Entrepreneurs and established businesses struggle to understand the Tampa Bay innovation ecosystem. Whether they are relocating or already here, the diversity of support resources spread across multiple cities and counties is daunting. A simple question of “What is available to help me grow my business?” can become a convoluted journey of misdirection and confusion. The resources (e.g., funding, coaching, partnerships) available can depend on the company’s stage of growth, industry focus, target customers, or founder background. It is frustrating for a business to spend time with a resource provider explaining their needs only to find out they do not match the provider’s focus. Even worse is when this mismatch is not well explained. The business leaves the interaction feeling disheartened that no one is willing to help them. This lack of clear communication does not boost our economy – it creates fractures.
A group of support organizations, led by the Innovation District and fueled by a grant from the Duke Energy Foundation, is working to help solve this issue. We are in the midst of mapping the innovation ecosystem. So far we have identified over 100 support organizations. Most have completed a survey to help us understand who they support and the types of services they provide. We expect to publish our findings by the end of the year.
(This article was first featured in our September newsletter - to subscribe to our monthly newsletter click here)
References: (1) Tampa Bay Partnership's 2023 Regional Competitiveness Report (2) Tampa Bay Economic Development Council
Over the last few months I have used this space in the newsletter to create a picture of what it takes to foster innovation. November 2023 newsletter: Innovation is a team sport. It requires diverse perspectives and experiences to find a creative solutions. It requires courage to try things out and be willing to learn what won’t work as much as what will work. It requires tenacity to keep going and going and going.
Thank you to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) for sponsoring and hosting our inaugural Morning Sparks: Innovation X-change breakfast. The event was kicked off by Alicia Schulhof, President of JHACH, and followed by an overview of the topic - Artificial Intelligence - by Dr. John Licato of USF's Advanced Machine and Human Reasoning Lab.
Kudos to the Volunteers of America Florida, City of St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County for the recent opening of the new downtown apartments, located in the Innovation District called Innovare. Innovare’s 50 apartments provide stable homes for individuals and families who earn 60 percent or less of the Area’s Median Income (AMI), including many who are transitioning from homelessness.