Three years in, Tampa’s Embarc Collective hits 100 tech startups served

If the Embarc Collective had charted out a growth timeline when it launched in 2018 — and then opened a shared physical workspace in early 2020 — it definitely wouldn’t have included a global pandemic.

If the Embarc Collective had charted out a growth timeline when it launched in 2018 — and then opened a shared physical workspace in early 2020 — it definitely wouldn’t have included a global pandemic.

Even if it had, CEO Lakshmi Shenoy couldn’t have foreseen the Tampa startup community growing like it has in that span.

“In the moment, I definitely was not thinking, ‘This is when we are going to double our size,’ Shenoy said. “It’s only now as I can sit and can be reflective that I can say, ‘Yeah, this makes sense.’”

The rapidly evolving digital landscape has kept Embarc members and staff busy over the last 18 months, as local startups have expanded and attracted new investors, and the collective itself has added coaches and resources. In August, the tech entrepreneurship and acceleration hub welcomed its 100th member months ahead of schedule, with more than half of those joining during the coronavirus pandemic.

Established through $10 million in backing from Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, the Embarc Collective was designed to help get Tampa Bay startups off the ground, giving them coaching, training, access to resources and connections to investors and other entrepreneurs that could boost the region’s visibility in the tech world.

Two years later, Tampa is getting recognition as an emerging tech city, with Embarc and Vinik’s Water Street Tampa development often cited as reasons why. In the past year, tech companies like ID.me, Fast and HomeLight have opened Tampa hubs, a sign of the region’s tech boom.

Even though those are later-stage companies, they’re huge wins for the overall community,” Shenoy said. “They are able to see that there is a growing amount of talent here that could either be future members of their team, or maybe future acquisitions. The startups that are around here are helping to perpetuate the technology-first culture that we want to grow in this region. From that standpoint, it’s tremendous.”

The more startups that come along and attract venture capital, the better chance Tampa has of becoming “the Silicon Valley of the South,” said Zac Smith, a senior vice president specializing in mergers and acquisitions with financial advisory firm Embark (which has no relation to Embarc).

“You’re going to see the Microsofts, the Apples, whoever, purchasing some of these firms, and that’s going to continue to boost the economy here, promote jobs, promote education and promote commerce,” Smith said. “We’re truly on the precipice or tipping point of this happening.”

Several Embarc members have already scored national funding. Last fall, Tampa telecom startup Phonism announced a deal with Texas’s Ribbon Communications to be part of the company’s global network of information technology support services...

To read the original article by Jay Cridlin from the Tampa Bay Times, click here.