Some of the region's biggest players in the tech scene have formed an initiative to spread the word on the momentum of Tampa Bay.
The initiative, dubbed "Hi Tampa Bay," is a brainchild of executives from Florida Funders, Strategic Property Partners and two newly relocated tech entrepreneurs.
"We were bemoaning, 'Why can't we be as promotions-oriented as [Miami Mayor] Francis Suarez?'" said Marc Blumenthal, general partner at Florida Funders. "We have a story to tell; we don't have to compete with Miami, but who’s telling our story?"
The group, including David Bevirt, EVP of corporate leasing and strategy at SPP, Drift co-founder Elias Torres and Terence Mills, CEO of AI.io, looped in Lakshmi Shenoy, CEO of Tampa-based innovation hub Embarc Collective. Embarc already began its own work recruiting and tracking new tech transplants, and felt it was a good fit.
"I don't think you can grow the startup community by simply building companies by those who live here," Shenoy said. "If we want to get to the rate of growth we all aspire to, we need to foster the right support for those who are building. And demonstrating to those who are not here, it's a great place to build a company. It's a two-prong strategy that has to happen."
A number of economic development groups are also involved in Hi Tampa Bay, including the city of Tampa, Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, St. Petersburg Economic Development Corp., Enterprise Florida and Synapse Florida.
“We’re proud to join our partners and collaborators in promoting Tampa as a fast-growing tech hub,” Laura Fontanills, Tampa Bay EDC spokesperson, said in a statement to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. “The Tampa Bay area offers a wealth of opportunities for tech company founders and professionals looking to relocate to a new city.”
The initiative offers a landing page, hosted on Embarc Collective's site, that gives relocation guidance, suggestions on what the area has to offer, and a place to connect with the Hi Tampa Bay committee. Committee members can then volunteer to do everything from help a founder find a school for their children to connecting them with investors.
Now that the program is launched, organizers hope it can spread beyond the initial core group of founders and become a regional calling card.
"Everyone can hashtag, can participate regardless of if you're in this small group of people [that started the initiative]," Blumenthal said. "This is about the whole community."
Blumenthal expects as the program grows — and founders and companies alike continue to relocate to the region — more of a structure may need to be put in place, both organizationally and financially.
"One of the organizations could contribute to a single head count to help coordinate because at some point the amount of communication and coordination could be taxing on all of us — right now it's not, but once the good news gets out it could be," he said. "But it's very Tampa Bay. It's organic, citizen-based and not for us — it's for the community."
