markets range in size and scope. The team has served international clients seeking to do business in the US, publicly traded financial companies, family-owned businesses, private equity holding companies, public/ private partnerships, and government agencies.
HCP delivers a thought-leader perspective to executive leadership, helping them achieve their strategic visions and goals, according to HCP Associates’ Managing Partner Sean A. Coniglio.
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Eric R. Polins, Managing Partner
Sean A. Coniglio, Managing Partner
life issues,” Coniglio said. “Gone are the days you can conduct a public outreach town hall meeting that aids in decisions for public officials. We have continuously researched, rationalized, and applied new technological applications to collect research in dozens of unique case studies.”
data-driven facts, client strategies become much more precise. HCP uses traditional methods of exploring strategy that comes from thorough investigation, which is then adopted and applied in operational KPIs. Results can take on many forms, such as leading to a branding and positioning platform, a shift in organizational structure, investment in technology and human capital, or reimagining the brand story and communications model. Our mission is to gather all stakeholders together and moderate off-site working sessions to get everyone on the same page to execute a radar screen with accountability and laser-focused objectives measured quarterly with a report card to senior leadership and boards.
HCP engages community stakeholders while their researchers collect community members’ opinions on critical questions that help public administration officials make life-changing decisions for long-term planning and big-budget projects that enhance the public’s quality of life. For more than 35 years, HCP has served hundreds of clients in various industries, partnering as an extension of their management team, providing strategic consulting, research, branding, interactive, and cohesive business-building services. The firm’s marketing insights, research services, and strategic initiatives combine to build our brand of thoughtful hands-on consulting.
MARKETING “Being analytical and thinking out-of-the-box is extremely important. We deliver unique business concepts all day long, but we like to rationalize our ideas with real, measurable research; our mantra is facts and figures always win the day. Whether your organization has an in-house marketing department, an outsourced agency, or both, HCP has a long history of high-level strategic planning and integrating actions with all three. For many of our long-term clients, HCP serves as their dedicated outsourced chief strategist and marketing consultant supporting our clients’ organizational goals while implementing our associates in key roles in an array of A-to-Z skills and tactics,” Polins said.
HCP’s Three Cannons: Research, Strategy, Marketing RESEARCH Research is the proverbial bridge between in-house marketing and outside agencies. Long-term brand equity and fact-based evaluations and conclusions are essential to increase effectiveness of advertising and communications. HCP has conducted various in-depth national studies for major corporations and organizations nationwide. The research developed through collaboration with leadership teams looks at awareness, ad recall, satisfaction, message testing, and advertising KPIs in pre- and post-tests. All senior leadership can benefit from an outside third-party perspective without bias to the organization’s internal opinions. HCP works well with ad agencies and internal marketing teams to improve the output of internal/external communication platforms. and external advertising and marketing tactics.
Once a clearly defined strategy is in place, HCP’s account management, marketing, communications, and design teams will work to ensure every step of your marketing plan is efficiently executed. Through every step of the process, we will monitor and report your marketing progress by consistently following our lifecycle model of research, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
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HCP Associates, Inc. Eric Polins epolins@hcpassociates.com 813-318-0565 Ext. 104
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CHAPTER 14
CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT
“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” — VIKTOR FRANKL
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THERE COULD NEVER BE A BETTER TIME THAN NOW TO DISRUPT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH EXPERIENCES THAT ARE RICH WITH THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE ANIMALS.
Carole and Jasmine The first Zoo opened in the U.S. in 1847 and at that time there were more than 100,000 tigers in the wild. Zoos have held themselves out as modern day arks, to preserve species through captive breeding, but no big cat, born in a cage has ever been set free, nor could they be. During this time tiger numbers plummeted to under 4,000 in the wild, while the number of tigers held in cages in the U.S. grew to far exceed that number. Similar numbers exist for all wild cat species. This model of con-servation has nearly caused the extinction of wild cats around the globe and separates patrons from their money, that should be going into real conservation efforts that protect wild places and corridors. Despite the facts, Zoos cling to their message that they are cultivating concern for wildlife and teaching respect for nature. In fact, seeing wild animals languishing in cages, under the guise of educating us or entertaining us, really conveys the opposite message which is that it’s OK to impose our will on others if we benefit from it. There could never be a better time
than now to disrupt the entire industry with experiences that are rich with the magnificence of the animals and the story telling about their important roles in nature, that are based in virtual and augmented reality. Big Cat Rescue partnered with VidPicAR and the Westfield Shopping Centers in March of 2019 to launch the world’s first AR Zoo at the Citrus Park location. The world’s second AR Zoo was then launched in Plantation through this same partnership in August 2019. See ARzoo. me. Both locations were so popular that Big Cat Rescue began searching for developers who could bring the next element of virtual reality to the spaces and to headsets everywhere. At the Synapse Summit 2020 conference Xennial Digital was demonstrating their Magic Leap Climate Change Experience and Big Cat Rescue was bringing lions, tigers, leopards, bobcats and more within touching distance, via 3D videos in Oculus Go headsets. A month later they started on a project that launched on the Oculus Rift in the Oculus Store in June 2020 called Big Cat Rescue VR. This same game has been formatted 195
Carole Baskin on the set of Dancing With The Stars for the Oculus Quest and HTC Vive and is available on Steam. In the virtual reality game the player finds themselves in a pristine forest where they meet a tiger tracker named Jamie who instructs them on how to use their binoculars, knife and sedation equipment, before sending them out in search of a missing tiger named Jasmine. The player looks for clues and upon finding them launches a video about the clue. Each clue has video information that explains how tiger trackers can find and monitor tigers in the wild. Ultimately, the player will find that the tiger has been snared by poachers, but what to do? She could need medical help; she could kill you if you try to help.
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Carole and the Tiger Dutchess The gamer has to figure out how to successfully free the tiger and get back to the ranger station. Upon their return they learn about how captive breeding, and especially the cub petting industry, are causing the extinction of the wild tiger. From there they can actually choose to take action to protect big cats by contacting their member of Congress and making the Call of the Wild. Big Cat Rescue believes that this level of interaction will do far more to teach viewers about the plight of the tiger and what they can do to help than could ever be conveyed by seeing a tiger in a cage. By leading the way and showing Zoos that this is a much more cost effective and humane way to encourage conservation, we hope they will build on this idea and create interactive experiences.
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Lobbying for a bill to ban cub handling and phase out private possession. On a similar path, is all the 3D and 360 video offerings Big Cat Rescue has been creating and sharing on YouTube, Facebook and in headsets. The ultimate goal of this type of animal viewing adoption is to create so much demand for seeing wild cats doing wildcat things, that funding will be redirected from caging animals to installing remote controlled, Internet streaming, LIVE webcams in native habitats. Imagine, coming home from a hard day of the rat race, slipping into your headset, and dropping into the snow leopard’s favorite cave in Tibet, or the lion pride’s favorite rock outcropping, or the bobcat’s favorite creek crossing site and seeing them all behaving as they would if man weren’t a threat. The greater the demand of this sort of entertainment and education, the more wild spaces can be preserved. The more eco systems that are preserved, the more nature flourishes, and so do we. Wasn’t that what Zoos said they were all about? 196
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THE TUB FARM SCHOOL GARDENS ARE UNIQUELY POISED TO SUCCEED AS THRIVING SCHOOL GARDENS Can the good old school-garden really have an innovation moment? Yes, it can. Agriculture is a field ripe for change. The way we currently farm has a disastrous impact on our Earth. Hundreds of years of the same old methods have led to environmental and food scarcity problems. Not to mention we are now as individuals so distant from our food sources that we are lacking a real appreciation of what goes into our bodies. So how can a school garden help solve this problem you ask? It can become a vehicle to teach our youth about these global problems while simultaneously becoming part of the solution.
Founders of TUB Farms (from L to R) Nava Kirk, Rachel White, Tirzah Zielinski, and Fiona Lake
We began Tampa Urban Benefit Farms (aka TUB Farms) with the idea of a giving farm, designed it as a modern hydroponic one with the capacity to grow enough food to make a difference for local at-need families, while also functioning as a teaching farm. We then dissected it into manageable tasks, split it up across schools all over Tampa Bay, and stayed on as an active collaborative partner for our schools. We installed our first mini school “farm” in the fall of 2015. Four years later we have programs at five schools, have taught hundreds of students how to grow hydroponically, and have donated hundreds of pounds of produce back into the Tampa Bay community. The TUB Farm school gardens are uniquely poised to succeed as thriving school gardens because of our dedication as an active partner with our schools. Our active partnership gives teachers the confidence that the garden will thrive all year long without wondering if they will have enough seedlings, nutrients, meters, plus we give assistance to plant and harvest and to maintain the systems if they break. Imagine dozens of school TUB Farms teaching: sustainable agriculture, technology,
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TUB Farms provides all seeds and seedlings to its partner schools. Often these seedlings are grown under hydroponic lights to optimize transfer into the hydroponic systems.
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Students showing their Thanksgiving donation to Meals on Wheels of Tampa. All vegetables donated were incorporated into meals for the homebound of Tampa Bay. TUB Farms regularly partners with MOW and other organizations as a source of fresh veggies for those in need. nutrition, civic responsibility, and providing a significant source of fresh vegetables to those in need. That is a real difference. Who knows, these seeds of learning we give our students today may inspire them to innovate the future of agriculture. Why Hydroponics: It is the future of agriculture. It uses sustainable growing and water conservation methods. We can install these systems anywhere indoors and out. Plus, the vertical design lends itself easily to a garden design of widespread rows where classes can walk through and learn with ease. The numbers: An average TUB Farm school garden has a footprint between 400-600 sq ft but grows vertically for an average growing space of 2,0003,000 sq ft. What we grow: Lots of love. Love for vegetables, innovative gardening and for helping our community. In addition to all that love, we grow lots of veggies too! We grow a large variety of vegetables and edible flowers so that we are exposing our students to new vegetables and ideas of what is edible. We grow everything from tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, nasturtium, Thai basil, herbs, scallions, kale, Swiss chard, strawberries, and so much more. What’s next: Expanding to more schools and incorporating renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
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COI Energy offers a digital energy management platform that detects, eliminates, and monetizes energy waste in buildings to protect the electric grid and reduce carbon footprint.
Commercial and industrial buildings account for 65% of energy demand but waste 30% of the energy they consume. This waste results in 300M metric tons of carbon emissions and 55B dollars annually. We facilitate the repurposing of this waste by enabling businesses to save energy and gift excess capacity directly to marginalized communities.
COI was founded with the premise that a secure and dignified life is a fundamental right; equal access to clean energy resources is a crucial component of this. Traditional solutions to demand management employ shared savings models and lack the necessary transparency for customer interest and engagement. Without the ability to measure and understand energy performance, it is impossible to sustainably manage. COI Energy takes a more holistic approach to demand management; we enable and incentivize businesses to optimize their entire energy ecosystem. Our platform, the COI Optimizer, ensures real-time visibility for utilities and businesses to improve trust and engagement between both parties and among stakeholders. With real-time energy data and insights, businesses are able to detect early equipment failure, avoid peak demand charges, and prevent energy waste. Our customers save energy and sell, trade, or gift the rest to balance the grid and help unserved communities achieve energy independence.
