In early November, Tampa Bay Wave solidified a partnership with Startup Genome, a collaborative effort to help entrepreneurial regions everywhere maintain their thriving startup ecosystem. Through this research, data will be compiled from all participating startup companies in our community to create in-depth, comprehensive results that can be compared to other communities around the globe.
The Startup Genome project uses standard methods across the world that allow for effective identification, application, and measurements of growth within the ecosystem participating. Once we get our results back, the Tampa Bay community will have a clear idea of not only how we rank globally, but how our own environment is working, and where the best areas to improve upon could be. This is a great opportunity for our region to raise awareness of how strong a startup ecosystem Tampa Bay is, and get itself on the radar of investors around the country.
“Nothing attracts top talent to a region better than a vibrant tech community, and this Startup Genome project will help Tampa Bay show off our rising entrepreneurial ecosystem. This project can help our region attract more startups and more capital that could benefit us all,” says Linda Olson, President of Tampa Bay Wave.
For our portion of the Startup Genome project to work, we need as many startup companies from the Greater Tampa Bay area to fill out the two-minute Startup Genome Survey. We have a great number of startups in the community who have already contributed, and with even more participation, we’ll be able to determine those gaps in the startup community here in Tampa Bay.
We have the support from the community needed to make this project a success. Not only does Tampa Bay Wave have great partnership with Startup Genome, but USF Muma College of Business, Hillsborough County, Tampa Bay Startup Week/Weekend, St. Pete Innovation District, and many more are community partners supporting this project.
“The fact that the Startup Genome project is even interested in capturing metrics around our region is a powerful affirmation of the strength that exists in our ecosystem. Being part of this study is vitally important in giving us an understanding of where we rank in the global market place as we establish ourselves as a truly unique and vibrant entrepreneurial destination,” says Ned Pope, Global Technology Project Lead for Nielsen and co-owner of Young Parisians Record Label. “Being part of this elevates the visibility of our region’s ecosystem to a global level.”
Tampa Bay has until January 31st to get in all Startup Genome surveys. The final report should launch April 17th, and from there an Ecosystem Action Plan based on strengths and gaps will be made.
If you have not filled out the survey, and you are a startup founder or executive, please take two minutes to fill out the Startup Genome survey. Help show the rest of the world just how strong our Tampa Bay startup community is!
