As companies continue to flock to Florida, earlier-stage startups may need more help than ever, according to Tonya Elmore, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center.
"Accelerators play a pivotal role in supporting founders by providing participants with contacts and skills they need to successfully grow their company,” Elmore said in a statement.
The latest crop of companies for the center's fall 2021 cohort will receive that, along with leadership training and mentoring in customer discovery and investor readiness. Previous cohort founders in the center's accelerator program have raised more than $5 million in capital during and after the program.
According to the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, the startups of the cohort include:
GameDrive
Headquarters: Tampa
Industry: eSports marketing
iSocrates
Headquarters: St. Petersburg
Industry: Planning tools for adtech
Kandel
Headquarters: Marina Del Ray, Ca
Industry: Engagement software for HRtech
Little Town Solutions
Headquarters: Tampa
Industry: Innovative software-based instruments for neuropsychological assessment and therapy
Phronesis Health
Headquarters: Seminole
Industry: Medical records AI and natural language program
Šóta Signal Analytics
Headquarters: Tampa
Industry: Risk analytics for fintech
Topenga
Headquarters: St. Petersburg
Industry: Governance, risk and compliance tools
The cohort will run August 4 through October 20th, culminating in a showcase event to present to investors, community leaders, potential clients and customers and media. Pinellas County and TampaBay.Ventures, the $20 million investment fund launched earlier this year, are both sponsoring the program.
The accelerator was initially launched in part by grant funding from the city of St. Petersburg. The previous winter 2021 cohort featured seven startups, which you can check out here.