Energy waste and inequity disproportionately affect marginalized communities. The energy burden for low-income households is three times that of the non-low-income households. Low-income and minority populations are more likely to live near power plants, facing exposure to radiation, greenhouse gas emissions and subsequent health risks. These same groups are less likely to afford power and often reside in homes with weaker infrastructure, unable to withstand climate-related weather disasters. This underscores the importance of equitable access to clean energy, a reliable grid, and real-time two-way communication to ensure no one is left in the dark. 199
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SaLisa Berrien I’ve had a diverse career in the energy space; over the last 25 years, I’ve held roles at utilities, startups, and organizations that I now consider competitors. One of the most pivotal moments in my career was when I stood with the executive team of my former company as we went public on Nasdaq. I began selling demand response when there were just 40 employees and was able to experience the startup success journey firsthand. This experience taught me how to thrive at a startup and transform it into a major player. More importantly, it inspired me to start my own company. Through this success story and the variety of roles I’ve held in energy, I’ve gained firsthand knowledge into what customers want and what they’re being offered. I felt that there was a gap to fill between what they were asking for and what utilities and typical energy management companies were providing. With COI Energy, we set out to accomplish this by engraining transparency and a customer-first mindset in our organization. Fast forward to 2020, and I was featured on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square as part of their Milestone Makers program.
In addition to founding COI Energy, SaLisa Berrien recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of her nonprofit organization that focuses on STEM leadership development training in minority youth and women. STRIVE has helped countless children and female entrepreneurs gain access to vital resources and networking opportunities. As a new member of the SheEO network, Berrien has joined a community of radically generous female entrepreneurs who share the common goal of a more equitable world.
hello@coienergyservices.com 813-501-4814 COI Energy COIOptimizer coienergyservices COIEnergy Crowdfunding republic.co/coi-energy
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CHAPTER 15
FUNDERS & INVESTORS
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“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” — GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
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Ark Applications: Investment + Family Values + Culture Building = “Mentorship Capital”
Founded in 2015, the Ark Applications story began simply as a moment of realization between the founders after a Thanksgiving dinner. Bob Smith, Dan Greco, and Justin Smith discussed their shared vision to help local business grow and stay within the Tampa Bay region. That shared vision fueled an initiative to create Ark Applications to help early stage companies achieve success through active mentorship and capital infusion. The timing seemed perfect considering the new level of energy building within the Tampa Bay community for both startups as well as existing businesses.
At “Ark”, we believe that business growth comes as a result of personal growth. We are career professionals with diverse backgrounds that have witnessed firsthand the impact of mentorship and thoughtful leadership can have on others. This is why we created Ark Applications, to build the better leaders and successful companies of tomorrow. Coining the phrase, “Mentorship Capital” our team has created, grown and sustained a respected and award winning organization that transcends 203
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traditional partnerships by actively working with early stage companies that share in their core values. Ark Applications has also become more involved in the startup community through activities such as mentoring young entrepreneurs at the University of Tampa’s Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, Florida-Israeli Business Accelerator, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, and the Tampa Bay WaVe. The team has carried on their goal of bettering the entrepreneurial community through imparting knowledge on eager entrepreneurs to enable success. This has also led to the expansion of Ark Applications into the business consulting space to assist companies in solving critical business-related issues.
We don’t just offer an infusion of capital to an early stage company, we provide the immeasurable element of “mentorship capital” to assist in rapidly scaling their company. We accomplish this by actively working with the company to enable collaboration, unlock new lines of revenue, provide solutions for customers, gain innovation insights, improve internal processes, and catapult the organization by innovating faster. This approach allows us to provide an unparalleled level of support for companies that are part of our direct network. After all, at Ark you are not just part of our portfolio, you are considered part of the family.
Ark Applications creates meaningful change in the business community through their continuous involvement with local businesses both large and small. The Tampa Bay area is a thriving ecosystem of hungry entrepreneurs hoping to make an impact on the world, and it is the hope of the company to be able to assist some of these rising stars in their mission.
In the end, though, results matter, especially to entrepreneurs. Ark has a successful history of delivering an incredible value and experience for our partners - that’s why companies seek us out to partner with them. Our investment portfolio consists of high achieving companies such as Peerfit, Script, Knack, Immertec, Wherewithal, and ItsByU. All of these companies have continually demonstrated significant potential to transform the industries in which they operate and also make a lasting positive impact on the Tampa ecosystem.
Through their capital investment and mentorship, the founders of Ark Applications believe they have what it takes to be successful.
Additionally, we strive to impact Tampa Bay through volunteering our time, energy, and resources to non-profits in the community. We feel strongly about making a meaningful impact on the community and our company supporting organizations like Meals on Wheels, Tampa Foundation, Lifepath Hospice, Humane Society, and the Crisis Center to name a few. Non-profits like these provide important resources to the community that are irreplaceable. Our commitment to the greater community isn’t just limited to startups and businesses, we want to help others succeed in all aspects of the greater Tampa ecosystem.
Ark Applications ArkApplications Ark-Applications
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WE DELIVER WEEKLY CLARITY ON YOUR MOST CRITICAL NUMBERS
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Achieve Your Vision
As venture investors, we realize that some businesses need cash at critical moments during their scaling-up phase, so we deploy capital in minority positions with consulting clients that have proven to be a great fit, enabling them to take advantage of significant growth opportunities.
Horizon Ventures is a growth strategy and venture investing firm specializing in getting companies beyond $10M in revenue.
Initial Success
As growth strategists, we find that leaders often struggle to keep up with the complexity of a growing business, so we deliver weekly clarity on your most critical numbers through an easily digestible scorecard and financial model, enabling you to confidently lead a healthy, growing business.
In the beginning, entrepreneurs know every aspect of their business. They have performed every task and achieve traction using their gut instinct and sheer determination. As their business hits that first $1M, entrepreneurs make the transition into true leaders looking to confidently grow a healthy business to $10M in revenue.
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Growth Creates Complexity This initial success falters, however, as the business scales beyond their own experience (gut instinct). Growth creates complexity across the value chain, consumes resources at a pace the business leader has never experienced and forces leaders to delegate entire processes to employees, creating even more distance between where the leader sits and where the work gets done. These factors combine to create complexity that stalls growth, reduces profitability and causes leaders to lose confidence in their ability to effectively lead the business. Most quickly realize that they have to rely more on data, but few have the time to figure it out or have enough scale to hire a fulltime analyst.
We Have Been There As business leaders ourselves, we know exactly how this feels because we have been there. Horizon’s managing partners have founded three businesses themselves and experienced bankruptcy when one of our first investments failed to understand this complexity. We also appreciate that understanding “the numbers side” of the business is often not the skill and passion of the founding entrepreneur.
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Horizon partners with the PlantBar leadership team, one of their favorite high growth portfolio businesses. During careers that included investment banking, management consulting and corporate leadership, we learned how to find the stories in numbers and share them in a way that discovers important insights and creates visibility into the future. Using these skills, we have led multiple businesses beyond $1M and $10M in revenues. Furthermore, we use the same practices with our clients that we do in our portfolio companies. In short, we practice what we preach.
The H.V. Edge We use a combination of research-backed processes that have proven to be the most effective for businesses focused on achieving the 10x jump from $1M to $10M in revenue. 1. Direction – Define the vision and strategic goals for the business 2. Focus – Identify the most critical numbers required to deliver your strategic goals 3. Rhythm – Combine and deliver this key data in an easily digestible Weekly Scorecard 4. Projection – Develop a Financial Model to show the cashflow impact of decisions Each step in the process is done in collaboration with the business leader, but the heavy lifting each week is done by Horizon to ensure our 206
clients can continue to focus on leading the business. Contact us directly for a free 1-hour strategy session or use any of the free tools and thought pieces shared on our website to guide your own process.
Creating Opportunity for Others As our clients come to understand and track their weekly “numbers”, they are able to make better decisions, thereby increasing profitability and driving growth. Flying blind will cause you to miss opportunities and remain stressed and anxious about your business. Horizon Ventures was founded with the purpose to “Create Opportunity for Others” and it is with this weekly execution rhythm that we are able to transform our clients from anxious, in the dark and stressed out business owners to confident, knowledgeable and in control leaders.
+1-540-292-3394 info@horizonllc.us HorizonGrowth horizon-growth
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IT’S TIME TO OWN YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE
+1-813-461-4001 Adam@TaylorFinancial.com ACTPlanning taylorfinancialplanning
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Life, Disability Income, Long Term Care Insurance.
We act as a bridge by taking our clients from point A to point B over a series of barriers. It takes a lot of components to help build a secure bridge, which is why we have so many experts on the team.
All this in one place.
INVESTMENT PLANNING
Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Education Plans, Annuities.
DISTRIBUTION PLANNING
Brokerage, Advisory, Retirement, Non-Retirement.
Our clients experience the deep breath of knowing their finances
Taylor Financial is a comprehensive financial planning firm located in Tampa Florida. It’s our mission to bring the “Services” back in to “Financial Services” and we strive to create an exceptionally distinctive client experience for everyone we work with. We have numerous experts in house to make sure we cover multiple aspects of your plan. We’ll look at the big picture with you, and then follow up to bring it all into reality to make sure you’re prepared for anything and everything.
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INSURANCE PLANNING
OUR SERVICES
Once across, there’s no more chaos.
{
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OUR CLIENTS FORMER MILITARY /DEFENSE CONTRACTOR INDUSTRY Military benefits are complicated. There are few people who have a comprehensive understanding of them and even fewer that know how to optimize them. Your job isn’t to become an expert in TSPs, SBPs, VGLI, veteran-owned tax benefits, and investment strategies. That’s on us.
BUSINESS OWNERS Your time is precious and if you’re like most business owners, you have your finger in a million different tasks. Your finances may be healthy, but disorganized. We help to bring order, organization and simplicity to your money.
APPROACHING RETIREMENT
Taylor Financial is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Investors
The transition from work-life to retirement has the opportunity to be a smooth transition, but a knowing guide is absolutely necessary. Together we can help maximize how your benefits pay out.
Services, LLC, or its affiliated companies. OSJ 4830 W. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 800 Tampa, FL 33609, (813) 286-228 The firm is licensed to sell insurance in the following jurisdiction(s): FL, CO, HI, GA, MD, NC, NH, NY, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA. Licensed to sell investments in the following jurisdiction(s): FL, GA, LA, MD, MA, NY, NC, TN, TX
We utilize eMoney, a leading wealth management and financial planning software. The client portal is a welcoming, detail-rich and interactive asset, which displays all wealth- management-relevant information, like net worth, investments, insurance, budgets and spending in a way that delivers maximal transparency, while minimizing navigation-difficulty. Also, the client portal facilitates the aggregation of assets and accounts we don’t manage, which help us get a clearer picture of your financial life.
