Tampa Bay Innovation Center Launches Entrepreneurship & Investment Challenge

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – (Sep. 18, 2019) – Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a business incubator and coworking entrepreneurial center, is launching a new accelerator program focused on company founders in partnership with Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg.  The Tampa Bay Entrepreneurship and Investment Challenge is focused on preparing technology ventures in how to scale a company.  Unlike most accelerator programs that focus on preparing your pitch, marketing or raising money this program takes an “inside-out” approach.

The Pinellas County, St. Petersburg-based accelerator program, open to participants across the country, will be mentor-driven and founder-focused.  “We prepare your company not to just “look ready” but to “be ready” to take an investment and hit the ground running and execute your plan.  Our program helps CEOs develop into leaders that can rapidly execute plans, adjust when appropriate and gives them the experience to know how to navigate obstacles that derail promising startups,” says Chris Paradies, board chairman of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center and president of Paradies Law.

Following are programming details. Complete information and application is available at [SB1] :  https://tbinnovates.com/entrepreneur-investment-challenge/. 

The program is:

·         provided free-of-charge and no equity will be required

·         offered in a series of 1 – 3 Day Workshops over 10/12 weeks

·         focused on founders, leadership and being investor ready

·         mentor-driven by serial entrepreneurs with successful exits

·         designed to accommodate up to 10 companies per workshop

·         celebrated with a demo/pitch event

To qualify for this accelerator program, applicants must:

·         have a scalable tech venture

·         be pre-seed, seed, and post-seed to Series A

·         be post-minimal viable product/proof of concept

·         have Capital <$2M

·         consist of two or more team members

"According to Harvard Business Review, startups that are accepted into accelerator programs outperform their counterparts. The Innovation Center’s highly focused accelerator program provides invaluable resources and advantages to help drive a business venture’s growth, funding potential, and future."  says Ida Covi, Accelerator Committee member and CEO of iRewild, a thought leadership institute.

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 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.

Applications are being accepted until October 13th.  To apply visit:  https://tbinnovates.com/entrepreneur-investment-challenge/. 

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.

###

 [SB1]link