The Weekly Collective

Former FIBA Company Named Among TIME's Best Inventions of 2019
TIME • ECOncrete, an alum of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator program in 2018, was named one of the best companies in the design category of TIME's Best Inventions of 2019. ECOncrete replaces concrete blocks along shorelines with an environmentally-sensitive concrete solution that enhances marine infrastructure.

Gratitude for Passion
Embarc Collective • Over the course of 2019, Embarc Collective has had the opportunity to support almost 40 amazing local startups build and scale their ventures. In honor of a tradition that Embarc Collective started last year, CEO Lakshmi Shenoy shares what she and the team are thankful for this year, starting with the drive and ambition of Tampa Bay's growing startup community.

Synapse Announces Priceline Co-Founder as Summit Keynote
TBBJ • The Synapse Summit, taking place in downtown Tampa in February, announced Priceline Co-Founder, Jeff Hoffman, as the keynote speaker to kick-off the first day of the summit. This news follows the recent announcement that Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx, will be the keynote speaker for the second day of the conference.

Florida Polytechnic Students Team up With Florida Space Institute to Create Mars Rover
TBBJ • A 14-member team from Florida Polytechnic is working on a year-long capstone project with the Florida Space Institute to develop a rover for Mars. The project originally began at the University of California and is being carried on by the Florida Poly students who will begin work in August. They are expected to complete the project in May 2020.

Company: Presence

Elevator Pitch: A campus engagement and learning platform for institutions that provide world-class student opportunities to learn and succeed.

Position: C# .NET Core Engineer

Position Highlights: Presence is looking for a C# .NET Core Engineer to join its team. As a Software Developer for Presence, you will be responsible for creating new apps and features, making existing ones better, and improving the speed, reliability, scalability, and efficiency of its software. Presence's client apps utilize the latest Microsoft Azure technologies and are built on top of the .NET Core 2 framework and AngularJS, utilizing multiple data stores on the backend.

Apply Here

The Tampa Bay Black Friday Gift Guide - Startup Edition
'Tis the season for giving thanks, spending time with family and planning for upcoming holiday shopping. Don't know what to get that special someone in your life? Find the perfect gift from a startup with connections to Tampa Bay with this special Tampa Bay Black Friday Gift Guide. Not only can you purchase some really great gifts for your friends and family, but you can support an amazing high-growth company building in Tampa Bay.

Gratitude Journaling for Cynics
In the chaos of building a startup and trying to stay sane, it can be hard to find time to truly be thankful. Gratitude journaling, the practice of writing down what you're grateful for on a consistent basis, can help you focus on the positive aspects of your life and keep you pushing on your hardest days. Jessica Guzik of Mission.org has developed a crash course of gratitude journaling with 100 fill-in-the blank prompts to help you get started.

M2 Microsoft Venture Fund Female Founders Competition
Submissions will be judged by a panel of investors and 20 finalists will be invited to pitch their startup at a final event in Silicon Valley. Four winning B2B companies with at least one woman founder will receive up to $2M in investment in the form of convertible note. Companies who have at least one woman founder, currently offer or intend to offer a product, service or platform that solves a critical business problem, and have raised no more than $5M in funding are encouraged to apply.
Deadline December 15
Apply Here

Ignite The Night
10 companies will be selected to present at the upcoming Ignite the Night NASA iTech event. The top presenters will land a spot as one of the top 25 semifinalists for the current NASA iTech Cycle. Companies who are developing technologies that could be potential solutions for NASA's challenges are encouraged to apply.
Deadline: January 17
Apply Here

Florida Venture Capital Conference Presenter Applications
Mid-to-later stage, technology-enabled companies with $3M in revenue or more are encouraged to apply. Presenting companies will be paired with a coach to tighten their presentation and will receive media coverage to showcase their company to investors and other interested groups.
Conference Date: January 30
Apply Here