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ACCELERATORS, INCUBATORS & MENTORS
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“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” — MARY ENGELBREIT”
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Bringing Best-In-Class Support to Startups in Tampa Bay
We are not a co-working space, accelerator or incubator. We are a new kind of support model, one where each company’s experience at Embarc Collective is customized around their unique priorities and challenges. Our model borrows best practices from both platform teams found in venture funds and from physical innovation hubs that are prominent in other regions around the world.
Embarc Collective is home to over 80 early-stage tech and tech-enabled startups across all different industries, from healthcare to fintech to consumer products. We support startups with individualized coaching, group programming and a peer community to help member startups scale all within our physical hub in downtown Tampa.
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Our Startup Hub We opened our 32,000 square-foot facility in January 2020. Having a place to build, learn and collaborate is incredibly important to helping us create a central landing zone for this region’s startup community. This space includes large- and small-group areas to convene and collaborate, including spaces specifically for design thinking, private offices for companies growing on-site, and resources needed by startups including a state-of-the-art content creation studio.
Our Coaching Differentiator The core differentiator for Embarc Collective is our founder coaching. The Embarc Collective coaching team has collectively worked with thousands of early-stage companies over the past 20 years. In 2020, we delivered almost 1,300 hours of individualized coaching Embarc Collective members. We pride ourselves on leading with prepared and quality support—time is precious, so gone are the days of founders explaining their business to a new person every time they’re in need of guidance, feedback, or for a simple gut-check. We are able to dive in and work on the challenges that are core to overcome today.
A Focus on Data & Analytics
We make it a point to bring the best to Tampa Bay. In addition to accessing our coaching staff, on a weekly basis, we bring in experts from around the world to work with the companies we serve. Nearly 50% of speakers in 2020 came from outside the Tampa Bay region. 50% of speakers identified as women, and over one-third identifying as racially or ethnically diverse.
Measurement is at the heart of our organization. In 2020, we published several studies and databases to benchmark our region and state’s progress in becoming a top location to build a startup, including:
A Community of Startups The companies we work with are hungry to solve a problem, have built a competitive product, and have the drive to succeed as a business. We are proud of the culture of the membership and how the wins of a member company serve as a motivator for others in the Embarc Collective community.
Our 2nd Annual Southeast Capital Landscape COVID-19 Startup Resource Database 2020 Community Survey 2020 Glaring Gap Report & Updated Florida Women Founder/ Investor Database Embarc Collective 802 E Whiting St, Tampa, FL 33602 embarccollectiv embarc-collective EmbarcCollective
This community comes together in our 32,000-square-foot facility in downtown Tampa, which is quickly becoming the central landing zone for startup activity in the Tampa Bay region.
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INNOVATION MISSION CONTROL.
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The FIBA 2020 health-tech cohort with local advisors and entrepreneurs. From left to right, top to bottom: Yaki Halfon (FIBA), Richard Reiss (FIBA), Rami Kirshblum (Uniper Care), Ziv Tamir (ArTack), Kim Stebbings (FIBA), Izik Itzhakov (Aeye Health), Dan Greco (FIBA), Rachel Feinman (FIBA), Amit Maydan (Milagro AI), Pam Miniati (FIBA), Ed Buckley (Tampa-based PeerfFit), Avi Price (Uniper Care). Our mission is to establish Florida as a global innovation hub. Technology startups thriving in our local economy attract new talent, drive new investment opportunities, and enhance the region’s reputation as a competitive, fertile ground for business. By encouraging Israeli startups to enter the US market with Florida as their base of operations, we connect individuals and companies to job opportunities, high-skilled talent, technological solutions, and innovation and showcase the region as a key center of excellence in healthcare, urban development, and security/ defense among other key industries in Florida.
DESTINATION: FLORIDA. We connect Israel’s most highpotential tech startups to the partners, investors, and advisors they need to launch successfully in the US.
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Brad Gamble, CEO of The Selling Factory, coaches Israeli entrepreneurs about sales strategies as part of the FIBA 2020 Launch program.
FIBA leverages its strong network of business executives, investors, government officials and leaders from both the Florida Jewish community and the greater business community to provide market knowledge and validation, and access to investors and large corporations necessary to grow Israeli startup companies in the US.
Testimonials and Press “FIBA has become one of the highest quality programs in Florida and clearly unique in its approach. I have personally invested in one of the companies and believe that Tampa Bay will become U.S. headquarters to many Israeli companies over the next few years.” – Marc Blumenthal, Florida Funders, Partner
Milestones • Acquisitions: WeissBeerger was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer brewer.
“My support for the Israeli companies stems from the fact that I believe that these companies can create many qualitative jobs and develop the state’s high tech. The FIBA project and the Jewish community will contribute both to the local and the Israeli economy.” – Governor Rick Scott, The Times of Israel, December 2017
• Funding: StemRad secured a $6 million investment from Tampa investors in 2017, followed by UC-Care which secured a $1 million investment from Tampa investors in 2019. • Relocation: StemRad, UC-Care, ECOncrete and Nucleon opened an office in Tampa Bay following participation in the FIBA program. The companies hired locally and relocated families to the area.
“There are many startup programs out there... I think that the FIBA program was way, way better than anything and everything that we’ve done so far.” – Amit May-dan, CEO/Co-Founder of Milagro AI
• Distinctions: ECOncrete was recognized by Forbes and Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies in 2019 in addition to being selected as an awardee of the United Nations for women innovators.
“If you are a startup that wants access to customers and investors, and if you are looking to accelerate your startup, this is the place to go. Go to FIBA, I highly recommend it.” – Rami Kirshblum, CEO/Co-founder of Uniper Care
• Engagement: FIBA hosted 30 community events with 2500 guests and facilitated over 150 meetings with investors and executives for the 40 companies in its portfolio.
Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA) +1-813-291-2300 office@fiba.io fibatampa fiba_tampa
• Expansion: FIBA is expanding its activities and event offering to other markets in Florida, including Central Florida, South Florida and South West Florida.
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THE ECC CONTINUES TO PROVIDE THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT TO THE TAMPA BAY BUSINESS COMMUNITY. The Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, also known as the ECC, started five years ago with the idea of gathering all the resources in Hillsborough County together to assist budding entrepreneurs as well as those in the stages of growth in one location. Through educational workshops, one-on-one consulting and a myriad of resources, the ECC continues to provide the entrepreneurial spirit to the Tampa Bay business community.
with each other and Economic Development under the umbrella of the Entrepreneur Collaborative Center is a unique model. As a pioneer in synergistic energy, the ECC allows entrepreneurs to explore opportunities while gaining the education and expertise needed to succeed. From the ECC itself, to successes by entrepreneurs throughout the community, innovation has been a signature hallmark of our organization.
The ECC is both an innovator and an innovation enabler. The collaboration between the various partners in Hillsborough County
Within Hillsborough County business community, the ECC is a place to easily access resources, mentors, business assistance and 215
specialty training that is not found in other jurisdictions in Florida, or the United States. As it has grown over its five-year history, the model for cooperation and collaboration is continuing to evolve with new technology and partnerships. Although the ECC is unique, it can serve as a model of success for other locations to provide a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs. A discussion on Tampa Bay Goes Live presented the opportunity to share how the ECC have pivoted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The interest in the virtual events
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being hosted has created the need to explore a new model where both person-to-person and virtual events can be included. It is lovely seeing our new partners becoming innovative and is encouraging to see a whole new world of entrepreneurs. As we move forward from our successes with 1 Million Cups by the Kaufman Foundation, and our record year of attendance, the ECC is most excited about the prospect of assisting the business community to grow with innovative technology, new educational opportunities and flourishing connections.
Hillsborough County Entrepreneur Collaborative Center +1-813-204-9267 KroesenL@hillsboroughcounty.org HillsboroughFL
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USING EXPERIENCE-DRIVEN INSIGHT AND EXECUTION, ORCHID BLACK UPLIFTS COMPANIES, AMPLIFYING THEIR VALUE IN THE MARKETPLACE—AND IN THE WORLD.
Orchid Black is a growth services firm that partners with tech-forward companies to discover new paths to growth. Our team is made up of skilled problem solvers, operators, and entrepreneurs. We get it. So much so, that we bet on our partner-clients’ success in a performance-focused incentive model that makes our wins their wins.
As this new opportunity presented itself, our founders set about answering the question: How do we grow from two people helping a couple of companies at a time, to a scalable business capable of working with dozens of hand-selected partner-clients on their growth journey? Using our experience, we created a new model that combined three core components:
Orchid Black’s sweet spot is powering-up founder-led, growth-stage companies on the path towards exit, accelerating growth and maximizing exit value on the way. You could say we’ve cracked the code on value creation. Orchid Black grew from the soil of entrepreneurship. Our founding partners had been in the business of building technology companies for decades, wearing many different hats, ranging from operator, to founder, to investor, among others. Over the years, we saw a world of truly innovative products, built by brilliant founders, that needed help to get to the next level. After all, it’s not easy to take a company from product-solution fit to a successful eight or nine-figure exit.
1.
People: A phenomenal team of Operators and industry experts with a history of business-building success, who have founded, scaled and exited companies evidenced by $35 billion combined value creation.
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Process: Our data-driven growth process that sets a solid foundation for all client engagements.
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Business Model: We place a portion of our fees at risk in a performance model to align our incentives with our partner-clients’ long-term success.
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breed of partner—a promising business with a unique offering. As with any prized exotic orchid, an exceptional company’s true value emerges from expert pruning and care. When properly nurtured, orchids thrive, which is an apt metaphor for the deliberation and care we use to tend and guide our clients. We live by the phrase, “Grow Smart, Grow Fast.” We know that opportunities emerge in uncertain and tumultuous times. And the times we live in right now are certainly among the most tumultuous! The most impactful companies were born out of crises. Orchid Black is not buckling in and riding out the storm. Quite the opposite. We are doubling down our efforts to search and find partner-clients with the highest potential, and we work to put a roadmap in place to help them achieve their loftiest goals. The toughest organizational problems to solve require significant preparation, foundational market understanding, and an organizationwide commitment to finding a solution. Those are the types of challenges that excite us—and where we thrive. Orchid Black grow@orchid.black 727-900-5389 orchidblack
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PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING 219
“Success is steady progress toward one’s personal goals.” — JIM ROHN
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Mission: Arête Strategic Consulting exists to help our clients tackle their toughest challenges, develop the best leaders, and build and implement winning strategies. Like most innovators I spent most of my life asking, “Isn’t there a better way to do this?” Whether it was finding the smart shortcut to homework, finding the most efficient way to get a job done, or collaborating with a friend to figure out how to make his product more valuable, I found that if you look hard enough there is almost always a better way.
I used what I learned about strategy, leadership, and innovation to develop a robust Leader Development Program and a mentorship system that has helped teach hundreds of military and civilian leaders about strategic thinking, innovation, and how to be a better leader at the organizational and strategic levels.
I brought this spirit of innovation to my career in the military where it was sometimes welcome, but more often greeted with a scornful “shut up and color the way you were told” response.
