The 21 local companies and people recognized this year as honorees for the Tampa Bay Inno Awards represent a wealth of talent, innovation and disruptive strategies in Tampa Bay's tech ecosystem.
Tampa Bay Inno aims to showcase the startups and entrepreneurs elevating Tampa Bay as a leading innovation hub. These awards celebrate the growth-stage businesses, enterprises, and innovators working above and beyond to set the ecosystem ablaze. This program was a revamped take on our previous Inno on Fire awards.
In evaluating the honorees, an internal judging team looked at nominees with banner years, people and companies with new funding, those with relevant recent product launches, or those that articulated innovative approaches to solving problems. Among our honorees are creative leaders who bring unconventional perspectives. These are companies to watch for their contributions to job growth and the local innovation economy in the years ahead.
– Alexis Muellner
AdTech
Nickelytics
Nickelytics' technology allows advertisers to target their ads to specific locations, such as neighborhoods, cities, or ZIP codes.
In its commitment to innovation, the company's recent acquisition by T72 is a testament to the value of the company's distinct out-of-home advertising approach. This new, vital partnership has allowed the Nickelytic's team to broaden its advertising approach, which has most recently resulted in the placement of ads on autonomous robots.
"By continuously focusing on innovation, fostering partnerships and building a strong company culture, we've been able to consistently push boundaries and stay at the forefront of our industry," said Judah Longgrear, CEO and co-founder at Nickelytics, in submission materials. "As we embark on this new chapter, the union with T72 validates our innovative prowess and ignites a powerful synergy."
Cybersecurity
CyberFOX
As of June 2022, CyberFOX had 50 employees, roughly 70% serving in Tampa, with about 1,100 managed IT provider partners worldwide.
To accomplish this, the company has worked to build a growth strategy focused on social media that helps people grow their cybersecurity capabilities. To date, their Monday livestream (CyberCall) now has over 6,000 active listeners and a podcast (The Cyber Cast) approaching 20,000 downloads. Wes Spencer, vice president of cybersecurity strategy at CyberFOX, has a YouTube channel with 80,000 subscriptions.
"We've seen 100% revenue growth at CyberFOX this year and will do the same to close out 2023 as well," Spencer said. "When we help one [managed service provider] augment, build, mature and grow their cybersecurity, we help every business under their umbrella as well."
HealthTech
Psilera
Psilera is a female-founded, groundbreaking startup that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to make psychedelics into safer, more accessible, take-home treatments.
In the last year, it has raised $2 million in venture capital financing, which has aided in increasing platform capabilities, primarily the Psilera Third Eye platform.
This platform was able to screen 100,000 compounds per month. The company also added a virtual reality component to the platform to aid in workflow and help provide new team insights. Recently, Psilera identified a new drug (PSIL-006), which acts like psilocybin but does not have hallucinogenic properties and can effectively help with anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction.
The company was awarded a patent on PSIL-006, giving it a 20-year exclusive period to commercialize this new drug.
Inno pick
Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers
In the last seven years, Tampa-based Deep Sea Xplorers (TDSX) has won multiple competitions and grants.
It has also designed numerous gadgets for autonomous vehicles. Most recently, the company won a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a Compact Subsea Lidar System that promises to revolutionize data collection in the deep sea. TDSX is partnered with Beam Sea Associates and SEE Monster Vision Solutions on this project, which utilizes a combination of machine learning, machine vision, and image enhancement algorithms.
In addition to this unique project, TDSX employees regularly participate and volunteer in several projects and programs run by Tampa Hackerspace, a nonprofit, volunteer-run makerspace. The team also volunteers at events with the Orlando Maker Faire and the Florida State Fair to help inspire young people to explore their creativity.
Partnership
Tampa General Hospital and Tampa Bay Economic Development Council partnership
Tampa Bay Economic Development Council and Tampa General Hospital recently partnered to boost the hospital's burgeoning medical district in downtown Tampa.
The $550 million master facility plan aims to bring the most advanced technology and innovative care to the area to establish a hub of world-class clinical care, academics, research and biotechnology.
TGH and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine anchor it.
This past year, the medical and research district grew to include a new freestanding emergency department and the TGH | USF Health Precision Medicine Biorepository. The health system will soon break ground on a dedicated behavioral health hospital. Once complete, the total economic impact of the district will be more than $6.4 billion annually, including creating more than 41,500 jobs, $4 billion in GDP, and $798 million in federal, state, and local fiscal revenues.
Software
Abyde
Clearwater-based company Abyde says it revolutionizes compliance with intuitive HIPAA and OSHA software.
The complexities of compliance can be overwhelming, especially amid ever-evolving regulations. Abyde worked diligently to create a user-centric design, asking for direct feedback from users. The result was a refined product that clarifies compliance for providers, making things simpler, more efficient and more intuitive.
Abyde has been named to Florida State University's Seminole's 100 List of Fastest Growing Companies and was recognized on Tampa Bay Business Journal's Best Places to Work 2023 and 2022 Fast 50 Awards Lists. These recognitions represent the team's innovative spirit and unwavering dedication to building client trust.
