The Tampa Bay tech scene has fully cemented itself as a startup ecosystem to watch across the nation. It's the culmination of a perfect storm of factors: the mass exodus from the coasts to the Sunshine State, the long-awaited exits for some, and going public with others.
But it's also due to the burgeoning tech scene built by some of the youngest talent in the state. They're building their companies in college incubators, across student pitch competitions and in their high school bedrooms. Some are making moves in fast-growing, established tech companies, while others are forging a path with their own entities.
For Tampa Bay Inno's third annual 25 Under 25 list, we've gathered up the young innovators, entrepreneurs and executives who are 25 years old and younger and forging a path in our ecosystem. We've got patent holders, thousands in sales and partnerships with heavy hitters like Disney and Puma.
We'll also be celebrating them on Sept. 29, fittingly at the University of Tampa's Lowth Entrepreneurship Center. Get your tickets here.
Here are Tampa Bay Inno's 25 Under 25.
Nneka Jones, 25
Founder of Art You Hungry
When Jones left her homeland of Trinidad and Tobago in 2016 to study at the University of Tampa, she soon turned to art to express herself and bring awareness to larger issues — which has turned into a nationally-known business. Art You Hungry has pieces ranging from embroidery to murals, with a focus on advocating for social and environmental justice. Jones graduated in 2020, and her artwork has been featured on the cover of Time magazine, commissioned by the city of Tampa, added to the permanent collection at the Tampa Museum of Art and was featured in Forbes' Next 1000 lineup.
Clay Canning, 23
Founder of Screen Skinz
Lakeland-based Canning wanted a way to show support for his favorite teams in a new kind of way. Screen Skinz offers screen protection for cell phones with a twist: a disappearing logo of almost any professional sports team. The company has licensing agreements with the NFL, NBA and MLB, to name a few, along with ones within Disney for Lucasfilm and Marvel on the way.
Marc Whitaker, 22
Founder of Maverick Media Group
Whitaker, who is an athlete entrepreneur with a focus on the University of Tampa's lacrosse team, launched Maverick Media Group as a way for brands to boost sales through online engagement. The company is a content-driven digital marketing agency with an emphasis on video production, photography and social media consultancy. It later added Maverick Sports Media, which focuses on branded content for athletes, colleges and professional organizations.
Andrew C. Gilliland, 25
President of Action Holdings
Gilliland started Action Holdings in 2018 with a simple enough premise: acquire and grow profitable, undervalued, direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands. He does it through a unique omnichannel strategy and plans to build a $250 million e-commerce portfolio over the next decade. He hopes by doing so right in Tampa's backyard, it will make the city a national hub for e-commerce entrepreneurship.
Steph Tulley, 25
Founder of Actuology
Tulley is a dual founder who first launched her insurance brokerage firm eight years ago, followed by insurtech company Actuology. The company offers a SaaS solution for insurance technology companies through an API (application programming interface) plug-in that helps with the advising experience. Tulley is building the tech herself.
Callahan Reynolds, 20
Founder of iPaint
Callahan says his company, iPaint, is the Hello Fresh for the do-it-yourself home painting industry. Callahan first into the painting industry at age 15 in his father's company. He discovered people would rather save money and paint their own homes, but don't have the tools or knowledge. iPaint offers a smart app that calculates the square footage of any painting project, which can then give the user the amount of painting materials and equipment needed — which are then offered for purchase directly through the app.
Sujie Chen, 24
USF Connect's Student Innovation Incubator Director
Chen, while just graduating as a student herself, is the lead program manager of USF Connect, an incubator within the University of South Florida. Chen started as an intern in 2020 and now oversees the daily operations of the student innovation incubator, which includes the development and mentoring of 25+ student-led incubator companies in each cohort.
Fayek Zaman, 20
Founder of ErrandRun
ErrandRun started as a volunteer effort to help the elderly and immunocompromised during the Covid pandemic but has morphed into a full-time business. As the name suggests, ErrandRun has a network of people who run errands for those in need, from grocery shopping to mailing packages.
Christopher Kern, 23
Venture Capital Associate at TGH Innoventures
The Tampa native was one of the first hires for TGH Innoventures, a $15 million fund launched in 2021 to focus on and boost innovation, both in the hospital and the Tampa Bay region as a whole. It has made one investment in New York-based Enroute, which calls itself the “Uber of patient transportation within a hospital.”
Isaac Washington, 20
Co-founder of Momentum
Washington runs media and tech startup Momentum News, solely intended for Gen Z and underrepresented groups with a focus on college students. The digital community covers college advice, news and culture. Beyond its offerings, Washington believes the company stands out from legacy media platforms and its competitors because it is a minority-backed venture.
Nahla Jasmine Dasouki, 23
Founder of Souki Skin
Dasouki wanted to create Souki Skin after realizing the majority of the skin care industry is predicated on consumer branding instead of scientific data, promising perfect skin without ever analyzing the individual’s microbiome. Souki Skin analyzes a customer's skin type on a microscopic level and creates a skincare routine tailored to their specific needs — all without a hefty price tag.
