Sponsored by

Sponsored by

Happy Thursday! This is 'Mind Your Business' by Masterminds Tampa Bay we make understanding the Tampa Bay startup scene as easy as tying your shoes - loop, swoop, and pull!

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Tampa entrepreneur launches an AI marketing tool

• This Tampa startup secured $1.5M in funding

• What a Silicon Valley investor said about Tampa Bay startups

• How a networking event led to a national expansion 

FEATURED

Tampa Entrepreneur Launches Outbound.com, an AI-Powered Marketing Tool

Tampa entrepreneur Aaron White, after exiting his previous venture Script in 2021, returned to the startup scene with a new project, Outbound.com.

Officially unveiled at Synapse Summit 2024, Outbound.com is an AI-powered marketing tool designed to streamline the creation of customized marketing materials and facilitate outbound marketing efforts for small and medium-sized businesses.

White, along with his previous co-founder Patrick Cahill and venture capital firm TampaBay.Ventures, formed a "super team" to lay the foundation for Outbound.com. Emphasizing their deliberate choice to remain in Tampa, White views the startup as an integral part of the local ecosystem, offering support and resources to the community. With a clear vision and strategic partnerships in place, White aims to execute Outbound.com's roadmap effectively.

FUNDRAISING

Tampa Edtech Startup Scholar Education Secures $1.5M

Tampa-based edtech startup Scholar Education has successfully closed a $1.5 million friends and family funding round, with participation from prominent entrepreneurs in the region.

This influx of capital will support the startup's product development and expansion of its customer base. Scholar Education, launched in 2023 under Buckley's leadership, focuses on providing personalized tutoring services with AI-enabled content for students. Notably, the startup conducted a successful pilot program at Dayspring Academy in New Port Richey.

The rapid fundraising success of Scholar Education highlights a positive shift in the regional startup ecosystem, indicating increased accessibility to early-stage funding and growing support from local entrepreneurs. Buckley emphasized the evolution of Tampa's startup landscape, driven by successful exits and a burgeoning community of founders willing to invest in promising ventures.

Join The Conversation…

Are you using it to write copy? Create formulas? Write code or maybe even come up with the next great taco? »

STARTUPS

Silicon Valley Veteran Wisdom to Tampa Bay Startups and Businesses

Shellye Archambeau, a board director at Sarasota-based Roper Technologies and several Fortune 500 companies, has emerged as a pivotal figure in Tampa Bay's startup ecosystem, offering insights and guidance to local entrepreneurs.

Recognizing the region's diverse range of industries and startups, Archambeau emphasizes the entrepreneurial energy and hunger for growth shared by all founders, whether in Silicon Valley or Tampa Bay. In a conversation with Embarc Collective CEO Lakshmi Shenoy at the Builder Series event, Archambeau shared advice from her extensive experience, highlighting the importance of setting career goals, seeking mentorship, and prioritizing mental health needs.

She encourages founders to stay adaptable, leverage new technologies, and cultivate a deep understanding of their target market. Archambeau underscores the value of learning from mistakes and remaining open to external perspectives, cautioning against becoming too enamored with one's product at the expense of meeting customer needs.

TICKLE YOUR BRAIN

I'm a puzzle of hashes, a network of nodes. Transactions I secure in cryptographic codes. Each block linked tight, no room for deceit. A decentralized fortress, where trust we meet.

What am I?

(Pause for some deep thinking...)

GROWTH

NightCap,Secures National Expansion After Impressing Forever 21 CEO Winnie Park

Shirah Benarde, CEO and co-founder of NightCap, a drink-covering startup, has achieved a significant milestone in her entrepreneurial journey with the nationwide expansion of her product into all 400 Forever 21 stores - a company she started before attending the University of Tampa.

This expansion follows an encounter with Forever 21 CEO Winnie Park at a Las Vegas conference, where Park expressed immediate interest in featuring NightCap in their stores. Since receiving an investment from "Shark Tank" personality Lori Greiner nearly four years ago, Benarde has steered NightCap to remarkable growth, with $2 million in annual revenue and sales spanning 40 countries.

The company's stretchy drink covering, designed to keep beverages safe from contaminants, has garnered widespread attention, aided by strategic partnerships with brands like Bumble and successful marketing campaigns on social media platforms like TikTok and Reels.

THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Bay Area Times & The Rundown AI

Visual-based newsletter on business and tech

We explain the latest business, finance, and tech news with visuals and data. 📊

All in one free newsletter that takes < 5 minutes to read. 🗞

Save time and become more informed today.👇

MEME STREET

Here’s a Meme You Can Probably Relate To

WORTHY MENTIONS: UPDATES, TOOLS, RESOURCES

• 😂📈 Meme coins are all the rage this week with some making 4000%+ returns!

• 🤖 All eyes on the NVIDIA AI Conference. Attend virtually for free!

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

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

Learn how to make AI work for you.

How do you stay up-to-date with the insane pace of AI? Join The Rundown – the world’s fastest-growing AI newsletter with over 500,000+ readers learning how to become more productive using AI every morning.

1. Our team spends all day researching and talking with industry experts.

2. We send you updates on the latest AI news and how to apply it in 5 minutes a day.

3. You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI.

Subscribe with one click.

Riddle Answer:

Blockchain

ADVERTISE WITH US // JOIN THE FB GROUP

*Please note that some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. This means that we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links. We only recommend products or services that we believe will add value to our readers. Your support through these links helps us keep providing valuable content to you. Thank you for your suppor16