"Our software empowers providers, allowing them to navigate HIPAA and OSHA confidently, said Christopher Zumwalt, co-founder of Abyde, in submission materials.
Chattr
Chattr has pioneered artificial intelligence and automation within the human resources and recruiting industry, revolutionizing how businesses hire.
Its conversational AI chat technology has helped well-known brands like Waffle House, College Hunks Hauling Junk, and KFC to make hires with service to more than 9,000 locations. The brands it works with can hire 85% faster while removing over 90% of the tedious hiring tasks of the past.
"We always do what say we'll do ... 100% of the time," said Jim Schimpf, co-founder and CEO of Chattr in submission materials. "With over 700% annual growth rate since 2020 and partnering with local investors in Florida Funders, we feel we're a great example of how you build a successful tech company in Tampa Bay."
Funnel
Funnel is doing its part to change the world by changing the renter experience.
The company's AI+ automation Renter Management Software gives property management companies the ability to create specialized teams resulting in higher pay, engagement, and job satisfaction for team members, efficiencies for the company, and an excellent modern apartment shopping experience for renters.
Funnel has worked with owners and operators nationally, such as Essex Property Trust, QuadReal and Mack Property Management.
"For decades, operators tried stringing together single-solution challengers and antiquated monopolies," explained Tyler Christiansen in submission materials. "Funnel's industry-specific enterprise-grade software empowers companies to play to their full potential."
Maya AI Inc
Maya AI was created in Tampa in 2021, offering an AI-powered virtual assistant that helps companies decrease the time spent on research, development, and operations.
The advanced models provide insights and recommendations in different perspectives, formats, and images with personalized insights that can save companies hours. The company is currently harnessing its newest technology that solves AI hallucinations, featuring a memory engine that fact-checks through a combination of quantum and classical AI.
Maya AI recently signed a deal with one of the top five pharma companies in the world and began testing with two of the top 15 pharma companies. Maya AI aims to help researchers and scientists working in the life sciences space.
Metrc
Metrc is the top provider of cannabis regulatory technology in the United States, simplifying traceability and compliance for its 23 markets, including Guam and the District of Columbia.
The company aims to advance end-to-end supply chain visibility via its secure database that tracks and traces cannabis from growth, harvest, and processing to testing, transport, and sale. Metrc is contracted with nearly 54% of all legalized states with a 100% contract renewal rate. It serves more than 350,000 users, including growers, manufacturers, transporters, dispensaries, and more.
"Our centralized, secure platform acts as a single source of truth for regulators and businesses alike by offering real-time visibility across the entire legal cannabis supply chain from growth, harvest, and processing to testing, transport, and sale," said Michael Johnson, CEO, in submission materials.
Performance Personnel Partners LLC
Performance Personnel Partners began in 2019 and has since pioneered a modern staffing approach that combines industrial and organizational psychology, proprietary technology and data science.
By leaning on the facts that come from studying human behavior, it has proven that a methodical, scientific approach is more effective than the techniques from decades past that many recruiters still rely on. The result: healthier, more productive workplaces.
"With advanced screening techniques and adopting the absolute best practices known and then measuring and reporting on the results, our outcomes are vastly different," said Ryan Thorpe, president and CEO of the company, in submission materials.
Performance Personnel Partners ended 2022 with nearly $22 million in gross receipts. The company was ranked the No. 4 fastest-growing privately-held company on the Tampa Bay Business Journal's 2023 Fast 50 List.
Rise8
Rise8 is revolutionizing how federal agencies and companies develop complex, critical software. Founded by Bryon Kroger, who has an extensive military background, it saw the acute need for advanced technology in the government. His passion and mission are to build and deploy software that is effective for national security, he shared in submission materials.
So far, Rise8 has grown to 60 employees and boasts revenue of over $10 million in three years.
"The way we do business is different; we don't try to prove something before we start. We prove it by starting," Kroger said.
Satisfi Labs
Tampa-based Satisfi Labs, a provider of conversational artificial intelligence services, recently launched its Context Large Language Model Response System.
The new system combines the company's already-established contextual response system with language model capabilities to enhance its search engine system, which focuses on answering user questions by analyzing content on multiple websites. Its goal is to efficiently engage customers, meet accelerated demands and enhance customer connections.
So far, Satisfi Labs is serving Major League Baseball and Jackson's Bistro with its new LLM-enabled platform and is looking to add more clients in the sports, entertainment, and tourism industries by the end of the year.
Sign In Solutions
Sign In Solutions knows what it takes to keep workplaces evolving.
Its products include staff and visitor sign-in tools, appointment booking software, and meeting room and desk booking services. Since the company's launch in December 2021, SIS has grown into a global organization, improving visitor management and making workplaces safer across more than 18,000 locations in over 70 countries. Further, backed by PSG Equity, SIS made six strategic acquisitions between July 2022 and January 2023.
"From catastrophic weather events to incidents of violence in schools and workplaces, organizations need to know exactly which staff members and visitors are on-site at any given time in case of an emergency," said Jeff Gordon, CEO at SIS, in submission materials. "Our products provide organizations with that knowledge, as well as ways to signal evacuations and avoid future risks using intelligent data."
