A tech and marketing company focused on entrepreneur economic development has opened its first-ever office in Clearwater after spending five years working remotely.
Economic Impact Catalyst opened at 28050 US Hwy. 19 N in a 1,600-square-foot space. This is the first headquarters for the company. It was previously entirely remote and used coworking spaces, including Thrive in downtown St. Petersburg, for meetings.
“We were spending too much time trying to find spaces to meet,” said David Ponraj, Economic Impact Catalyst’s founder and CEO.
The company, originally called Startup Space, was founded in 2018. It works with over 100 economic development entities across 27 states. It offers a SaaS platform that manages entrepreneur programs and startup ecosystems. It also conducts market research and provides consultative services and impact reporting.
Ponraj initially wanted a headquarters in Dunedin, where he resides, but ultimately landed on Clearwater.
“We wanted to keep that small-town feel [with Dunedin], but we could not find space,” he said. “We found [Clearwater] is where can we go that’s a little closer but central enough.”
The new space houses seven local employees and plans to grow to 10 by the end of the year.
“Our goal is to expand our footprint in Tampa Bay,” Ponraj said. “The heart of our business is here, even though we have other employees across the country. We’re trying to grow an IT hub here; that’s the long-term plan.”
Nationally, tech office leases have fallen. According to Savills, a New York-based commercial real estate brokerage firm, tech leasing hit a new low in Q1. However, tech companies in the Tampa Bay region have largely bucked the trend. German-based Vivenu opened its U.S. headquarters in downtown Tampa last month, and in March, a Czech Republic-based sports tech company opened an office. In 2021, 18% of Tampa Bay leasing activity stemmed from technology companies.