When I retired from military service, I sought opportunities to put these skills to work helping businesses create successful, innovative strategies and develop their leaders to maximize their abilities. When I moved to Tampa in 2019, I was lucky enough to meet the great team at Synapse who introduced me to many of the great innovators around Tampa Bay. Being a part of the Synapse movement and helping organize Synapse Orlando 2019 and Synapse Summit 2020 were amazing experiences that cemented my passion for innovation and my admiration for the founders and entrepreneurs who not only ask “Isn’t there a better way to do this?” but then provide the world with the answer.
But there are ways and places where innovation in military service is not only appreciated, it is demanded, and I have always been drawn to those places. Over the years I had incredible experiences like helping introduce design thinking to the Army, implementing new strategic approaches at Special Operations Command, or working with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group to help form long-term solutions to the Army’s toughest challenges.
Arête was born of a desire to help innovative companies and their leaders reach their full potential. By offering a range of services including executive coaching, leadership development programs, Supervisor University, and Strategy Formulation and Implementation programs, Arête helps companies be their very best. Every program is specifically tailored to the client: your company is unique, and so are your challenges. The strategies devised to tackle your challenges should be unique as well.
Experiences like these brought me into contact with some of the nation’s best strategic thinkers, many of whom became my mentors. I also got the opportunity to spend time at places like the DARPA, MIT Media Labs, Cambridge Innovation Center, Ideo, Stanford School of Design, and our National Laboratories, learning about the state of the art in innovation.
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Arête Strategic Consulting +1-813-641-4691 bdixon@arete-strategies.com bobdixon31
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Leading Others – improve your ability to lead and develop your workforce to achieve excellence Thinking Strategically
Strategic Leadership Workshops What is Arête? In Plato’s Greece the pursuit of pure excellence, called Arête, was the ultimate virtue. Arête isn’t limited to one area of
Systems Thinking – understand your market environment in a deep and meaningful way Critical Thinking – create deeper understanding of your challenges Design Thinking – develop novel solutions to overcome obstacles Knowing Yourself – find your strengths and learn how to maximize your effectiveness Leading Change – learn how to create and implement your vision to keep your business on top
life, but excellence in life itself. It indicates a respect for the wholeness or oneness of life, and that improving expertise in a
Leading Others – Preparing for the leadership role Establishing Yourself - Learn what works and
singular area at the expense of all others limits overall growth. Leadership Bootcamp
This is the approach Arête Strategic Consulting takes in helping clients pursue their goals. Our mission is to help you achieve your vision by developing excellence throughout your company: visionary leaders pursuing the right strategy produce amazing results. 222
what doesn’t when you take on the leadership responsibility Being a Mentor – helping others be their best Finding the Right Focus – Balance Excellence in Leadership - Understanding the balance between your people and your mission
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INCLUSIVITY LLC IS CREATING A CONTEXT FOR INNOVATION THROUGH CULTURAL COMPETENCE. Erik When Inclusivity Inc.’s founder Erik Smith came to Tampa Bay in 2011, it was for a vacation. Burned out on a job in corporate finance, he needed some time away before embarking on a leadership program in Cleveland, where he was visiting from. But when his three weeks off were gone and the offer of a full ride to Bridge Builders, a premier leadership program, came, Erik knew he had to stay. “As I started to pack for Cleveland, I physically got ill. Sick to my stomach. And in that moment, I said, Cleveland, we’re done. I calmed down, everything subsided, I called the program back and said it was an incredible opportunity and I hope someone else gets it, but I’m not coming back,” Erik remembers. “And that’s when all the goals I had for my career and all the prayers I had of wanting to be a husband and a father came about.” Within six months of making that decision, Erik earned his first consulting gig, and three months later came the largest contract he’d ever had in his life. “It was like, I’m living in paradise,” he says. Inclusivity LLC. continued to grow into what it is today: an full-service organizational development firm with a core focus on cultural competence. Its mantra reflects this perfectly: the presence of diversity plus the practice of inclusion within an equitable environment is the context for innovation. “We look at organizations from a diversity, equity, and inclusion standpoint. We want to understand how the company is serving the community that they’re in, how they’re serving their customers and clients, and internally how the structure relates to the community in which they reside,” 223
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Erik explains. “Basically, in terms of demographics, do they mirror the community that they’re in? Do they mirror their customer base? Do they even understand who their customer base is?”
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Erik explains: “When Covid hit, most people were at home and they were watching TV—following the news more, following social more—and they watched this person, George Floyd, being murdered for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. It turned the world on its head. Black folks knew events like this had been going on for I don’t even know how long, but white folks were like, Whoa, how does that happen? And why did this happen? And then all of the things that may once have been dismissed couldn’t any longer be dismissed. They reached a boiling point.”
Even though studies have shown that diversity in the workplace directly correlates with that company’s success, many organizations (like many people) avoid the elephant in the room that is racial and ethnic diversity by claiming geographic diversity or diversity of thought in their workplaces. But to not embrace diversity in the workplace is to put a pretty low ceiling on the organization’s potential for innovation.
As egregious as those circumstances are, they have brought new opportunities to Inclusivity LLC.’s door—especially in conjunction with the firm’s pivot to offering entirely virtual services. In fact, business has grown significantly since March 2020.
“We know innovation comes from having different perspectives and being able to weigh in on different projects and situations. When you have that in the mix, you are guaranteed to have that different perspective that allows you to be more innovative,” Erik says. “From that perspective, your bottom line is in danger if you don’t confront that. And if you’re not having these conversations, then you’re losing your bottom line.”
“We’re bringing clarity to our clients, and to the population in general, as to the devastation of inequity and what that does to us as a community. We’re here to be disruptive in the space and to change the discourse,” Erik says.
It’s a truth Erik knows not just from his current role at Inclusivity but also from his time in the music industry, where he worked with new artists to get them on the map. In collaborating with influencers and big-name liquor and tobacco companies, Erik learned that many of them wanted to break into the “urban market”—communities of color—but didn’t know how.
The work on cultural competency that Erik and his team are doing now is work they’ve been doing in their own ways for most of their lives. It can be exhausting, but Erik knows the only way through is forward. “There are so many people coming to us right now who are legitimately asking for help,” Erik says. “We’ve done two virtual conferences and because of that, the doors have opened and people have come out to support the effort. The firm is organically growing with people who want to help the community, help it do better, help it to emerge stronger together.”
“I realized if I could break an artist, I could break a brand,” Erik says. Carlton Consulting, as Erik’s company was known then, came to work with marketing and PR firms out of Manhattan, Chicago, LA, and DC. But soon after, the bottom fell out of advertising and Erik was forced into the corporate finance role that burned him out and occasioned his serendipitous trip to Tampa in 2011.
Inclusivity LLC +1-216-798-8979 erik@inclusivityllc.com
It wouldn’t be the last time that a troubled economy—a troubled world— would open doors for Erik and Inclusivity.
Inclusivity, LLC Inclusivity LLC
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FORMER TAMPA MAYOR, BOB BUCKHORN, FREQUENTLY STATES: “IT IS OUR TIME.” ELEVATE, INC. WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREES WITH THE MAYOR’S STATEMENT AND IS COMMITTED TO TELLING THE WORLD WHY #TAMPAHASSWAGGER! Tampa stands on the precipice of becoming America’s next great city thanks to the people of this amazing town, who are propelling the city to new heights. Residents and business professionals are inviting, collaborative thinkers who truly embody Elevate, Inc.’s values of Be Bold, Be Brave, Be You. It is an exciting time to live, work and play in the powerhouse that is Tampa. As a business consulting firm in Tampa, Elevate, Inc. is tremendously committed to the continued growth of the city. We envision Tampa as a vibrant town, teeming with innovation and intrigue. Our mission is to help our clients learn about the community, connect with others, and grow their bottom line, using our creative service offerings and existing relationships.
consultant getting my start in Tampa, I needed connections and clients – and I needed them fast. Aakash and his team plugged me into the community and immediately expanded my social circles with targeted introductions to high-level prospects.” We accomplish our mission by differentiating ourselves in Tampa as the team that believes in the power of a firm handshake, being present, and having a genuine interest in others. Another client – Copeland More, fourth-generation owner of La Segunda Central Bakery – recognizes the impact Elevate, Inc. has on the community and its clients: “We contracted Elevate, Inc. to help celebrate our 100th anniversary and they exceeded our expectations. Their success came from using an innovative process, different from the standard public relations firm, that gave the bakery a constant presence in the eyes of the community.”
Client Shawn Rhodes, President of Shoshin Consulting, recognizes the integral role Elevate, Inc. plays in the local business community: “As a 225
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learn. connect. grow. # elevate TAMPA elevate-inc.com
Tampa is a flourishing community, expanding and developing in more ways than one. Elevate, Inc. has the pleasure of witnessing the area’s growth firsthand. Tampa’s urban core is being transformed to an exciting place for residents and visitors alike. Restaurants are relocating to the area, nightlife is becoming more vibrant, and public spaces continue to grow in beauty and use. A once disjointed Downtown Tampa is now seamlessly connected by the Tampa Riverwalk which has opened public access to the waterfront, numerous outdoor gathering spaces, hotels, museums and restaurants. Entrepreneurs and technological innovators have transformed the region into a hotbed for innovative startups. Needless to say, Tampa is catching fire! Our vision is that, by strengthening the ties among regional businesses and communities through networking and relationship building, our city will continue on its path of development. Tampa is on track to become a more united community offering endless opportunities for all who seek a fulfilling life, both personally and professionally, under the Florida sunshine.
elevate-inc-/
4115 W Spruce St, Tampa, FL 33607 +1-813-364-GROW | info@elevate-inc.com | Elevateinc | elevate_inc/ | Elevate_Inc
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Jayde Stewart
Zac Duffy Mandi Clay
Bob Dixon
Shannon Pastizzo
Purpose I People I Process Brought together by our shared purpose of creating more good days for individuals and teams, as Good Day Ambassadors, we specialize in culture creation and strategy alignment. United by our relentless pursuit to unleash innovation, maximize opportunities, and fuel productivity, we work cohesively to deliver the Good Day 3P Methodology to leaders and teams nationwide.
Jamie Renee, CEO
Committed to our values and synthesized by our shared vision of transforming why and how teams work together, we serve as igniters of the good day movement.
Merrill Stewart, Principal
Make it a Good day!
Every organization, group, or team of people has a culture, whether they are aware of it or not. Your culture is dynamic - alive - within your organization, and it is either stalling or propelling your momentum.
organization. Your culture is evident in the way you manage time, risk, accountability, feedback, experimentation, and much more. To successfully execute the tactics identified to achieve your goals, your operating system – your culture - must be aligned with your strategy. When smart leaders and teams reach less than the desired outcome, we often find a lack of synergy between their culture and strategy.
Your culture can be seen and felt in the small and large transactions between your stakeholders. Your Culture is shaped by how you make decisions, what gets resourced, and what gets celebrated within your
Good Day Solutions 813.596.5711 JRenee@goodday.solutions
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CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR LUNCH!