Šóta Signal Analytics by Fraud Doctor LLC
Alexis Bell and Paul Dunlop created Šóta Signal Analytics, the technology powering Pasco County-based startup Fraud Doctor.
While Fraud Doctor works on the professional services side, Šóta Signal was two decades in the making. Today, its first-to-market software provides publicly traded companies with an early warning system for the risk of financial misstatements. It's fully scaled and risk scores publicly-traded companies in real-time for more than 100 countries in 173 stock exchanges in over 91,000 companies with historical data from the 1980s.
"Šóta Signal Analytics is integrity in motion," Bell shared in submission materials. "Meant to augment existing analysis, for the first time, anyone making decisions based on the financials of a publicly traded company can understand the veracity of its reporting, answering the question, 'How much can I rely on those financials?'"
Supporter
Aaron White, CEO and founder
Aaron White is an accomplished entrepreneur recognized for outstanding contributions to the tech industry.
As the visionary, founder, and CEO of Script, he's helped revolutionize school administrative tasks through digital workflows — digitizing forms, streamlining approval processes and enabling secure contactless payments.
White has also recently partnered as Tampa Bay Ventures' first entrepreneur in residence, which will help it build its portfolio while simultaneously giving him an outlet to continue work on his next venture. White, a regular panel speaker at events in the area, is also a Tampa Bay Wave mentor and helped create the entrepreneurship club at Rampello Middle School.
Thrive DTSP
Whether it's a private office, a meeting or event room, or a shared coworking space, St. Petersburg-based Thrive DTSP offers a purposefully built business community that keeps people — and their creative or business endeavors — thriving.
So far, Thrive DTSP members have launched companies, secured $20 million in funding, and collaborated on more than $1 million worth of projects. The company currently hosts 117 businesses and has more than 350 members. In three years, Thrive DTSP has seen a 500% growth.
"Thrive DTSP is more than a coworking space ... we care about our entire community and the people in it, and people feel that when they enter our space," said Brooke Beeler, chief visionary and community builder for Thrive DTSP in submission materials. "We have overcome and thrived because we have always put community first, and we know that when we do, success will follow."
Pinellas County Economic Development
Pinellas County Economic Development works closely with existing businesses to encourage expansion while simultaneously working to attract new companies with high-wage careers to Central Florida's Gulf Coast.
With its combination of investment tools, professional courses, business counseling sessions and trade missions to open new markets, PCED has cultivated a thriving ecosystem of partnerships with municipalities and regional stakeholders.
Because of the organization's commitment to the growth and prosperity of the area, it has been recognized with various local and state awards, including the 2023 Florida Economic Development Council Deal of the Year and the Forward Pinellas' 2023 Future of the Region award. Illustrated growth of PCED's small business enterprise program is demonstrated with over $75 million in contract awards over the last three years.
Transplants
Otter PR
Otter PR's team of publicists has over 300 years of combined experience creating dynamic public relations plans that get valuable media coverage for brands.
With integrity, honesty, and transparency at the bedrock of its business practices, the multiple award-winning company has added 25 new jobs to the Tampa area. It is also deeply invested in helping transform the local community through business support and volunteerism.
"We actively collaborate with small businesses and local startups, providing them with public relations services to help them gain visibility and grow their ventures," said Scott Bartnick, CEO of Otter PR, in submission materials. "This has facilitated the growth of local businesses and fostered a sense of camaraderie and collaboration within the community." It also encourages team members to actively volunteer their time and skills for causes they are passionate about by offering employees the day off to volunteer.
Precision Build
Precision Build now calls Tampa home after merging four companies: Precision Tank, Precision Liquid Construction, Tampa Tank and Florida Structural Steel.
Today, Precision Build is a company that stands as a global leader in storage, complex structural steel fabrication and industrial services in the U.S., Caribbean, and Central and South America. After the pandemic slowed business, the company is on an upward growth trajectory. It has more than 300 employees and is looking to add more.
"When we think of innovation, the first thing that comes to mind is new technology and tech startups," Rick Brandt, chairman of the board for Precision Build, said in submission materials. "Innovation is a collaborative endeavor, born from our shared passion and relentless pursuit of improvement."
Santosh Mohan, former vice president, digital innovation, Moffitt Cancer Center
As an innovation leader, Santosh Mohan's roles encompass strategic vision, collaborative leadership, and execution to drive transformative change.
While working at Moffitt Cancer Center, he spearheaded developing, implementing, and expanding digital initiatives aligned with strategic goals, managing an annual budget exceeding $10 million. One of Mohan's biggest accomplishments was helping launch CancerX, the nation's inaugural oncology-focused tech accelerator, which gained substantial momentum for its capacity to leverage digital innovation aimed to reduce cancer deaths by 50% over the next 25 years.
Mohan also spearheaded Moffit's digital transformation by streamlining digital interactions for patients and introducing automation programs that freed up 10,000 hours of work from redundant tasks and delivered over $2 million in productivity savings.
"In every endeavor, my actions epitomize ethical leadership, community enrichment, and transformative change, embodying the spirit of Tampa Bay's thriving ecosystem," he said in submission materials.