Chris Toma, 23
Founder of The Sock Exchange
The Sock Exchange is a sock company with the goal of spreading financial literacy in a fun and creative way. The Sock Exchange sells socks that are linked to a real, publicly-traded company. The price of the sock is linked to the percentage change in the stock, and Toma hopes each time someone wears the socks, they think of their corresponding stock. It also offers a website that has resources to further educate users about stocks and global investments, from games to a glossary and current news.
Alan Henderson, 21
CEO of Dilemma Esports
Henderson's mission since day one of launching his company, Dilemma Esports, is simple: deliver a memorable and positive experience within the esports and gaming community. The company is a competitive gaming and media organization focused on the intersections of lifestyle, gaming, entertainment and culture.
Gigi Luchetti, 24
Business Development Manager, SiteZeus
Luchetti joined SiteZeus as a business development representative and quickly rose through the ranks. She is now responsible for SiteZeus' business development representative team and sales internship program and also oversees the onboarding and training of new representatives joining the company. SiteZeus is a SaaS platform that turns location-based data into interactive visuals for customers to use. The goal is to help brands make decisions informed by data science.
Shivam Ramphal, 22
Co-founder of Maya AI
The company is co-founded by three brothers, all serial entrepreneurs. Their latest venture is Maya AI, an AI market intelligence engine that creates opportunities from external influences. Maya helps to understand company data and strategize with external data. It was created to help companies specifically decrease the time spent on research, development and operations.
Sebastian Rivera, 21
Founder of JsonPDF
Rivera taught himself to code and began doing freelance work when he was 16, eventually dropping out of high school to earn his GED. Before heading to the University of South Florida, Rivera used his time to study software startups. In 2021, he created JsonPDF, a SaaS developer tool startup. It streamlines the process of developing PDFs for other programmers. The company's minimum viable product is now available to the public.
Madison Barse, 22
Founder of Full Herizon
Full Herizon is an online earring brand that goes beyond jewelry. It aims to uplift buyers with diverse earring card designs, showcasing women who are often not portrayed in mainstream media — from those with disabilities to those wearing headscarves. Barse's first collection sold out in five and a half hours and, since then, has sold thousands more. She plans to soon expand the business in retail and other wholesale opportunities.
Michael Pool, 25
Founder of AstroBliss and AstroBrew
After working for a small Colorado hemp farm, Pool found pain points for smaller, wholesale customers and wanted to find a solution. Enter AstroBliss, which offers white-label hemp products through its e-commerce site and on retail shelves. He's also launched AstroBrew, a coffee shop with drinks and alternative products on tap, including functional mushroom beverages.
Julius Becker (23) and Will Foster (22)
Co-founder of Newport & State
As a 15-year-old in Germany, Becker played soccer in professional football clubs before moving to the United States. He and Foster just graduated from University of Tampa this summer and are now fully focused on Newport & State. The sports marketing consulting agency combines their knowledge from the classroom and locker room, offering a one stop shop for athletes and brands.
Alexa Jarvis, 24
Director of Products and Development at Abyde
Jarvis joined Clearwater-based Abyde in 2020 as a marketing coordinator, which morphed into the director of marketing position just a year later. She's also tacked on the director of products and development to her resume for the company, helping build the technology for the compliance software company.
Bryan Lee, 20
Founder of Aquatica Studios
Lee is working with Roblox and California-based The Hydrous to create an interactive game that allows users to get a feel for ocean life and boost conservation efforts. The Hydrous is led by Dr. Erika Woolsey, a National Geographic explorer. The game — yet to be named — is a realistic, free-roam game allowing users to roam throughout the ocean with a storyline, side quests and questions on ocean conservation. It will be across multiple platforms, including virtual reality sets and more standard Xbox, PS5 and PCs.
Zaid Dabus, 26
Co-founder of Cape & Bay marketing company
Dabus heads up the growing digital ad agency, which has 40 employees and counts brands including Puma Basketball, YouFit Gyms and Blackstone Medical Group among its clients.
Adan Jackson, 24
Founder of BIOS
BIOS is a 3D life science education platform designed to make life science education engaging and empowering for students. Jackson's goal is to increase interest in STEM and can adapt or build a life science class at any level, with guides from instruction to assessment.
Fallon Velasco, 20
CEO at Merida Aerospace
Velasco has worked on Merida Aerospace since 2019, which designs, manufactures and launches rockets and satellites — all under one roof and for economical prices. She was awarded a certificate with the Department of Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and has taken courses with the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Defense Logistics Agency.
Raj and Shloke Patel, 17
Co-founders at Amaethon Labs
The rising seniors at Hillsborough High School have long been interested in gardening and launched their patent-pending microbiology startup to revolutionize plant growth.
