John Sung Kim arrived in Tampa Bay at the start of this year with two goals.
He wanted to start a family with his wife, and they believed Tampa Bay to be a safer place than their previous home base in San Francisco. And he wanted to take a Tampa Bay company public.
"It’ll be a seven to 10-year journey; I know that," he said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "But in that time, it will look very different. And I feel like we’re getting in on the ground floor."
Kim just got a boost that can help him further his goals. He was the founding partner of Five9 (NASDAQ: FIVN), a provider of intelligent cloud contact center solutions. Zoom announced plans to acquire it last week in the company's first billion-dollar deal. While Kim is no longer the owner, or on the board of directors, he is set to receive a share of the reported $14.9 billion.
"To be honest, it wasn’t a happy event to me,"he said. "I created the name, the product, and seeing the ticker symbol was a big deal. So for me, selfishly, I have to go public all over again. But that will be my next challenge."
He's in the process with his next company, JetBridge, which he founded in 2018 and moved its HQ to Tampa in 2021.
"We would like to be among the first wave of Tampa tech unicorns, and then take it public," he said.
It's a relatively tall order for the founder. The Tampa Bay region has yet to become known for its unicorns or IPOs, although companies like Clearwater's Tech Data and KnowBe4 have helped change that in the last two years. But Kim, who has had two successful exits, believes he can make it happen yet again in the other Bay region.
JetBridge has a two-fold purpose. It provides a network of seasoned engineers to mid-market and enterprise companies while helping engineers break into the startup investing scene as well.
"What we discovered was really good software developers invest in crypto and meme stocks, and a lot have a desire to learn angel investing because their friends do startups," he said. "Our pitch was, 'We'll match the salary that you're getting at Facebook or Google, and also teach you to be an investor.'"
Kim plans to set an example by investing $1 million a year into Tampa software companies "indefinitely," he said. He's already started, investing an undisclosed amount in Tampa-based Panther's latest seed funding round that totaled $2.5 million.
"My level of involvement depends on the founder: With someone like Matt [Redler, founder of Panther], he doesn't need my help," Kim said. "With someone earlier in the cycle, we would love to help; especially if there are underrepresented people of color, or women, or LGBTQ, we would certainly help mentor and provide money."
The biggest issue, Kim says, is an oft-heard concern among emerging startup ecosystems: the lack of talent.
"I do feel like I left the NBA for Division 1 for tech talent," he said. "And I want to change that by hiring, investing, and developing tech talent. But what I've found is the tech talent are very quick studies, so the ramp-up time is quick."
Kim has begun connecting with others in the ecosystem thanks to being a member of Tampa innovation hub Embarc Collective.
"We just need more people from Silicon Valley seeing how great [the Bay region] is for families," he said, adding he tells his West Coast friends "daily" to move to Florida. "I can't mentor everyone myself, but we will all partner together and I know in my heart we will see some exits in the next seven years."
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