Greater Tampa Bay is home to the fastest-growing technology hub, one of the country’s most rapidly developing cities, brimming innovation, a thriving technological ecosystem and a booming business scene.
While the spotlight has shone brightly on GTB in regards to technology, startups and entrepreneurial spirit, the truth is that the area has long been succeeding in these areas. It has just not been highlighted publicly, said Ken Evans, director of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center.
“This growing tech community that is so supportive to startups and entrepreneurs has always been here, but we didn’t have things like social media and internet news to spread the word about it,” Evans said.
GTB is well known as a major metro market with high-end amenities and great weather. However, the biggest attractor for people and businesses, according to Evans, are the good customers from finance, hospitality and engineering sectors — all of whom emerging companies need to succeed.
The growing number of startups are expected to emerge from many of the existing multibillion-dollar companies in GTB, in the areas of cybersecurity, advanced materials, finance, consumer products, e-commerce and defense. Investments in startup accelerators and university entrepreneurship programs have caused the tech startup ecosystem to grow and develop over the last few years
Best Place to Start a Business
No. 4 St. Petersburg
— “Top 10 Cities for Women Entrepreneurs in the U.S.,” Forbes, 2020
No. 8 Tampa-St. Petersburg
— “The Top 25 Cities for Small Business in 2020,” Forbes
No. 10 Tampa
No. 12 St. Petersburg
— “Best Large Cities to Start a Business,” WalletHub 2021
No. 12 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
— “Large Metros with the Most Startup Business Activity,” RoofStock 2021
No. 24 Tampa
— “50 Best Places in America for Starting a Business,” Inc. 2022
No. 31 Tampa
— “Best Places to Start a New Business,” LendingTree 2021
Forbes named 16 GTB-based founders on the “1,000 to Watch” list in 2021. Among those recognized were Nneka Jones, who founded the company ArtYouHungry, which produces art pieces focused on issues such as social justice and sexual abuse.
Another chosen was Linda Olson, founder of Tampa-based Tampa Bay Wave. This nonprofit was one of the region’s first startup supporters. Having helped almost 400 startups and projecting 2021 revenue to be over $1.4 million, it was honored in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “2021 Best Places to Work.”
Organizations like Olson’s are just one reason the area is so attractive for startups or relocating companies. Florida is business-friendly with lower taxes for businesses, and the community helps foster businesses.
“We provide a soft landing for business owners by offering them a number of freelancers, mentors and consultants for their support,” Evans said.
The nonprofit Tampa Bay Innovation Center raises awareness for the startup community through educational programming and outreach activities, and it advises and mentors innovators and entrepreneurs. It connects company founders with public and private funding and hosts growing companies within a dedicated incubator facility.
The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation promotes the St. Pete region as a world-class business and career location, helping companies relocate to and expand in the heart of Tampa Bay. The EDC is a private-public partnership supported by more than 60 leading investor organizations. It helps businesses create and retain high quality jobs in the innovative, collaborative and inclusive community of St. Petersburg. Its President and CEO J.P. DuBuque cited the importance of incubators.
“Business incubators assist companies at a really important stage in the organization’s life cycle. Having the support to get companies off the ground can help us develop the super-successful companies our reputation is built on,” DuBuque said. “Incubators also provide a great opportunity for intellectual property that is desired by larger companies and provide opportunities for partnerships between smaller startups and larger companies.”
Ground was broken on a new, state-of-the-art facility in the University of South Florida Research Park in 2020. The facility in Temple Terrace will bring together researchers, patent officers, entrepreneurs, financial investors and corporations to enhance technology commercialization and GTB’s growing innovation and knowledge economy.
The USF Research Park is home to more than 65 resident and affiliate companies, plus the USF Student Innovation Incubator’s dozens of student-led startups. More than half of the incubator companies focus on life sciences, and nearly half are commercializing technologies developed by USF researchers.
“We have always had a culture of innovation in this area,” Evans said. “People believe in the concept of overnight success, but the fact is, these emerging startups who are making headlines have been working hard for many years with their heads down with little to no fanfare.”
