In his final Startup Tampa Bay video as a @HillsboroughFL Commissioner, @MarkSharpeFL discusses his successful EDI2 program and how it has helped the local tech ecosystem grow in both activity and visibility.
A few recurring topics came up in this video that are worthy of additional discussion:
Last week marked Tampa Bay’s 7th annual BarCamp, a day long conference for Geeks, about Geeks and hosted by Geeks. In the tradition of the #unconference style, the crowdsourced agenda of topics and speakers provided an eclectic mix of technical and startup tech business sessions to choose from. We had somewhere between 750-800 people participate in this year’s event and of those that registered online, 60% said this was their first @BarCampTampa.
This event continues to draw a broad cross section of the region’s technical talent and I think a lot of those first timers walked away impressed with the content and wondering why they had not attended previous year’s BarCamps. We hope that you will tell a friend and return next fall ready to support this event as a volunteer, sponsor, speaker or as an attendee. We’ll bring the donuts, you bring the desire to share, learn, and collaborate with the others that make up the Tampa Bay region’s growing grass roots tech and start-up ecosystem.
Save the Date for Tampa’s 7th annual BarCamp
Tampa’s annual gathering of geeks is scheduled for Saturday, October 18th. The USF College of Business will once again be our host for BarCamp 2014.
Please follow @BarCampTampa for updates on the event, opportunities to sponsor and sign-up forms for volunteers.
Want to help out – fill out the volunteer application and join in the fun of making a BarCamp.
This week’s webcast celebrated the successful completion of another StartupBus competition and return of the team from #StartupBusFL which traveled from Tampa to the annual SXSW tech / music fest in Austin.
Joining Commissioner @MarkSharpeFL this week:
Stephanie Ashley @HillsboroughFL #EDI2 program
Taylor Wallace @TayWall
Mitch Neff @MitchNeff
Joy Randels @Joy_Randels
Justin Davis @JWD2A
Tampa Hackerspace has been open for a couple of months, but they are kicking it into high gear with a KickStarter campaign to help build out the workspace. Donations of any size will help, but the bigger backers get cool stuff.
Even if you can’t donate, please consider one of their membership plans or at least signing up for one of their unique events. From sewing to soldering and even 3D printing, Tampa Hackerspace is here to help build and sustain the hands-on technical skills needed to make innovative ideas come to life.
Location: 3104 N Armenia Ave Tampa, FL 33607The last Startup Tampa Bay webcast for 2013 welcomed Professor Any Gold @profandygold to talk about the @HCCFL entrepreneurship program and the positive impact Hillsborough County’s #EDI2 economic development program is having on the local tech ecosystem.
Also participating in this week’s @BuddyBrewCoffee tech ecosystem roundtable:
