Tampa Bay Innovation Center Announces $3 Million Commitment from the James R. Pews Trust

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – (Mar. 03, 2020) – Tonya Elmore, president & CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center is excited to announce that the Center has been named the sole beneficiary of The James R. Pews Revocable Trust.  The trust is currently valued at approximately $3 million. 

This generous bequest was given in the spirit of rewarding the Center for its pioneering efforts in working with the startup community and to encourage others to donate towards its mission of “Accelerating Entrepreneurial Success”.  “The Innovation Center is grateful for the generosity and vision of Mr. Pews and appreciates his support of the Center’s mission”, stated Chris Paradies, chairman.   

Trustee James (“Jamie”) Pews noted, “I am honored to make this designation happen for the Center as its Board’s passion to make an impact on local startups is in line with my own here at The Startup Store.”  The Startup Store, a startup consulting firm founded  by Mr. Pews, is already supporting local St. Petersburg-based startups Webtalk, Bloom Intelligence, and Copper Shaker. 

Pews further noted, “Tonya Elmore’s years of effort along with the Board of Directors, Pinellas County government and the City of St. Petersburg to recently obtain approval for the design and construction of a new $12 million permanent home for the Innovation Center in St. Petersburg was another major milestone in St. Petersburg becoming the most desirable place to launch a startup. It is that kind of vision, effort, and result that made this a very easy decision.”

The impact of Mr. Pews’ bequest will provide for the Center’s sustainability well into the future.  The Tampa Bay Innovation Center and its stakeholders plan on breaking ground for the new 45,000 square foot facility in June 2021.

      About The Startup Store:

The Startup Store is a startup consulting group based in downtown St. Petersburg, FL and provides services throughout the entire southeast U.S.  The firm’s expertise in LLC formation, website/SEO, accounting, tax, and contract CFO services are geared towards early stage ventures. Their “quick launch” business model provides both an initial one-stop shop for startups as well as the opportunity for scaling businesses to inflect services as needed on an al a carte basis.

Follow the Startup Store on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TheStartupStore, on LinkedIn at;  https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-store/, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the_startup_store/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thestartupstore/.

About Tampa Bay Innovation Center:

Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a business incubator and coworking entrepreneurial center supports startups, 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.

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