The Good Day team is strategy and culture specialist. We help organizations that want to achieve uncommon results do so by building a culture of trust and cohesion with their internal and external stakeholders. We help our clients develop their internal talent and make a greater external impact through their corporate social responsibility program. At Good Day Solutions, we take the time to equip leaders to understand and leverage the unique strengths of their people so that they can unleash creativity, maximize opportunities, and fuel productivity together. We position leaders and teams to have more good days by aligning their purpose, their people, and their processes.
do it for. This compelling statement makes you stand out in the minds of your customers and the marketplace. Then we work with your marketing and development teams to map out your client journey so that you can identify, qualify, and convert your prospects into loyal customers. And, when it is time to scale your business to meet the growing demand, we evaluate your company’s internal readiness - capacity and capabilities - to scale successfully.
GOOD DAY CORE SERVICES:
Purpose – We work with you to unite your team around shared values and an inspiring purpose. We help you set strategic goals aligned with your vision and equip you to measure and celebrate what matters consistently.
Cultivate your ideal culture aligned with your strategy Lead strategic planning and goal setting Develop KPIs, benchmarks, and accountability plans Coach and develop leaders and leadership teams Evaluate, refine, and automate processes and procedures Develop a custom opportunity evaluation and decision-making matrix Facilitate cohesive team building and group coaching sessions Facilitate dynamic business planning meetings and retreats Develop and manage an aligned Corporate Social Responsibility program Develop and manage your volunteer and internship programs
People -We work with you to increase personal satisfaction and performance by intentionally engaging, training, and developing your people in a way that leverages and appreciates their unique interests and strengths. We help you foster psychological safety, which is critical for there to be trust and cohesion. Process - We work with you to simplify structures, processes, and systems. We help you identify, plan and execute the core tactics while minimizing distractions and maintaining accountability and momentum. We train you on running masterful meetings, projects, and plays that leverage the power of questions, after-action reviews, and reflection.
MARKETING & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS:
Once we accomplish the foundational goal of aligning your internal culture with your strategy, we turn outside to work with you on creating more good days with your external stakeholders. We do that by starting with your Unique Position Statement (UPS), which links together who you are, what you do, why you do. it, and who you
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Diversify revenue streams Supply chain refinement Craft your unique position statement Client/Customer journey mapping Storytelling and content development Product/Service/Program creation and enhancement Marketing/Communications implementation plans Development/MarCom team training and coaching Mergers and Acquisitions IP services
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INNOVATION STARTS WITH YOU
Innovation is an active mindset. It allows us to reach beyond the perceived barriers of change and gives us permission to take risk and even fail. The gift of thinking innovatively is two-fold: it provides fresh thoughts and actionable creativity to solutions that have gone stale; and it also boosts employee engagement and morale. It’s an invitation for people to think for themselves, to be limitless and optimistic in their quest of a vision. An innovative mindset is the secret element in engaging performance within the walls of certainty and safety.
But how do we gain such mindset when our normal day-to-day is to maintain the status quo? As companies develop, they invest in the technical expertise to innovate. However, their employees may not have the mental reflexes to accommodate change, much less spark it. Growth Mindset work is the answer. It’s a body of research, conceived by Carol Dweck and colleagues, that focuses on the belief that a person’s capacities and talents can be improved over time. This belief system generates opportunities and an openness in individuals required for change. Dweck
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tells us, “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through effort, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset” while those with a fixed mindset “believe their talents are innate gifts.” Adopting this mindset helps us not only be creative, but also to achieve our goals. First, we must find our Inner Mentor, the voice that says, “You can do it, keep going.” Our Inner Mentor helps us be open to possibilities, the main ingredient in a Growth Mindset. However, this voice may often be covered up by a louder voice, that of the Inner Critic, “You always make this mistake, you’re not good enough, no reason to try.” This voice almost immediately moves us into a Fixed Mindset. Developing a muscle for observing when you’re in a Fixed Mindset versus Growth Mindset is key. Catching it and pivoting is the access door to innovation and performance. Neurological research on brain plasticity shows us that we are able to make this change through experiences and practice. Hence, the danger of maintaining the status quo. Winston Churchill said, “Only change in mindsets can extend the frontiers of the possible.” We might say Churchill was ahead of his time. The personal development space has expanded exponentially in the last fifteen years, providing opportunities for us to get to know ourselves. The relationship we have with ourselves is the most critical relationship of our lifetime. Innovation is an invitation to think about the future and the possibilities ahead. When we think of the future, we are actually thinking of ourselves in the future. But what do we truly think of ourselves? Is the answer rooted in growth and opportunity or in stale, old patterns sending you the message you need to try harder? This “try-hard” mentality blocks creativity and, ultimately, innovation and evolvement. Ideas aren’t generated while we are on the hamster wheel trying to make ourselves better. They are generated when we are in full acceptance of what we do well and when we are looking toward what’s possible. Personal development is the gift of self-knowledge. It is the work of getting to know how our thoughts, our mindset, generate feelings which contribute to our results. At Whole Point, we believe that all organizations have a mindset. We foster a Growth Mindset culture through our individual and team development strategies. Our methods are built specifically for disrupting patterns of thought in order to allow for agility, innovation and increased performance. With a focus on leadership development and employee engagement, Whole Point taps into the potential of what is possible.
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Innovative Legal Services for Innovative Entrepreneurs DiAngelo Law sits at the nexus of business and law to help innovative entrepreneurs navigate the legalities of owning a company. Today’s generation of innovators and business owners have more skills, knowledge, and creativity than ever before; they also have a more complicated legal system to figure out. By providing legal guidance and advice, DiAngelo Law prepares today’s innovative entrepreneurs for success. Erica got her start as a lawyer by spending all day in the courthouse, fighting legal battles that were easily preventable. Startled by the lack of legal resources for local businesses, Erica realized something was missing. Not only was her own entrepreneurial spirit not fulfilled by the demands of the courtroom but she saw a need in the legal space that nobody else was filling. The result was DiAngelo Law, a company that advocates for entrepreneurs who are focusing on their passions and on the advancement of innovation. As a completely virtual firm, legal services from DiAngelo Law exist for entrepreneurs in Tampa and throughout the nation and world. Today, Erica uses her legal knowledge and skill set to focus on helping innovative entrepreneurs and business owners start, grow, and protect their brand. For Tampa’s community, DiAngelo Law is laying the groundwork for the next generation of innovators. Erica strives to contribute to the Tampa Bay community as much as possible and is constantly providing free educational resources and training both virtually and in person. She is a firm believer that you can be both a creative entrepreneur and a legal nerd at the same time. She uses this passion and drive to look for innovative ways to uplift the local community and build a brighter, stronger Tampa. DiAngelo Law is proud to be a member of Tampa’s business community. As an emerging hub for tech and finance, Tampa is quickly becoming the Silicon Valley of the East Coast. DiAngelo Law is excited to both participate in this growth and provide the legal services that companies need to grow as well. The future of entrepreneurship and law is always changing. Wherever the nation’s business landscape moves, DiAngelo Law will move with it. We’re here to build a stronger, more vibrant Tampa—together.
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WHEN STARTING A BUSINESS, THE DETAILS MATTER. WHAT YOU DEVOTE YOUR TIME TO MATTERS. AND IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, THE LESS TIME YOU SPEND ON COMPLIANCE, THE MORE TIME YOU WILL WASTE LATER TO RECTIFY OVERSIGHTS AT THE START. At Nensey & Associates CPAs, our policy is simple – we take care of the legal and financial details so that you don’t have to. Our priority is to give you all the information you need to help you make the best business decisions – which is not something all CPA firms do. Indeed, many CPA firms place a focus on merely reporting the financial statements and filing a tax return every year – and stop there. Our policy is that this isn’t enough. As CPAs, we can give you more information. We ask the hard questions. Is a product or service profitable? Is it something that isn’t profitable, but attracts customers to other, more profitable products? Is your business doing the right things to make it grow? Our approach is that rather than just CPAs, we are financial consultants, and it is our responsibility to partner with you on solutions that build your business beyond simple tax reporting considerations. Not only that, we evaluate your business for tax planning opportunities to save you 30-50% on your taxes.
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In our changed post-pandemic world, we also offer fully digital solutions for consultations and conference calls, including Zoom, Skype, and of course traditional email and phone calls. In our modern digital age, we place a priority on being able to do business any place, any time. Using technology, we are now able to serve clients in every corner of the globe for your US business needs.
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Finally, for added value, whether you’re looking to sell or looking to grow your business, we can connect you with our network of business and investment advisors to find the right exit strategy or funding solution for you. We look forward to working with you in the future! Thank you for considering us for your financial advisory needs!
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CHAPTER 18
VIDEO & PHOTOGRAPHY “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” — OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
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. do u yo at th od go e th of ct pa im l na io Showcase the emot
The human connection. It adds value to our lives, gives us a sense of belonging, and makes us feel a remarkable range of emotions. In a world where people feel more isolated than ever and attention spans are short, we set out to successfully help businesses and individuals engage in an authentic, transparent, and effective way through the power of video storytelling.
If you’re struggling to be interesting, relevant, and relatable, Creative114 will help you create “goosebump” stories that compel your audience to take action.
IT’S MORE THAN WORK TO US At Creative114, we deliver far more than beautiful, cinematic work. Our passion is telling your inspiring, and emotional stories through the art of video. The most captivating narratives combine inspired words with unforgettable pictures. We maximize your video impact by diving into what you want others to feel and how you want them to respond.
It’s our mission to create meaningful connections between you and your audience by developing and crafting emotionally engaging stories that directly reach the heart and make a long-lasting impact.
WE HELP YOU GENERATE RESULTS (and Goosebumps)
We don’t stop until we see your dream become a breathtaking reality, as you share your message on the world’s stage. You’ll gain the recognition you deserve and the results you desire. Our greatest payment comes in the form of laughter, tears, applause, and goosebumps.
Our Core Values
ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION We combine our talents and resources with your expertise in your industry to engage, entertain, and excite the right people with your unique story.
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EMBRACE COMMITMENT We never settle for the status quo. We will go to any length possible to exceed your expectations and deliver the highest quality finished product.
EXPRESS COMPASSION We are dedicated to loving and serving you. The way we treat people and live our lives is intricately woven into the exceptional work we produce.
ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY Trust and integrity are critical to our identity as a brand and as individuals. We promise to always do what is right for the client, no matter the circumstances.
EMPHASIZE CANDOR
Creative 114 801 Seminole Blvd Ste 114, Largo, FL 33770 419-367-7341 jet@creative114.com Creative114
Transparency and honesty are ingrained in our people and in our processes. We will always be upfront with you and work with your best interest in mind.
ENHANCE CREATIVITY We are passionate about our work and we don’t stop until we’ve pushed the boundaries of turning your vision into a breathtaking, exciting reality.
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As of 2021, people spend 109 minutes per day watching videos on their devices. For teams building daring and disruptive visions, this is an incredible opportunity. To drive growth.
Original Films like series, mini-docs, and short films that share their unique insight and perspective, bringing to life untold stories that build their brand and give them an authoritative voice in their space.
To build brands. To deliver incredible experiences.
Customer Experience content like welcome videos and tutorials that gives your customers a better experience through thoughtful and meaningful content.
