Techstars Tampa Bay Startup Week, a week-long spotlight on the region's emerging ecosystem, is taking place this week in venues across Tampa and St. Petersburg. Here are some key sessions to keep an eye on...
Tuesday, Feb. 5
• 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Business opportunities in esports at Three Daughters Brewing 222 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg
Lewis McClam, CEO and founder of Viewz Marketing Inc and Derek Watford, co-founder of High Point Gamer, will speak on the billion-dollar industry of esports and emerging technologies in the gaming industry.
• 1 p.m.-2 p.m.: Artificial Intelligence or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Robots at Three Daughters Brewing 222 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg
Matt Spaulding, CEO of an online donation platform for nonprofits called GIVVN, will teach a crash course on artificial intelligence, how it affects businesses and the possible future of AI.
• 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: An In Depth Sit Down With The Multi Million Dollar Father Son Duo at Three Daughters Brewing 222 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg
Matt and 16-year-old Caleb Maddix each will share about their respective million-dollar companies. Matt is the CEO of Matt Publishing and motivational speaker. He has hosted over 120 events. His son, Caleb, is the co-founder of Maddix Publishing and the author of nine books.
Wednesday, Feb. 6
• 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: Building Relationships With Investors (Before You Need Their Money) at Armature Works' Social Room, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa
Allie Felix, the director of programming and partnerships at soon-to-be innovation hub Embarc Collective, will speak on the importance of building relationships with potential investors before needing to ask for funding help. Felix will work on helping brand credibility, working on networking and connections and an outline to make the funding ask.
• 11 a.m. to noon: Women Transforming Tech at Armature Works Theater, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa
A packed panel will give an in-depth look at the work being done locally by women in the tech industry. The panel will be moderated by Toni Warren, president of Suncoast Developers Guild and include Andrea Cannistra, a product designer for Gooee, Michele Cynowicz, a front-end engineer for Vox Media, Stacey Jenkins, a leader for the software development and IT departments at MediaLab 3D Solutions, Sarrah Vesselov, former UX (user experience) manager at GitLab and Betty Pierce, a senior UX and UI (user interface) developer at Agile Thought.
Thursday, Feb. 7
• 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.: From Startup to $150M Exit: A Fireside Chat with Tony DiBenedetto at Armature Works The Gathering, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa
Former Tribridge CEO Tony DiBenedetto will speak about his $150 million exit, the decisions and mistakes made along the way and what business owners can do to help their own companies in the coming year.
Friday, Feb. 8
• 10 a.m.-11 a.m.: Cybersecurity for the Everyday User: How Does it Affect Me? at Armature Works Theater, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa
Amber Smith, cybersecurity risk manager at JPMorgan Chase will discuss how companies can protect their customers' data while also protecting themselves from common mistakes that can lead to hacks.
• 11 a.m. to noon: Turn Your Data Into Dollars at Armature Works Theater, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa
A group of panelists, moderated by Ebony T. Grimsley-Vaz, the marketing head for Startup Week Tampa Bay and owner of Above Promotions, will speak on the importance of having the right data points and advise how to analyze those points to create marketing campaigns and help with product development. The panel includes Vaz, Nick Borosh, senior manager for the digital brand experience at Raymond James Financial, Anderson D. Prewitt, founder and CEO of Prewitt Solutions and Marvin Scaff, an entrepreneur and technologist.
