A little bit of Boston is coming to Tampa Bay.
Harvard University and coworking space The Ring have teamed up to cultivate in innovation hub in Tampa Bay not unlike the existing ones in Boston, Silicon Valley and New York City.
While it sounds like a lofty goal, Dr. Ramon Pina has already implemented the plan overseas and now wants to see it done stateside.
"We used to think it wasn’t needed because the infrastructure to support entrepreneurs was there," the research association for Harvard's T.H, Chan School of Public Health School said. "But a lot of people don't know about these programs, how to use them, how to create a business plan. They don't know how to contact venture capitalists."
Pina and Daniels Ikajevs, the founder of The Ring coworking space in Clearwater, got connected and decided to launch Pina's program in Tampa Bay. The program will first spend the first year teaching participants the skills needed to successfully run a startup. Then, the group will spend the following six months working with the community to enhance the local innovation ecosystem.
"To develop the idea from just an idea to concept to reality, a lot of people just don't know where to start," Ikajevs said.
Pina and Ikajevs believe the Tampa Bay area is the prime place to launch the program: the demographic ranges from younger to retirees, there is a tight-knit community and of course, there's the weather.
"This is a community that needs a more diverse economy," Pina said. "It's very centered in hospitality, tourism and services which you need, but we believe this is one of the places you can have a very big impact."
And Ikajevs and the rest of The Ring are keeping an eye on opportunities specific to Clearwater.
"In the past we've seen many (hopeful entrepreneurs) have to leave in order to build their business," Janelle Branch, chief operating officer at The Ring, said. "When you talk about fostering innovation community it's critical to have resources and funding to tap into, to build a business. Clearwater is a step child of the Bay Area — this can actually dispose the knowledge equally to make sure there are opportunities on this side of the bay."