But building a great video strategy that captures viewing time from the right people goes far beyond paid video ads. To get real results, brands must create libraries full of videos that people want to watch, not skip. These video ecosystems are comprised of three Content Verticals:
Don’t let video take off without you. The race for who will own the best video content in their space is on, and the brands that do will enjoy a great advantage in the market. If you are confident in your team’s vision, then don’t hold back—seize the opportunity to tell stories that captivate, spark wonder, and challenge the world to
Sales and Marketing content that attracts ideal customers and accelerates sales through targeted, compelling, and shareable videos on their website, social channels, and paid media channels.
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Ronny Herrera, Owner, Creative Director
Meridian is a video content agency helping disruptive brands create video content ecosystems that drive growth, build brand leadership, and deliver a better customer experience. To learn more about video strategy or to inquire about our services, please visit our website.
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Ronny Herrera Meridian - A Video Content Agency
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Motion State Media is an award-winning full-service video production company redefining the modern-day standard for video services.
Headquartered in Downtown Clearwater, Motion State Media takes the term full service quite literally, taking any vision and bringing it to life through the pre-post production process.
companies produce amazing-looking video content in terms of quality. The issue was these videos weren’t delivering an ROI, resonating with the viewer and fell short in terms of creating brand dominance. We asked what is the point of spending $10k,50k,100k,1 million dollars on an advertising campaign if your audience doesn’t even finish the video, forgets about it and doesn’t produce some kind of ROI?
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Our solution was developing the Connect, Convert and Dominate method used when creating videos. Using the power of emotion-driven storytelling, market research and marketing psychology to deliver the three most important factors that determine a successful video: Audience connection, conversion into revenue and brand dominance. We started out in 2015 as a small company with big dreams. Passionate and obsessed with our craft, striving to continuously grow. As our client base grew and the productions got bigger, we bore more responsibility and trust to deliver what our clients needed. When a client expects the best, providing the best production and quality visually is a given in our industry. That’s why we took the time to take it a step further and develop a way to truly bring the most value to our clients, preventing them from wasting time and money. I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was an unexpected year full of challenges for everyone. Many businesses including ours had to quickly adapt and find a way to thrive despite the global pandemic. Many businesses and companies quickly found themselves driving towards digital advertising and services more than ever, and fortunately so many trusted in us to help them grow and succeed during that time. In the end, we produced a total of 137 videos in 2020, our video ads alone generated over 10 million dollars in ROI for our clients and we challenged ourselves more than ever to grow and improve our craft. Moving forward I know that together, we are all capable of succeeding and reaching new heights despite whatever life throws at us.
MSM 727-417-6593 614 Grand Central Street Clearwater, Florida 33756 motionstatemedia
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TAMPA BAY TECH ENTREPRENEUR GIVES BACK THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY (Editor’s note: Lance Raab’s images appear throughout this book)
A native of Miami, Lance Raab moved to Tampa in 1982 to attend the University of South Florida. After graduating with a business degree in Information Systems, Lance has spent the last 35 years starting, growing, selling, advising and investing in Tampa Bay technology companies. After selling his software company, Lance, who was once a programmer with a passion for building software applications, discovered photography as a new creative outlet. This art form provided a new lens to view and share the beautiful landscape of the Tampa Bay community.
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“Photography is a passion for me. I love the creative process of capturing and sharing the beauty of Tampa Bay and wherever I travel. I feel particularly fortunate that I can use my passion to give back to the community and help raise money for non-profit and educational organizations.”
A curious and avid traveler, Lance brings his camera gear along wherever he goes, capturing images throughout the world. “I travel quite a bit, but Tampa Bay is still my favorite. We have it all here - beaches, downtown skylines, parks, and the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets.” Lance particularly likes to shoot landscape photography, and his work has appeared in the media, government, and businesses throughout Tampa Bay and beyond. Lance’s images are sold in several Bay Area stores, including the Tampa Bay Visitors Center in Downtown Tampa. Photography has also generated a platform to give back. Lance frequently donates prints of his images to fundraisers for schools and non-profits throughout the Bay Area, helping to raise thousands of dollars for worthy causes. Lance has contributed his artwork to the 244
American Heart Association, Humane Society of Tampa Bay, YMCA, Lamplighters, Jesuit High School, Carrollwood Day School, Academy of the Holy Names, and Tampa Bay Wave, among others. “Photography is a passion for me. I love the creative process of capturing and sharing the beauty of Tampa Bay and wherever I travel. I feel particularly fortunate that I can use my passion to give back to the community and help raise money for non-profit and educational organizations.” lance@LanceRaabPhotography.com LanceRaabPhotography lanceraab
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Since I was a little girl I’ve seen the world through a camera lens. Being South African I was privileged to capture the wild animals in the game reserves and the unique landscape the country offered. Educated at Kingsmead College in Johannesburg, I immigrated with my family to the Northwest, attending Lewis and Clark College in Oregon for my Bachelors degree. Here I was exposed to a new pallet, green everywhere, mountains, forests and waterfalls as far as the eye could see. Through the years I have travelled extensively, living in different places, eventually settling in Florida. What an adventure living in the Tampa bay area, some of the best beaches in the world where sunsets are breathtaking, nature reserves filled with numerous bird species, alligators and vegetation and lakes and waterways all with their own beauty. In my spare time I grab my camera and set out on a hike; urban, nature or the beach to explore another hidden gems in Tampa Bay. Why portrait photography? Quite simply I enjoy people and love to create moments capturing memories for years to come. Be it a couple on the beach, a child celebrating a special occasion, a family, a toddlers first steps or just someone wanting some beautiful photos of themself; I like to know a smile will be there every time that photograph is looked at. I have been a professional photographer for over ten years, and I approach each experience with technical and aesthetic skill. Detail is important as well as bringing out the best in each individual. Quite simply, I love what I do and my goal is for you to love it to.
Photography by Dale Ann 503-816-7005 17603 1st St East Redington Shores, FL 33708 Photographybydaleann Photographybydaleann@gmail.com
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QUICK, AFFORDABLE VIDEO EDITING VIDEO - proven to drive engagement and increase ROI!
My Video Guys creates engaging business marketing and advertising, as well as Interactive Sales and Promotional videos at affordable rates and quick turnaround times, to increase Sales and Customer Interaction and to make businesses – big and small – more MONEY! There is no arguing the fact that, if you are not using video to engage with your customers and drive sales, you are leaving money on the table. Currently, 59% of executives will rather watch a video about a topic than read a text version on the same topic. This trend is going to accelerate and within the next few years, businesses that do not use video will go the way of the wagon wheel and become extinct. Video consumption will explode once 5G networks are available and businesses that are not ready, will be left behind. Traditionally, there are only a few ways to get a video for your business: Get the pros in: This is quite often prohibitively expensive, especially for smaller businesses and companies that are looking for a number of sales or promotional videos. The benefit is that you get a professional video tailor-made for your company. Use templates: You can have 15-second social media sales videos made for as little as $20 through the use of templates. These are very cost-effective but the negative is that you end up using the same footage as 100’s, if not 1000’s of other companies and it is hard to get your exact message across. Do it yourself: Very cheap, but who has time for doing the editing? This brings us to the My Video Guys story. We are looking to fill the space between very expensive and template-style videos through the use of our unique setup. Through our step-by-step action plans, we offer clients the option to “create” their own videos but with us doing all the heavy lifting. 247
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INTERESTING FACTS
Action Plans: My Video Guys created a series of easy to follow action plans to help customers through the video creation process. These detailed “Video-for-Dummies” plans will guide you through the creative thought process, deciding on the message for your video, collecting footage and getting it to us in simple actionable steps. You select an action plan based on the kind of video you would like as well as your desired level of involvement and price point. Then just follow the steps and tick the boxes. We do the rest.
ABOUT VIDEO After viewing a video, 64% of viewers are more likely to make an online purchase.
Cost-Effective Editing: By outsourcing our editing and production to our International Production Office in Johannesburg, South Africa, we have access to a highly skilled workforce at reduced rates. The value of the South African Rand has steadily been declining, meaning that we can offer our clients highly skilled, Native English speaking editors and script writers from a country that has embraced First World ways. You get to work with people that not only understand what you are saying but also understand what you mean.
80% of users recall a video ad they watched in the last 30 days.
Interactive Video: The latest trend in video is Interactive video with a few large brands that recently launched Interactive video campaigns with huge success. Even Netflix released an Interactive film, Black Mirror Bandersnatch, where the users get to influence the storyline throughout the movie. The reason interactive video is so successful is that every viewer does not have the same needs and wants.
80% of your online visitors will watch a video, while only 20% will actually read content in its entirety. 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.
The Zoom Effect: The realities of modern day life have forced Zoom meetings and conference video calls front and centre. Training modules, company events, launches and a wide variety of other events are now taking place online, producing hours of content that are often archived without ever being used. Let our producers edit and package this into usable content. We work through hours of footage to remove all the freezes and coughs and give you a slick, edited video for your team to reference. Perfect to document traninig sessions or company events, giving them longevity and a reason for being.
51% of marketers worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.
The average conversion ratio for websites using video is 4.8% compared to 2.9% for those that don’t.
The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video.
Video in an email leads to a 200-300% increase in click-
Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than those who don’t.
65% of American Marketers plan to increase their mobile ad budgets.
96% of B2B organizations are using video in their marketing campaigns with 73% of them reporting positive results on their ROI.
90% of people reported that product videos helped them make a decision to purchase.
editing@myvideoguys.com My Video Guys
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CHAPTER 19
EVENTS & MEDIA
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“Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you’re passionate about something, then you’re more willing to take risks.” — YO YO MA
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CREATING AMAZING EVENTS DCE PRODUCTIONS SINCE ITS INCEPTION JUST FIVE YEARS AGO, DCE PRODUCTIONS LOOKS AT THE WORLD OF LIVE EVENT PRODUCTION THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS.
Dissatisfied with the status quo of audio visual services received for events they were managing in hotels and convention centers, DCE’s founders decided they could do the job better on their own. With no prior A/V production company experience, they applied professional strategic planning and execution skills and started investing in equipment and people. And one event at a time, DCE Productions began delighting meeting and event planners with technically sophisticated shows. Today, DCE has produced some of the most spectacular events in the Florida region and has a hand in producing more than 450 events a year for hundreds of customers. According to CEO Paul Harris, their work begins months, or even years, before the event. “One of the key differentiators of DCE vs. the alternatives is our involvement in the planning process. The sooner we can start brainstorming and collaborating with our client’s event team, the more dynamic the end-product. We tend to cause our clients to raise their goals and elevate their game when it comes to events.”
