There's a common reaction that happens when you ask a Lakeland-based entrepreneur if the city is a good place to start a business.
In the case of each of the five men interviewed for this story, it starts with a pause, then a sigh and a self-aware chuckle.
"It's growing ... it's becoming a good place," said Clay Canning, co-founder of Screen Skinz. "Lakeland is missing a lot of tech stuff, but it's slowly growing into it."
But beyond their feelings toward the ecosystem, they've got another factor in common: Their passion for making Lakeland the next great startup hub.
"There's a cohort of us; we’re planning for the future and how to make the pathway to successful entrepreneurship a little easier in Lakeland," said Josh Sitta, co-founder of Sittadel. "We talk about how once we’ve fully launched and achieved our dreams, how do we set up the city to better provide those resources?"
Sittadel, along with four other founders, is housed in Catapult, a Lakeland-based startup hub. While the hub launched in 2014, it re-opened in 2020, and is undergoing a bit of a transformation, according to its president Christin Strawbridge.
"We’ve tried to peel back, saying 'Who are the entrepreneurs that are scaleable, differentiated and have a coachable spirit,'" she said. "We want to put our staff, and time, and resources into programming for those who will launch into the community and continue to make Lakeland a more innovative place to live."
She compiled 'Mission Fit,' a group of five local founders that run the gamut of industries, from cybersecurity to screen protectors. The men have both informal and more formalized meetings to discuss growing pains within their own companies, but also ways to boost the ecosystem for other founders that could follow in their footsteps.
Each of them has its own wish-list of what the community needs to thrive, none that are particularly unique to Lakeland.
There's the hope that more institutional funding will come, which has in part begun with TampaBay.Ventures hosting a pitch night June 9. Later that month, the fund announced it invested in cyber security startup Hook Security for an undisclosed amount.
"When we say the Tampa Bay area we mean the entire area is growing tremendously; it's not just Tampa or St. Pete," Andreas Calabrese, general partner at TampaBay.Ventures, said. "And just like Silicon Valley, not every company came from one city. It would be a grave mistake of anybody involved in the ecosystem to disregard Lakeland."
Also on the wish list: The hope one of the Mission Fit members will have an exit, which would not only allow the founder to invest back into the community but also show Lakeland is a viable place to grow and eventually sell a successful startup.
That's already been done at perhaps the largest scale possible, with grocery giant Publix. And more than one source interviewed mentioned Qgiv, a Lakeland-based tech startup focused on nonprofits, as the next potential.
"An exit will be the next big step in the mindset of the community," said Zach Eikenberry, founder of Hook Security. "Then investors will look and say, 'Oh, there's things in our backyard we can invest in.' It'll be the talk at the golf country clubs and all that will shift."
But Lakeland's community-oriented mentality is a double-edged sword that's both its biggest strength and greatness weakness, depending on who you ask.
"I've seen the mindset shift tremendously; there is a lot of education and growth," Hunter Abramson, CEO of Relic Tickets, said. "Everyone wants to be a Tampa and Orlando and it has the capabilities to be in that direction. Everyone wants growth and we’re watching it happen, but also you're fighting your old instinct to stay a small town."
But the national mindset is shifting — and noticing the burgeoning hub of Lakeland.
"For the longest time it was just Publix; now you have an entrepreneur melting pot on top of more money and more people moving here," Nate Kendrick, co-founder of Mike and Mike's Desserts, said. "I think it's a hidden gem but it's starting to be more common. The majority of customers are out of Florida, but they know where Lakeland is now."
Meet the players
What they do: It offers a "smart ticket" system through blockchain, allowing event attendees to get the benefits while cutting down on fraud, through QR codes, pre- and post-event benefits and the ability to share tickets with friends.
Founded: 2020
Employees: 12
What they do: A cybersecurity company that uses humor "Saturday Night Live"-esque videos to teach users ways to recognize threats and learn how their behavior contributes to the overall safety of the company.
Founded: 2019
Employees: 15
What they do: Offers vegan cupcakes in 40 stores across the Southeast, including Publix offshoot Greenwise.
Founded: 2019
Employees: Four
What they do: Providing bank-level security to businesses, no matter the size.
Founded: 2018
Employees: Five
What they do: Offers screen protectors that can be customized with a user's favorite NFL, MLB or NCAA team's logo
Founded: 2018
Employees: Five
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