Tampa Bay Innovation Center Launches Entrepreneurship & Investment Challenge Announces 2019 Cohort

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – (October. 22, 2019) – Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a business incubator, accelerator and coworking entrepreneurial center, announced its 2019 Accelerator cohort of seven Tampa Bay startups that will receive specific training and mentoring in customer discovery, investor-readiness and leadership over the next 90 days.

“At the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, we have been focused on supporting technology entrepreneurs and innovators for more than 16 years.  We are excited to work with the founders in this cohort who are innovating solutions for the future,” said Tonya Elmore, president & CEO/

Part of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center in St. Petersburg, the Entrepreneurship and Investment Challenge, is a new accelerator program focused on company founders.  “Unlike most accelerator programs that focus on preparing the pitch, marketing or raising money, this program incorporates those components with an emphasis on developing the founders into leaders that are market ready” said Ken Evans, accelerator managing director of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. 

The seven startups of the 2019 cohort are:

  • Bulk Nano (St. Petersburg, Fla.) – advanced composites and nanomaterial manufacturing  

  • Ehrenberg Industries (Trinity, Fla.) – unique patented dielectrics and energy storage solutions

  • ENotaryLog (Tampa, Fla.) - remote online notarization platform, enabling document notarization, anytime, anywhere

  • Expedite Legal (Dunedin, Fla.) – first-to-market on-demand platform that instantly connects attorneys, paralegals, and firm owners with the legal support services they use every day

  • GIVVN (St. Petersburg, Fla.) – a technology platform that helps nonprofits collect donations and engage with donors through Artificial Intelligence

  • Rubix Solutions (St. Petersburg, Fla.) – an advanced tracking solution specializing in highly regulated industries

  • Verapy (Tampa, Fla.) – HIPAA compliant physical and occupational therapy platform that turns standard exercises into fun and immersive virtual reality games.

The Accelerator was seeded by a grant from the City of St. Petersburg to establish an accelerator program.  Program supporters and community partners include Florida Blue, Pinellas County, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, PitchLyst and Seedfunders.

The Tampa Bay Innovation Center Entrepreneurship and Investment Challenge will run from October 24, 2019 through January 13, 2020. Graduates of the program will participate in the Challenge Event the week of January 6th to an audience of investors, community leaders, media and potential business partners/customers.

About Tampa Bay Innovation Center:

Tampa Bay Innovation Center supports entrepreneurial success, fosters the creation of high-tech jobs and develops new sources of technology and manufacturing capabilities by nurturing early stage ventures as they grow and launch their products into the marketplace. The Innovation Center offers programs that are tailored to the innovator/entrepreneur and address business intelligence, planning and business formation, strategy execution and technology transition.

Follow Tampa Bay Innovation Center on Twitter, www.twitter.com/tbinnovates, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tbinnovationcenter.

tonya elmore