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Happy Thursday! This is 'Mind Your Business' by Masterminds Tampa Bay the newsletter that gives you the same feeling as hearing the ice cream truck enter your neighborhood - instant joy

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Water Tech Company Snags a Cool Gov Contract

• Tech's Gender Funding Gap: Still a Thing

• Tampa Bay's Betting on a Sports Betting App

• Cancer Prevention Tech? Tampa Bay's Got an Accelerator for That

FEATURED

Revolutionary Water Creation Technology Lands $1.2M U.S. Air Force Contract

Tampa-based Genesis Systems has secured a $1.2 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to deploy its groundbreaking water creation technology.

The device, funded through the Small Business Innovation Research program, is portable, powered by a vehicle, and capable of providing reliable fresh water in disaster environments. Co-founder and CEO Shannon Stuckenberg expressed enthusiasm for supporting deployed troops and addressing historical constraints in military operations.

Genesis Systems, which relocated to Tampa from Kansas City in 2021, specializes in water and food technology research and development. Their flagship product, the Watercube 100, produces 120 gallons of water daily and is now being adapted for military use under the SBIR phase two contract. With over $10 million in seed funding and notable investors, including former CIA director Robert James Woolsey and former NFL player Chad Hennings, the company aims to continue its growth trajectory.

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STARTUPS

Female Tech Founders in Florida Face Funding Gap Despite National Growth

In 2023, the venture capital funding disparity between female and male-founded tech companies persisted, with significant discrepancies noted by PitchBook. 

While all-women founded tech firms received $3.2 billion in VC funding nationally, those led by all-male teams received a staggering $114.8 billion.

Mixed-gender leadership teams, categorized as female-founded, secured $44.7 billion. Notably, solely women-founded startups captured only 2% of VC funding, a figure stagnant since 2008.

The presence of at least one female co-founder correlated with a record-high proportion of total VC deal value at 27.8%, largely attributed to OpenAI's $10 billion raise. However, excluding this outlier, female-founded startups accounted for 22.8% of VC deal value. In Florida, businesses with female co-founders raised $309 million across 116 deals in 2023, with Miami-based startups securing $145 million.

Despite fewer exits for female-founded companies, they accounted for a larger share of total exits. The cumulative number of female-founded "unicorns" grew by 4.7% nationally.

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FUNDRAISING

Jake Paul-Backed Startup Hits $375M Valuation with Tampa Bay Funding Boost

Fueled by a substantial influx of capital from Tampa Bay's investment community, Betr, a cutting-edge startup championed by Jake Paul, has impressively rocketed to a staggering $375 million valuation.

"‘Betr could become Florida's biggest consumer product ever,' Baum stated. Leading Betr's initial funding round and making four subsequent investments, Florida Funders plans to continue supporting the platform, Baum mentioned. It stood as the sole Tampa Bay investor in the latest round.

TampaBay.Ventures also provided early support for Betr, underscoring the robust local VC scene, according to general partner Andreas Calabrese.

"The two venture capital firms based here have participated in one of the fastest-growing companies in the sports vertical ever," Calabrese said. "While the startup itself is not necessarily based here, it's still an incredible mark of progress for our venture capital community." Statements per Tampa Bay Inno interviews.

HEALTHTECH

Innovative Oncology Startups Accelerate with CancerX Program, co-hosted by Moffitt Cancer Center

The Moffitt Cancer Center and Digital Medicine Society, under the Cancer Moonshot initiative, have launched CancerX. This accelerator picked its first 16 startups to push forward oncology innovation. Over four months, these startups will develop plans to scale their businesses, with guidance from Moffitt's experts.

Dr. Brian Gonzalez of Moffitt expressed excitement about bringing these innovators to Tampa, aiming to strengthen the region's tech ecosystem. The program also celebrates contributions from Santosh Mohan, recognized for his pivotal role in CancerX's formation.

Moffitt, a leading cancer center in Florida, is not just a patient care hub but a key player in medical startups and innovation, contributing to Tampa Bay's status as an emerging tech hub.

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WORTHY MENTIONS: UPDATES, TOOLS, RESOURCES

• 🐶 Dogecoin's value spiked after Elon Musk hinted it might be used to buy Tesla cars.

• 😂 Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports rips apart Tampa EDITION hotel on Instagram (but at least he likes our pizza! 🍕)

• 📅 Want to host an upcoming Masterminds event? Apply here!

• ♻️ Know a local founder working on a sustainability startup? Get in touch!

• 🤖 Are you deep in AI tech? Join our discussion panel at our next event in late April/May! Send us an email!

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