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DCE Productions is dedicated to developing, designing, planning and producing successful events for organizations across the country. They pride themselves on helping companies and organizations communicate their message using technology in both live event environments, in creative video production projects, and with hybrid in-person / remote attendee events using the latest in live streaming and web conferencing. Their resources include the sharpest, technically savvy producers, videographers, video editors, graphic artists, event experience designers, technical directors, project managers, audio engineers, video engineers, lighting directors, IT specialists, audience response technicians, webcasting technicians and digital signage technicians. “We roll up our sleeves early and develop concepts that ensure memorable experiences for each events’ attendees,” said Harris. A key to DCE’s formula is rooted in one of its founding tenents: Become a vital part of the customers’ event
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management team. Most AV companies serving live events begin by compiling a detailed list of equipment and seeing how fast they can inflate a number on the bottom line of a price quote. DCE approaches each project asking “What is the objective of this event?” By assuming an interest in the overall success of each event, they become accountable to their customers on a different level than in-house AV providers or momand-pop AV companies. “It’s all about providing an event experience that motivates and inspires the audience while maintaining the integrity of the event,” added Harris. Regardless of the scope of the event or the size of the audience, DCE applies its formula for success. From a meeting for 25 people to a keynote for 10,000. And based on overwhelmingly positive customer satisfaction, Florida-based DCE Productions has clearly succeeded in re-inventing the live production business. 252
813 606-4107 heidi@dcelive.com DCElive DCELive
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WE CREATE MEANINGFUL, ENGAGING AND FLAWLESS CORPORATE EVENTS
Sara Blakey, CEO, Spanx
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Photo by Newsome’s Studio of Photography, Inc
Photo by Synapse Florida
Elevated Events LLC is an award-winning event management company offering services that create meaningful, engaging, and flawless corporate events in the Tampa Bay area. We specialize in award shows, galas, charitable fundraisers, conferences, luncheons, festive parties, trade shows, grand openings, and much more. Elevated Events is different than most event planning companies. We like to ingrain ourselves into your team, learn exactly who you are and why you exist, ask the right questions, and listen to the answers in order to truly understand what you are trying to achieve. We want to be an extension of your company/ organization, help you reach your goals, and grow with you. We thrive on incorporating your brand and purpose into all aspects of your event. We are always thinking outside the box on how we can create a unique experience for your guests instead of just doing what has worked in the past or what is easy.
2020 was an extremely challenging year for everyone, but especially those in the live events industry. We went from working on multiple events at a time to zero events for the foreseeable future. Little did we know that virtual events would take the world by storm. Humans thrive to connect and learn, and not even a pandemic will stop us. During this time, Elevated Events successfully pivoted and executed numerous virtual events. Kimberly Wander is the Owner & Lead Event Planner of Elevated Events LLC and has over 13 years of event planning experience. Most recently, she was named one of the “BizBash 500” which is a listing of the most influential event professionals in the United States. In 2018, she was chosen by the editorial team at Connect Corporate for their prestigious “40 Under 40” list of top event professionals around the country under
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Kimberly Wander, DES Owner & Event Planner
Photo by Agostini Photography
the age of 40. She was selected as the “#8 Favorite Event Planner” by the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Readers’ Choice Awards in 2015. In April of 2013 while working for a tech association, she was named the “Association Event Planner of the Year” by BizBash magazine. This is the second time Elevated Events was selected to appear in the “Innovate Tampa Bay” book.
Photo by Twisted Tripod Photography
With virtual events on the rise, Kimberly decided to expand her knowledge of digital events. In March 2021, she passed the Digital Event Strategist course hosted by the PCMA Digital Experience Institute® and earned her DES designation. She graduated from the University of South Florida in 2006 with a B.A. in marketing. She is passionate about giving back to the Tampa Bay community and volunteers regularly. Clients include ReliaQuest, Beat Childhood Cancer, Tampa Bay Tech, Synapse Florida, Tampa Bay WaVE, and Schools for Haiti just to name a few.
Elevated Events 813-967-5965
kwander@elevatedevent.com elevatedeventsllc KimKWander elevatedeventsbykw
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This company really loves lunch.
Lunchpool. We are an innovative tech company feeding the hunger for human connection. Because in the lunchroom of life, everyone has a seat at the table.
buddies but what about the rest of these people? I wish there were a way to get to know them. I would enjoy my lunch even more, have some fresh conversation and start to build connections.”
What we do
The next day he was invited to a local startup event, Startup Weekend Tampa Bay. At the 52-hour event, his team pitched the idea of using technology to connect people instead of getting everyone glued to their screens. In his one-minute pitch, he described a platform that would serve as a digital icebreaker to get you over that weird hump of introducing yourself to a stranger. His thought was that anyone could be in your lunchpool with the right data and methods of connection.
Lunchpool uses cutting-edge technology to help people gather face-toface. Whether you want to meet in person or at one of our awesome virtual experiences, we help you connect with people you would never meet otherwise. Our technology lets you build a profile of your professional and personal interests, skills, and endeavors. You’ll find likeminded people and amazing shared experiences. We create a healthier, happier, and fun world that fosters diversity, inclusion, and innovation.
And they won first place! We believe that every idea deserves a seat at the table and every person has a right to share their voice.
Just like that, his thought became a challenge. Alex did the smart thing and created a team of diverse talents. They quickly pulled together a prototype and were lucky to test it out with the 800 employees at KnowBe4 in Clearwater.
What does Lunchpool mean? Our story begins in 2018 when Lunchpool founder, Alex Abell, was sitting at his corporate desk eating the lunch his wife had packed for him. He was eating alone while his normal lunchmates, or his lunchpool as he jokingly called it, were out at their go-to spot. A naturally social and outgoing guy, he looked around and thought, “I really know my lunch
Then COVID-19 happened. The new challenge was to offer virtual experiences that matched the face-to-face experiences at the lunch table. 255
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Tampa Bay, a partner in our success
Powered by the latest and greatest empathy-enabling technology from around the globe, including Chinese startup, Remo.co, Lunchpool lets people mix and mingle on a 2D map around tables in the comfort of their web browser.
Our network is what makes this all possible. Starting in Tampa Bay, we had immediate access to resources like incubators, accelerators, and mentors. It became easy to know the tools and people that would help us get to the next level.
Now the team is exploring other global technology partners like Toasty. ai, spatial.video, Rally.ai, SYKE Insights, Run the World, and icebreakers. video to provide more ways for you to gather and connect meaningfully.
The Southeast has really embraced Lunchpool offerings. We’re convinced our success would not be possible anywhere else. In Silicon Valley, we would have quickly been discouraged or lost hope. Starting at home and building in our own backyard was the answer to our intense desire to make something awesome.
Our relationship with innovation Innovation is at our core. A few months after we started, we hired a St. Pete-based creative consultant to help us with a brand identity exercise. We wanted to understand where we were and what we wanted to become. It was one of those things that big companies do, but we figured as a small startup we might as well be aspirational.
What’s next? Having grown the team quickly, Lunchpool will continue to hire talented individuals with empathetic people skills and a passion for connective tech. We are excited about continuing our hunt for technology startups that bring people together. We have formed relationships with founders at an early stage who share our vision. We are building a platform to connect them all together.
We discovered the four directions that would guide our company like a compass. To the east and innovation west, work and play. We wanted to help people be more productive through the connections they form, but also remind them of the importance of downtime and play.
We really do believe the world can be your Lunchpool. We strive to build the world’s first truly experiential social network. Our initiatives to help nonprofits and other organizations stay afloat amidst the pandemic have given us resources we would not have had otherwise (namely revenue). With money in hand, we are building some things that will truly amaze you.
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To the south was inclusion, an important foundation on which to build the entire company. Our north star would be innovation. inclusion Innovation is a well used word in the technology community but we decided to be true innovators and find technology that does things nobody else is even considering.
You can take that to lunch.
+1-813-534-3383 alex@lunchpool.io letslunchpool
We set the lofty goal of using tech to promote empathy, understanding and a good dose of humanity. This focus on innovation and inclusion, mixed with work and play, drives absolutely every decision we make and everything we build.
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Providing the Best in Entertainment & Keynote Speakers, with Talent Management & Event Planning
After returning to work, I spent an additional 3+ years with Enterprise and it was an invaluable experience and priceless training. But after coming so close to death, you look at things totally different, and I felt like I had a bigger calling!
My interest in the Entertainment Industry started when I drove Limousines in College because I played College Basketball and this job allowed me to work when I had the time. I drove a lot of Entertainers, Athletes, and Celebrities in the Boston area, which piqued my interest, working with Top Talent.
So, I decided to get back into driving Limousines because I figured I would be networking with a lot of high-level Professionals that could take my career to the next level. With my previous experience as a Bouncer, I was given a lot of the Celebrities & Athletes, so I could act as extra security. That led to many priceless experiences with Usher, Shania Twain, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Buffett, the Super Bowl Ring Ceremony, and the transportation & security of The Stanley Cup. This culminated in a job offer in Management with a Record Label.
Shortly after College, I relocated to Tampa, Florida and I took advantage of my Education in Business Management to submerse myself in the highly sought-after Management Training Program with Enterprise Rent a Car. While excelling at an extremely high level and constantly finishing #1 in Sales in the Tampa Bay area, I was on a fast track to get promoted quickly, but my plans came to a sudden halt, unexpectedly! I was on my way to work one morning and just 5 minutes into my commute, I was almost killed in a car accident! In a fight for my life, I was flown by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital because I wouldn’t have survived by Ambulance.
Several years later, I became friends with someone who just moved here from Hollywood and we restarted his Film Production Company. I instantly became a Leader in the Tampa Bay & Florida Film Community and I was elected President of the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association - Tampa Bay Chapter and Vice President of the statewide organization. After three years of service in that role, I became the first
I suffered from a Broken Skull and a Traumatic Brain Injury. I was in a coma for a few days and in the Hospital for a month. I also needed to do full-time rehab for months in order to be able to return to work. 257
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President of the Sunscreen Film Society, a subsidiary of the Sunscreen Film Festival, one of the best Film Festivals in the Country. Eventually, that led me to start MA Talent & Event Management because I have a large network of contacts in the Entertainment Industry, as well as successful experience in all aspects of Events. Considering my background and passion has always been Leadership & Management, it seemed like an easy decision to combine my Connections, Drive, & Leadership Skills, to help Artists & Entertainers!
Talent&Event Management
Guiding Your Talent & Event to Create Success
EVENT PLANNING
TALENT MANAGEMENT
CONCIERGE SERVICES
- Venues
- DJs
- VIP Access
- Decor
- Live Music
- Limos
- Stage Lighting
- Models
- Party Buses
- Catering
- Unique Themes
- Reservations
- Graphic Design
- Actors
- Special Dining
HOSTING - Professional Speakers - Corporate Services - Special Events
- Dancers
www.MATalentManagement.com | (813) 695-1996 Matt@MATalentManagement.com
We tailor to meet your individual needs, so we exceed your personal expectations.
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+1-813-695-1996 Matt@MATalentManagement.com MATalentManagement MAttAyotte1
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EDGE IS A COMMUNITY BUSINESS ORGANIZATION THAT REPRESENTS SMALL/MEDIUM SIZE BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE TAMPA BAY REGION
ENTREPRENEURS DEDICATED TO GROWTH & EXCELLENCE EDGE Media Hub was founded by businesswoman & entrepreneur, Kelly Wilson in August of 2013. For over a decade Kelly was in search of a community with like-minded individuals that were innovative, creative, supportive, positive and genuine. She was looking for a community that was not transaction focused; she wanted to build and nurture authentic relationships.
