Tampa Bay Innovation Center Announces Summer 2020 Accelerator Cohort

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – (May 29, 2020) – Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a business incubator, accelerator and coworking entrepreneurial center, announced its Summer 2020 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.

“The companies participating in this cohort show us that there is no shortage of innovation and creativity when it comes to business and technology. We are pleased to be part of the founders’ journey and working with each company as they continue to grow,” said Chris Paradies, chairman.

“We are excited to welcome a new batch of companies into the Innovation Center’s Accelerator 2020 cohort. The program is positioned as a rigorous series of workshops based on customer discovery, product strategy, and the type of pragmatic go-to-market tactics that are warranted in a period of economic recovery. Each of these founders and teams is up for the challenge and we are delighted that they chose to participate in our program.”  said Ken Evans, accelerator managing director.

The seven startups of the cohort are:

  • Ceres Engineering (St. Petersburg, Fla) - an advanced analytics and decision support solution for the trucking & supply chain industry

  • elitRecruiter (Odessa, Fla) – HRtech to assist recruiters with the sourcing and vetting of technical talent

  • LeaseHoney (St. Petersburg, Fla.) - an Agtech marketplace connecting beekeepers with landowners and real estate investors

  • Mango Signs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) - digital signage as a service platform that helps event venues and merchants connect with customers

  • Paragon Cyber Solutions (Tampa, Fla.) - a veteran-owned, cyber security and compliance solution

  • Real Random (Tampa, Fla.) - a quantum-resistant, next generation, multi-factor security solution for enterprise user and data security

  • Smart Edge Tech – (Tampa, Fla.) - supply chain management solution for small to medium size retailers

The Accelerator was initially seeded by a grant from the City of St. Petersburg to establish an accelerator program.  The Tampa Bay Innovation Center is supported by Pinellas County and numerous community partners.

The Accelerator will run virtually from June 3 through August 19, 2020. Graduates of the program will participate in a Showcase Event the week of August 17th 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, LinkedIn,  https://www.linkedin.com/company/tampa-bay-innovation-center, Instagram,  https://www.instagram.com/tbinnovates/ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tbinnovationcenter.

tonya elmore