Illustration by Mara Potter | PSBJ
August may have brought a drop in funding in Tampa Bay and across the region, but the local tech scene had plenty of other moves. From new companies launched to expansions and headquarter upgrades, we've got the rundown of what you missed below.
Player personnel
- Jill St. Thomas, who served at Tampa Bay Tech for the last decade, left the position on Aug. 5. She told the Tampa Bay Business Journal she feels the work she has done has "come to an end" but does not have plans for where she'll land just yet. Get the story.
Jill St. Thomas, co-executive director at Tampa Bay Tech
Nola Laleye
- Tampa-based Transflo, which automates the supply chain process through its cloud-based technology, hired Justin King as its chief product officer. Before Transflo, he spent a decade at Visa and also served as head of product innovation at Atlanta-based Fleetcor.
- Tampa-based healthtech company Gale Healthcare hired former Google executive Kan Kotecha as its new CTO. The company's prior CTO Tim Roda will head to the newly created chief innovation officer spot. You can read our original story about Gale Healthcare here.
A look at the Gale Healthcare system
Gale Healthcare
- Tampa-based mortgage servicer Fay Servicing hired Dallas Vit as chief information officer. Vit will oversee the company's technology team, including data management, application development and information security. He previously served as CIO for Roosevelt Management Co., a New York-based investment management firm.
The moves
- Fintech company CashRepublic Financial LLC, which has five locations in Orlando, is expanding to Tampa. The financial services center offers all the benefits of a bank to customers without actually being a bank in an effort to help underserved communities. Learn more about them here.
CashRepublic on Sept. 15 held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its newest store, located at 6801 West Colonial Drive in Orlando.
Miguel Guinard, Branding Pheonix
- Tampa health care company BeniComp is doubling its office size with a new move. The company will move from the downtown WeWork space to a 3,000-square-foot office in Tampa City Center, according to the Business Journal. With the added space comes plans to hire 100 employees over the next three years. You can read our original profile on the company here.
BeniComp sales and marketing team
BeniComp
- Enovate Learning LLC, an e-learning content development company, moved its headquarters from the suburbs of Atlanta to St. Petersburg. The company's founder Rema Merrick told us beyond the good weather and cheaper living, St. Pete's reputation for boosting female entrepreneurs sold her on the city. Get the story.
- Longtime startup accelerator program Tampa Bay Wave moved from 500 E Kennedy, which also houses the coffee shop The Attic, to 501 E Kennedy, which houses the WeWork space. While the offices are comparable size-wise, Wave CEO Linda Olson says this brings more room for meeting spaces for its ever-growing cohort. The Business Journal's got the story.
Linda Olson, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Wave
Lauren Coffey
- Smart Meter, a Tampa-based medtech company, moved into a 5,200-square-foot space in the Sweetwater Business Center in Carrollwood. It was previously in a 1,900-square-foot space in the Fifth Third Center in downtown Tampa. Get the story.
- Funnel Leasing, a New York-turned-work-from-anywhere company, opened a 7,000-square-foot space in Odessa. CEO Tyler Christiansen moved his family to the area from New York in 2019 and originally was commuting from Lutz to Manhattan before the pandemic hit and the company went remote. But as the world began opening back up, Christiansen decided the company needed a home base. Get the story.
Funnel Leasing's new headquarters in Odessa
Funnel Leasing
Acquisitions
- HOMEE, the fast-growing marketplace provider focused on the insurance industry, acquired Jacksonville-based MyCAT Marketplace for an undisclosed amount, allowing it to break further into the natural disaster industry.
HOMEE
Provided
- Aderant, a subsidiary of Sarasota-based Roper Technologies, is acquiring Toronto-based viGlobal for an undisclosed amount. Both entities focus on management software platforms.
- Clearwater-based DocuPhase acquired Frevvo, a Connecticut-based workflow automation company. This is the third acquisition for the company in the last year, with the latest set to extend DocuPhase's platform solution capabilities.
- Local IT giant Vology was acquired by ATSGG, a New York-based managed service provider. The deal was closed for an undisclosed amount, although Vology plans to keep its Clearwater headquarters. This is all happening less than two years after the company's CEO, Barry Shevlin, stepped down to create CAVU Capital. CAVU then merged with Hyde Park Capital in May. Quite the tech journey for the company.
![Vology pic 1[62]](https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12324358/vology-pic-162*540xx1500-844-0-70.jpg)
Clearwater-based Vology's local presence will remain intact following the deal with Manhattan-based ATSG.
Vology
Stealth launches
- Ryan Dorrell, who co-founded AgileThought in 2004, quietly launched sports tech startup Fan Data Insights in 2021. The company has now been publicly announced, with Fan Data Insights letting athletic departments gather data typically in silos, such as donations and ticket sales. Read more here.
Ryan Dorrell, founder and CEO of Fan Data Insights
Ryan Dorrell
- Former NFL star Michael Vick co-founded an NFT-focused sports tech startup in Tampa. Vick has teamed up with 27-year-old Trevor Paladino, a Tampa resident who first met Vick through Paladino's sports memorabilia company, The Player's Locker. The pair struck up a friendship and soft-launched their startup, FanField. Get the story.
Michael Vick is the co-founder of Tampa-based FanField.
FanField
