"It’s not a community if people can’t participate. Participation means: creating something together, sharing knowledge, contributing to a common goal."

— Severin Matusek on the 10 golden rules of building communities that matter

Featured Growth Story: Lauren Prager

Role: VP of Community Engagement

Organization: Synapse

Tactical advice on building a startup: Stay focused on the problem you're solving, and embrace the fact that there might be more than one solution.

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Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Workshop
Two-Hour Workshop on Business Fundamentals
Presented by Action Zone, Inc.
Friday, December 13 or Monday, December 16


CyberFlorida Project CHAOS
Scenario-Based Interactive Session on Cyber Attack Crisis Management Techniques
Presented by Suncoast Credit Union
Monday, December 16 at 8:30AM - 11:30AM

Embarc Collective is Opening. What Does This Mean for Tampa Bay?
Embarc Collective • Embarc Collective construction will be completed on December 20 and we're excited to have member companies start moving in shortly after. With our opening right around the corner, we wanted to share more about what this means for the Tampa Bay startup community and beyond.


Marketing Technology Firm Drift Opens Tampa Office
Tampa Bay Times • Drift, a B2B marketing platform, has opened an office in downtown Tampa with plans to hire up to 100 employees by 2021. Drift founders mention Tampa Bay's universities and colleges are a big draw to the area as well as the growth of information technology jobs in the region.


Communications Platform Startup Opens New HQ in Tampa
Tampa Bay Inno • SkySwitch, a white label communications service for resellers and suppliers, has moved their office from Lakeland to a permanent headquarters in the Westshore business district. The company hopes to grow in the region with plans to specifically hire in Tampa Bay.

Company: Drift

Elevator Pitch: Conversational marketing & sales tools designed to make buying easier.

Position: AI Conversation Designer

Position Highlights: Drift is looking for someone to join its AI team. This role is brand new to Drift, and to the industry as a whole. The AI Conversation Designer will be working with Drift's engineering team and scientists to create the world’s leading conversational artificial intelligence. This role will also work with customers to understand how the AI is working for them and help teach Drift's system to work even better.

Apply Here

How Building a Community Can Supercharge Your Customer Service
Customer service, or the lack thereof, can significantly impact the growth of your startup. Top-notch customer service requires around the clock support that can be challenging to sustain with a small customer support team in the early stages. In a resource from Help Scout, Sujan Patel shares how building a brand community of passionate users can help extend and supplement your current customer service operations. He also breaks down the steps necessary to build a customer service-oriented community.


Elements of Building a Community
Successful startups develop a strong community of customers that champion their products. Building a community around your brand requires a mix of elements to ensure your customers align with your vision and feel welcomed in your online or offline space. THNK School of Creative Leadership shares a top-to-bottom framework on how to think about building and sustaining a strong community.

A Deep Dive on Community Building with Scott Heiferman, Co-Founder of Meetup
On an episode of Venture Stories, Scott Hefierman discusses why in-person contact cannot be replaced by virtual interaction. He highlights the benefits of belonging to a physical community and the importance of network effects in building new groups. Listen Here

The Knight Foundation Data Challenge
The Knight Foundation is seeking innovative proposals for projects and programs that can collect, analyze, interpret and communicate data that supports civic engagement and addresses community challenges in one of its 26 communities. The call offers recipients a share of up to $1 million in funding.
Deadline: December 13
Apply Here


CTA Foundation CES Pitch Competition Application
CTA Foundation, AARP Innovation Labs and P&G Ventures are looking for cutting-edge technologies that help people stay in the game as they age. Whether in sports, fitness, or other activities throughout the day, consumer technologies enable people of all ages to stay active while performing at their best. Winners of the competition will gain entry to the AARP Innovation Labs 2020 Grand Pitch Competition and receive mentoring and coaching from P&G Ventures and AARP Innovation Labs executives.
Deadline: December 17
Apply Here


MuckerLab Southeast 2020
Mucker Capital is officially accepting early applications for their virtual MuckerLab program. MuckerLab Southeast 2020 helps entrepreneurs build great, category-leading companies. Early-stage startups either in stealth mode or already in-market looking for the benefits of an institutional fund should apply.
Deadline: December 27
Apply Here