Newsletter 1.4.2024

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Happy Thursday & Happy New Year! This is Masterminds Tampa Bay - we pluck the ripest stories from the Tampa Bay start-up tree - no ladder needed.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Local entrepreneur launches AI accounting platform

• St. Pete gets $500K for new food production

• A “cult” is taking over St. Pete in their newest move

• HealthTech startup gets $150K to conduct a new study

LAUNCH

Tampa Entrepreneur Launches AI-Powered Accounting Platform, Pezzi

Andres Hernandez, 23, founder of Pezzi, is set to officially launch his AI-driven accounting software this weekend from Tampa.

The pre-launch phase successfully enrolled approximately 150 clients, backed by $135,000 in seed funding from undisclosed Tampa investors.

Hernandez aims to simplify small business financial management by leveraging AI to automate profit and loss statements and streamline bookkeeping processes.

Pezzi, priced at $185 per month with an initial free month, seeks to challenge established platforms like QuickBooks and Stripe, addressing human errors through automation. Hernandez envisions reaching 10,000 clients and expanding his team by the end of 2024.

COMMUNITY

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FUNDING

St. Pete's 15th Street EcoFarm Initiates $500K Urban Food Park Project

The 15th Street EcoFarm in St. Petersburg is embarking on a $500,000 Urban Food Park project, transforming the existing nonprofit community garden into a culinary hub.

The expansion includes a 2000-square-foot building housing a commercial kitchen with a baking station, walk-in cooler, and an outdoor wood-fired brick oven. The facility will serve as an event space for community dinners, host guest chefs, and function as a business incubator.

The Urban Food Park aims to be self-sustaining, utilizing the farm's organic produce for meals, an on-site store, and educational classes. Emmanuel Roux, the farm's founder, envisions creating a hub for education, entrepreneurship, and food tourism, fostering social bonds and promoting urban farming. The project, funded through a private loan, is set to launch in January 2024

TICKLE YOUR BRAIN

I'm the commerce cipher, a metric's mystique. Not total revenue, nor orders unique. An average dance of numbers, in transactions I blend. Higher I rise, more profits you'll tend.

What am I?

(Pause for some deep thinking...)

MOVES

Fit2Run Finds New Home in St. Pete's Camden Central Tower

Fit2Run, a renowned "runner's superstore," secures a new location in downtown St. Petersburg's Camden Central tower, owned by Miami-based Tricera Capital.

The luxury apartment building will host Fit2Run in its 6,191 square feet ground-floor retail space, providing the store, currently operating from a 1937-built residence, with a larger and upgraded environment. Tricera's CEO, Ben Mandell, emphasizes the store's "cult-like local following" as a significant factor in the decision.

Fit2Run's expansion is part of the fully leased 31,000 square feet of retail space at Camden Central, which also includes recent additions Bohemios Tapas Bar and Tweeds Suit Shop. The tower's commercial offerings are expected to open in spring and summer, contributing to the vibrancy of St. Pete's growing market.

MEME STREET

Here’s a Meme You Can Probably Relate To

RxLive Secures $150K Grant for Healthcare Behavior Study

St. Petersburg-based RxLive receives a $150,000 grant from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs to conduct a study focusing on understanding, measuring, and implementing a large language model system to automate the tracking of healthcare interactions.

As a telepharmacy software and analytics platform, RxLive plans to leverage its network to analyze interactions among healthcare providers, pharmacists, and patients. The study aims to assess the frequency with which healthcare providers take action based on pharmacists' clinical recommendations.

RxLive's mission is aligned with value-based healthcare, emphasizing coordinated and cost-focused treatment. The grant is part of the NCPDP Foundation's endowment program, and RxLive has raised over $10 million since its establishment in 2018, recently closing its Series A funding round.

WORTHY MENTIONS: UPDATES, TOOLS, RESOURCES

• 🤩 Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is seeking innovative solutions for rural cancer patients. Prize is $50,000 and support by TGH Innoventures and TGH Cancer Institute. Apply Today

• 📧 Cold emailing sucks right? Well maybe it doesn’t have to. This nifty tool looks promising and makes sure your emails get delivered

• 🤖 Have you used the new AI-powered search engine? It’s pretty wild and its valuation is soaring!

Brain Teaser Answer:

Average Order Value

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