"No matter how complicated or layered your annual plan is, there is normally some underlying thesis or principle that unites vision, especially in a startup. I like to reflect upon the various conversations and many ideas, synthesizing them into one rallying cry for the year."

—Adeo Rossi on five steps to a great annual plan

Founder: Anthony Begando

Company: ProCredEx

Thoughts: Review all of your major assumptions/variables and ask them flat-out "would you (or your customers/partners) buy this?" If you don't get a definitive "yes!", go back to the drawing board.

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Product Discovery Coffee Chat

Session on Product Discovery and Go-To-Market Strategies

Presented by Tampa Bay Innovation Center

Thursday, December 17 at 2:30PM ET

Republic Reflections: Venture Partner Panel
Featuring Embarc Collective, Rarebreed VC, Samsung Next and 2SV

Presented by Republic

Thursday, December 17 at 7PM ET

Powderkeg Unvalley 2020

Office Hours, Virtual Career Fair and Networking Opportunities for Startups

Presented by Powderkeg

Thursday, December 17 through Friday, December 18

The Expansion of Online Learning with Recent Fundings

Forbes • The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online learning. This article covers the companies that have benefited from the growth of online learning, including Embarc Collective member company Immertec. Immertec offers medical training through virtual reality.

25 People to Watch: Ed Buckley, CEO, Peerfit

TBBJ • Ed Buckley, CEO of Embarc Collective member company Peerfit, was included in TBBJ's Annual List of People to Watch in 2021. Embarc Collective CEO Lakshmi Shenoy and Tampa General Hospital's new Vice President of Innovation Rachel Feinman, who will be leading the new TGH InnoVentures fund from offices at Embarc Collective, were also included on the list.

Tampa Startup Gets National Attention for Turning the Finance World on its Head

Tampa Bay Inno • Embarc Collective member company Grifin is creating greater accessibility to investing through its app which allows users to buy stock where they shop. In the past two years, they have been recognized by national Embarc Collective partners including Draper University and Startup of the Year. 

Covid Is Accelerating the Exodus From New York and California to Cheaper States

Bloomberg • Data shows that Tampa, FL is among the top cities gaining an influx of new residents during the pandemic. Lower costs, bigger living spaces and better quality of life are cited as some of the main drivers for relocation.

Company: Leasecake

Elevator Pitch: Leasecake is the Operating System for lease and location management. We’re a global award-winning solution to easily track every time-sensitive, business-critical event in a SaaS platform helping business owners get ahead of the hundreds of location-related events impacting their operations. All businesses either own or lease commercial real estate and we exploited a gap in the market to mitigate risks, improve team collaboration, and share key business data across industries. 

Position: Senior Developer

Position Highlights: We are looking for a full stack developer with an emphasis on the back end. Your primary focus will be the development of server-side logic, API development, ensuring high performance and responsiveness to requests from the front-end. A basic understanding of front-end technologies is also necessary. Ideally you will bring 5+ years of experience in a senior role.

Email Your Resume

The end of the year provides the perfect opportunity to finalize your plan for 2021. This week's resources focus on frameworks and tools to help you start 2021 on the right foot.

🚀 How to Create an Effective Financial Plan in the Midst of Startup Chaos - Underscore.vc shares a clear framework to help you work through an annual plan no matter the stage of your startup.

💸 Seed-Stage Annual Financials Template - This template offers a very simple approach to building a financial model for your seed-stage SaaS business.

💻 SaaSX Simple Strategic Planning Process - This deck from SaaSX can serve as a framework for developing and presenting your strategic planning process.

How to do Annual Planning

The team from Buildify outlines the steps and mindset to conduct effective strategic planning. They also share useful tools to help with the process.

Listen Here

Dataquest and AI Inclusive’s Under-Represented Genders 2021 Scholarship

Apply for 6 months of free access to Embarc Collective member company Dataquest's scholarship program. Open to anyone who identifies as a woman or any other gender that is under-represented in data science.

Deadline: December 18

Apply Here

LAUNCH Accelerator

Over 14 weeks, 7 startups will meet 200+ investors and join an immersive growth program. Over the course of a year, founders have monthly check-ins with Jason Calacanis and the LAUNCH Team. Companies with a product in market with traction and revenue are encouraged to apply.

Next Cohort Begins: January 16

Apply Here

Please take a moment to help those in our Tampa Bay community for the holidays. We've organized two virtual drives to make it easy for those who wish to donate: a food drive for Feeding Tampa Bay and a toy drive for Metropolitan Ministries.