“Since 2015, through paid Advertisers and Sponsors, we are able to donate five ads ($4,800 value) in each issue of EDGE Business Magazine to local Non-Profits and aspiring Businesses that otherwise could not afford to promote their Organizations.” – Kelly Wilson, EDGE Media Hub, Founder & CEO
Kelly’s search was unsuccessful, so she decided to create her own. EDGE started as a community organization, connecting business owners and entrepreneurs through membership and events. EDGE provided mentors and educational opportunities to learn from other leaders in the community, to share stories of success and failure and to grow together. 259
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2015 EDGE Photo Shoot
2020 New Year Not-for-Profit Launch Celebration
Over the years EDGE has continued to evolve to provide the tools and resources that the community needed. Today, EDGE Media Hub is a multi-platform media company offering four distinct services: EDGE Business Magazine, Getting the EDGE, EDGE Creative & EDGE Connect. These services are specifically designed to assist small/ medium size business owners with gaining a voice, community connections, visibility and influence. With the merging of their community-based approach with powerful data-driven analytics and digital technology
2019 1st Annual Celebration of Women Launch Celebration
they are able to assist even more businesses grow and succeed. EDGE continues to provide opportunities of personal & professional growth through all platforms. The key that has continued to boost EDGE’s growth is COMMUNITY. Now Combined with POWER, DATA, ANALYTICS & DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY they are unmatchable.
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EDGE Business Magazine info@edgemediahub.com EDGEMediaHub tampaedge edge-business-magazine
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Advertising innovation to support the growth of mobility and transportation alternatives.
In today’s advertising world, commercials and print ads have become online videos and banner ads. Video views and click-thru rates are the new forms of measurement and Tik Toks and Tweets the new form of engagement. But you know what hasn’t changed? The tactics that have worked for decades. That’s both a problem and an opportunity.
The mobility industry has been on the rise for the past decade. We rely on mobility companies like Uber and Lyft and we rely on delivery drivers like Instacart and Postmates. More importantly, we have come to rely on their drivers to bring us from place to place safely and deliver our food and other necessary items in a time when distance is a virtue and personal contact is less.
We’re talking about out of home advertising -- the same old billboards, bus shelters, and other static media that you consume while you’re out and about. Pretty much the same as they’ve always been with a few flourishes here and there.
However, these same businesses have a ton of overhead and usually struggle to make a profit. It became clear to us that if we didn’t do something, we might not have all these convenient new services in the years to come.
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At Nickelytics, we saw the emergence of on-demand vehicles as not just a convenient way to get around and get food delivered, but also a unique opportunity to push out of home advertising to the next level: mobile billboards wrapped on vehicles.
more sustainable. We do this by translating in-person interactions into online engagement through sophisticated retargeting methods. For example a consumer sees a Nickelytics ad drive by on a Lyft vehicle and then gets served an ad on their mobile device.
And it turns out, our idea wasn’t a fluke. But in fact, a $30 billion untapped market opportunity and a chance to track and measure out of home ads in a meaningful way for the first time. We realized we were onto something big so we have been in pursuit of this integrated opportunity ever since.
We realized this was a huge opportunity for innovation right before our eyes in a new form of mobile advertising. Not only does this form of advertising get attention in a novel way, but it also helps provide vital support to the sustainability of the mobility industry itself. Plus, the brands who are partners with us don’t just get their ads seen - they also get the chance to talk directly to the people who see the ads. We are connecting brands offline exposure to online engagement with true proof of performance. This makes mobility outdoor ads a huge step up from traditional OOH.
We have made great inroads across a wide variety of products and services. From car wraps and AdShield (our in-car protective solution) to impression tracking and real-world attribution, Nickelytics is building a new standard for mobile and outdoor advertising. None of which could be possible without the support of a great community like Tampa Bay and the resources offered by the accelerators, like Tampa Bay Wave and Techstars Turin, we’ve had the great privilege to take part in.
Our ultimate vision is to bring Nickelytics advertising to all of the top mobility providers around the world, creating the perfect synergy between brands, mobility operators, drivers, and consumers. Along with a first in the advertising world -- measurable and actionable data from a traditional medium.
Everything we do is in service of our greater mission: to create advertising that integrates within our lives in a meaningful way while also making the shared mobility we all rely on for our day-to-day needs inherently
Nickelytics Judah Longgrear, CEO & Founder - Nickelytics, A Techstars backed company info@nickelytics.com
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JACKSON’S THE OFFICIAL HOSPITALITY PARTNER OF INNOVATE TAMPA BAY Jack Campbell’s 50 plus years of award winning experience in the hospitality industry combined with the best views of the city’s waterfront and skyline makes Jackson’s the destination of choice for all our famous innovate book launch parties.
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601 S. Harbour Island Blvd Tampa, FL 33602 813-277-0112 jacksonsbistro1 JacksonsBistro
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“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” — NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS
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PARTICIPATORS INDEX I N N O V A T E
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AccelEQ................................................................................................91
Florida-Israel Business Accelerator...................................... 213
Next Gen Tech 360....................................................................... 125
Accenture................................................................................9, 57, 59
Foundation for Community Driven Innovation /
Nickelytics........................................................................................ 261
Advanced Medical Integration....................................19, 83, 85
AMRoC Fab Lab.........................................................................17, 75
Nurotech/Neuro20 Technologies................................... 20, 117
AllDay...................................................................................... 143, 145
Genesis Direct................................................................................. 179
Olympus Pools................................................................................ 155
Arete Strategic Consulting........................................................ 221
Geographic Solutions.............................................................. 65, 67
Orchid Black.................................................................................... 217
Ark Applications...........................................................................203
Global SOF Foundation.......................................................... 23, 99
Path03Gen Solutions................................................................... 165
Atlas Navigator.............................................................................. 133
Good Day Solutions...............................................................32, 227
Peerfit...........................................................................................14, 115
Big Cat Rescue.......................................................................... 33, 195
Green Tek.......................................................................................... 161
Qualified Meetings....................................................................... 171
Bits4Bots............................................................................................. 77
Greenzone Hero............................................................................. 173
Quiet Professionals ........................................................................ 95
Blockspaces......................................................................................109
Haneke Design .......................................................................25, 147
Red Wall Marketing....................................................................149
Brian Kornfeld (Synapse)................................................................ 1
HardeeGroup................................................................................... 183
RelieveIt............................................................................................. 163
Carole Baskin (Big Cat Rescue).................................................. 33
HCP Associates........................................................................ 28, 191
Richard M. Smith (StockSavvy)................................................ 30
Center for Cyber Safety and Education.............................. 139
Highered Social ............................................................................. 135
Robert H. Bishop (University of South Florida -
Charisma Communications...................................................... 175
Horizon Ventures.........................................................................205
College of Engineering)..................................................................15
City of Tampa..............................................................................12, 37
Hygieneworx.................................................................................. 167
Roger West Creative & Code............................................. 27, 189
Coconspirator...........................................................................24, 177
Ignyte..................................................................................................107
Rumbo................................................................................................ 181
COI Energy....................................................................................... 199
Immertec...................................................................................... 26, 87
Samyr Qureshi (Knack)..................................................................18
Community Foundation of Tampa Bay...........................21, 51
Inclusivity..................................................................................22, 223
Santiago C. Corrada (Visit Tampa Bay)...................................11
ComplyUp..........................................................................................111
Invasion Digital Media................................................................ 187
Scion Analytics................................................................................. 98
Connectwise.......................................................................................61
Jackson’s Bistro.................................................................... 263, 265
Shane Needham (Coconspirator)............................................. 24
Corin.......................................................................................................81
Jamie Renee (Good Day Solutions).......................................... 32
SOF Transition Assistance Resource...........................101, 103
Creative 114......................................................................................237
Jason Warnke (Accenture)............................................................9
Sourcetoad.......................................................................................... 63
CROOW............................................................................................... 69
Jody Haneke (Haneke Design).................................................. 25
StockSavvy......................................................................................... 30
D-Mar................................................................................................. 153
JustLearn.......................................................................................... 137
Stu Bradin (Global SOF Foundation)....................................... 23
Dale Ann Photography...............................................................245
Knack........................................................................................... 18, 127
Sven Boermeester (Global Village).......................................... 34
DCE Productions............................................................................ 251
Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)..................................... 10
Synapse.......................................................................1, 13, 41, 43, 45
Dennis Schmitt (Nurotech)......................................................... 20
Lance Raab Photography...........................................................243
Tampa Innovation Partnership..........................................47, 49
Diangelo Law.................................................................................. 231
Lauren Prager (Synapse)...............................................................13
Taylor Financial............................................................................ 207
dotTampa............................................................................................ 53
Lunchpool......................................................................................... 255
Tech Sherpas 365........................................................................... 131
Dynamic Communities............................................................... 129
MA Talent Management............................................................257
Terri Willingham (Foundation for Community
Echo Analytics.................................................................................. 97
Marlene Spalten (Community Foundation of
Driven Innovation /AMRoC Fab Lab).....................................17
Ed Buckley (Peerfit)........................................................................ 14
Tampa Bay)..........................................................................................21
TheIncLab........................................................................................... 73
Edge.....................................................................................................259
Meridian............................................................................................239
Three Chairs Productions......................................................... 182
Elevate Inc........................................................................................225
Michael Westafer (Roger West Creative & Code)............. 27
Tim Schar (Truist)............................................................................ 29
Elevated Events..............................................................................253
Michelle Harrolle (University of South Florida -
Tub Farms......................................................................................... 197
Embarc Collective.................................................................. 10, 211
Muma College of Business)..........................................................16
University of South Florida - College of
Entrepreneur Collaborative Center...................................... 215
Mike Carberry (Advanced Medical Integration)...............19
Engineering...............................................................................15, 121
Eric Carter (Fast Pathway)...........................................................31
Motion State Media......................................................................241
University of South Florida - Muma College of
Eric R. Polins (HCP Associates).................................................. 28
MTD Marketing............................................................................. 185
Business...................................................................................... 16, 123
Erik C. Smith (Inclusivity)............................................................ 22
My Jet Pillow.................................................................................. 159
Vik Bhide (City of Tampa )............................................................12
Erik Maltais (Immertec)................................................................ 26
My Video Guys...............................................................................247
Visit Tampa Bay.........................................................................11, 39
Fast Pathway...............................................................................31, 89
Nensey & Associates....................................................................233
Wholepoint......................................................................................229
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InnovationsoftheWorld.com
SHOWCASING THE BEST OF THE WORLD - CONNECTING MINDS - BUILDING COMMUNITIES
The Innovate series is a 300+ page in-depth study and AR video series that showcases the people and companies that are leading the race within the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems of each city and industry. A book with augmented reality videos, an online platform and a global network with a common goal of ensuring the brightest minds of the world connect and succeed.
IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC...
DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AR APP TO VIEW 100 AUGMENTED REALITY VIDEOS IN THIS BOOK! To experience the future of print, download the Global Village AR App from the IOS or Android App stores. Open the App and hold it about 30cm above any page that contains an image with the “play” Icon.
Make sure your back camera is pointing at the page. Click the Play button that appears onscreen and immerse yourself in the latest updated content with reference to that page. 270
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“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” — ANDY WARHOL
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