Adriana Avakian wanted to dip her toe in Tampa Bay before fulling committing to the region as her third location for TheIncLab. After completing her time as one of 10 companies in the Tampa Bay Wave's TechDiversity Cohort, she was taken aback by the positive attributes in the local tech ecosystem.
"We were in a nationwide search at where to best put the lab and looked at other places; Florida, Texas, California, were all contenders at one point," Avakian said in an interview with Tampa Bay Inno. "We thought even to expand more in Nashville ... but the Tampa community is extraordinary; one of the biggest things they have is amazing community support, it has a wonderful talent pool."
However, she has one concern that has been echoed by many entrepreneurs who have come before her: the funding.
"The community was a complete surprise — and the lack of funds and venture capital, that was a surprise in the other direction," she said. "Everything else exists, but without access to capital, it will be very challenging...that was one of the biggest surprises. When you go through the programming, you realize this is not Boston, not even Austin, which is very different, but you at least have a little bit of different funds."
She was quick to say she's not even cautiously optimistic about Tampa Bay; she truly believes in the city and what specifically she can do to help spur further innovation.
"I think it takes the community and entrepreneurs, if they're funded and exit, then they do it for someone else,"Avakian said, who added she is completely bootstrapped and actively looking for Florida investors. "You invest in the community and hopefully I'm that story. I'm really hoping it serves as an example for other entrepreneurs."
She will be opening D.C.-based TheIncLab in The Undercroft in Ybor City. The Undercroft unveiled in July 2019 as a cybersecurity incubator, with the hopes to spin the area back into a tech hub.
TheIncLab is a big get for the region: the company has ties to the Department of Defense and Fortune 100 companies like Samsung.
“TheIncLab’s announcement is further proof that Tampa’s reputation as a rising tech market is gaining national attention and attracting some really innovative companies,” Marie Chinnici-Everitt, chair of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, said in a statement.
Additionally, its Tampa Bay expansion will come with artificial intelligence lab, roughly 15 high-tech jobs and internship opportunities for nearby universities.
"Artificial intelligence is one of the great frontiers in the innovation economy," University of South Florida College of Engineering professor Sudeep Sarkar said in a statement. "With young companies, our students and our faculty working together, Tampa is growing to become a promising center of diverse skills and new perspectives that will shape AI’s future."