For example, most people may not be aware that Wikipedia was birthed in and still operates in the area, and Revolution Money, a financial services company which also started in St. Petersburg, was acquired by American Express for $500 million. Newer companies like Fair Warning provide data protection for identity theft issues. Wufoo is an online form builder that was recently acquired by Survey Monkey.
Pop Goes the Waffle, based in St. Pete, was selected by Stacy’s Rise incubator to be one of 10 companies nationally to join a 12-week initiative to boost female entrepreneurs. The incubator is a spinoff of the pita chip brand. The companies will each get paired with mentors from PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay. Owner Sara Fludd plans to build a freestanding building in Gulfport.
In May 2021, Tampa Bay Ventures announced a $20 million investment into the area’s startups. Tampa Bay Ventures is a venture capital firm backing the area’s startups.
“The Tampa-St. Pete region offers a significant benefit as it relates to overall business cost, workforce pool and economic environment,” DuBuque said. “These three things are required for us to even be considered by a relocating company. And in St. Pete, we add the unique combination of widespread collaboration, game-changing innovation and a funky lifestyle with a top-shelf culture, all a shell’s throw from America’s No. 1 beach. We’re kind of like a unicorn.”
The 2021 Southeast Capital Landscape Report showed that there has been a 30% uptick in investment firm creation across the area, and GTB has seen a direct impact. According to the report, 21 firms now exist in the region, up from 16 in 2020 and 15 firms in 2019, when the data began getting collected.
The future looks bright for the startup and entrepreneurial scene in GTB. The reason for that is the many factors that make the area attractive to entrepreneurs. These include a growing innovation ecosystem, a strong talent pipeline from area colleges, an experienced workforce and a variety of entrepreneur support organizations, according to Alison Barlow, executive director of the St. Pete Innovation District.
“St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay region have the amenities you would find in a big city but with a mid-sized city approachability,” Barlow said.
Large Co-Working Spaces
- Hyde House and Station House, in Tampa and St. Petersburg
- The Ring, Clearwater
- Pipeline Work Spaces, Tampa
- Oxford Exchange, Tampa
- Rising Tide Innovation Center, St. Pete
- COHatch, St. Pete
- Signature Workspace, locations in Tampa and Clearwater
- The Hub Clearwater
- Cowork Tampa
- Cocreativ Tampa
Biggest Incubators
- The Greenhouse
St. Petersburg’s front-door to business growth provides business owners and entrepreneurs with the education, resources and assistance necessary to thrive in the local economy. Visit stpetegreenhouse.com.
- Tampa Bay Innovation Center
Home to independent workers and geared towards tech startups, the space is great for small companies, remote workers, startups and anyone who wants to share ideas, knowledge, space and equipment. Visit tbinnovates.com.
- Florida Israel Business Accelerator
This technology accelerator is designed to help high-tech companies scale and reach their full growth potential in the U.S. Visit fiba.io.
- Tampa Bay WAVE
An entrepreneurial hub where tech companies come to build, launch and grow their businesses, Wave believes in empowering members to turn innovation into breakout successes. Visit tampabaywave.org.
- The Spartan Accelerator and Incubator Program
Hosted by the University of Tampa, this incubator helps students, alumni and early-stage entrepreneurs grow and actualize their business ideas. Niche industries include technology, horticulture, food service and medicine. Visit bit.ly/39R5lnx.
- Embarc Collective
Curators of experiences, resources and environment that help forward-thinking founders and their teams thrive, Embarc seeks to make the region a prime destination for diverse startup talent. Visit embarccollective.com.
- USF Connect
USF’s initiative provides support for companies including technology and life science startups. Visit usf.edu/research-innovation/rf/usf-connect.
- Minority Business Accelerator — Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce
This incubator designed for Black- and Hispanic-owned and created businesses helps connect businesses with capital, key decision makers and information to drive positive economic impact in Hillsborough County. Visit tampabaychamber.com.
