Newsletter July 24th, 2025

Happy Thursday! Welcome to Mind Your Business, where Tampa Bay’s startup scene reads like a playbook written in boldface.

This week, fintech founders are still finding fuel, AI startups are turning paperwork headaches into pitch wins, and Sarasota’s software giant just added another $800M feather to its cap. We’ve got hometown heroes earning national attention, cybersecurity firms sealing headline-worthy deals, and the region shifting gears into the future of autonomous vehicles.

Here’s what we’ve got for you this week:

🏆 Tampa Bay Says Goodbye to a Wrestling Legend
💸 Fintech Startups Still Finding Fresh Fuel
🙏🏽 Sarasota Software Giant Adds Another $800M Win
🚀 St. Pete AI Startup Wins Pitch Competition With Real-World Mission
🛡️ Cyber Scene Watch: Why Tampa Was Key in This National Acquisition
📈 Local Fintech on Fire: Meet One of Tampa’s Fastest-Growing Firms
🤖 Tampa’s AI Momentum Is Real—But We’ve Got Work to Do
🚗 Tampa Bay Gears Up for the Future of Autonomous Vehicles

Scroll down to learn more…

🏆 LOCAL LEGENDS

Today, the world lost a giant, not just in wrestling but in pop culture. Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea and raised in Port Tampa, passed away at 71. Long before “Hulkamania” swept the globe, he was grinding it out in local gyms, rooted in a community that always claimed him as one of its own.

He wasn’t just a character in the ring. He was a symbol of grit, flair, and never-give-up energy that shaped childhoods, inspired countless flex-offs in living rooms, and made pro wrestling a household staple. From slamming giants to opening shops on Clearwater Beach, his presence loomed large both in the spotlight and right here at home.

Rest easy, Hulkster. You body slammed your way into history.

💸FINTECH

St. Pete’s Receivabull Raises Follow-On Capital to Launch New Platform

Receivabull, a St. Pete fintech startup, just landed new funding to roll out a platform helping non-bank lenders access liquidity by selling off parts of their deals. The goal? Make it easier for capital to reach small businesses by handling the structuring and servicing on behalf of institutional investors. With $50M+ in monthly deal volume lined up, they’re gearing up for launch next month out of the Ark Innovation Center.

⚡Why It Matters:
Another strong signal that Tampa Bay’s fintech scene is maturing, with homegrown founders taking what they’ve learned and building real tools to power small business growth.

🙏🏽ACQUISITIONS

Roper Technologies Acquires Subsplash, Expanding into Church Engagement Tech

Sarasota-based Roper Technologies is making moves again, this time acquiring digital church platform Subsplash for $800 million. Subsplash supports over 20,000 churches with engagement, giving, and management tools. It’s the fourth major acquisition in the last 18 months for Roper, which now boasts a software portfolio touching education, healthcare, and now faith-based markets.

⚡Why It Matters:
Roper continues to be one of the region’s most powerful tech companies and its deal streak proves Sarasota’s influence in the enterprise software space isn’t slowing down.

🧠TICKLE YOUR BRAIN

Riddle of the Week:
I see patterns in noise and answers in blur,
I learn from the past, yet I never prefer.
I live in your phone, your car, even code—
But misuse me, and chaos is owed.

What am I? 🤔
(Answer at the bottom of the newsletter)

Pause for some deep thinking…

🚀STARTUPS & ECOSYSTEM

Easy PA Wins First Founders Live Tampa Bay, Takes Aim at Medical Burnout

Easy PA, an AI platform out of St. Pete that streamlines the medical prior authorization process, won top honors at the inaugural Founders Live Tampa Bay pitch competition. Led by practicing pediatrician Paola Ballester, the startup uses predictive tools to prevent insurance denials and even auto-generates appeal letters when needed. The mission? Help doctors cut through red tape and get back to patient care.

⚡Why It Matters:
This win highlights how Tampa Bay’s healthcare startup scene is growing with founders who’ve lived the pain points, and are building real solutions to solve them.

🛡️CYBERSECURITY

Former Abacode CEO on Thrive Deal and the Role Tampa Played

When Boston-based Thrive acquired Tampa’s Abacode earlier this month, it wasn’t just about scale—it was about location. Abacode co-founder Michael Ferris shared that Thrive had been eyeing Tampa for years and saw the region as essential to expanding its footprint in cybersecurity. The deal keeps Abacode’s team local and builds on Tampa’s momentum as a growing national hub for compliance-driven cybersecurity innovation.

⚡Why It Matters:
Tampa Bay continues to show up on the radar for top-tier tech firms and investors looking for serious cyber talent and a thriving ecosystem. This isn’t just a win for Abacode—it’s a signal of what's next for the region.

😂MEME STREET

Here’s a Meme You Can Probably Relate To

📈FINTECH

Axiom Acquisition Ventures Named 2025 Fast 50 Honoree

Tampa-based Axiom Acquisition Ventures just landed on the Fast 50 list after another year of impressive growth. Founded in 2018, the company specializes in acquiring consumer debt portfolios and maximizing returns through deep data analytics. With a second Inc. 5000 nod already under its belt, Axiom credits its momentum to strong relationships with employees, investors, and clients—and it’s not slowing down. The firm is hiring, growing, and leaning into smarter acquisition strategies backed by their proprietary data engine.

⚡Why It Matters:
Tampa’s fintech scene continues to gain national attention, and firms like Axiom show how data-driven finance is powering new waves of growth across the region.

🤖ECOSYSTEM & RECOGNITION

Brookings Report Names Tampa Bay an “Emerging AI Center” with Room to Grow

A new Brookings Institution report ranks Tampa Bay among 14 U.S. “emerging centers” for artificial intelligence, citing strong traction in talent and enterprise adoption. But while our region is posting major growth in AI jobs—up 88% since 2018—it still lags in innovation infrastructure and research output. The report calls for smarter local strategies and more targeted investment to help Tampa rise from a rising star to a national AI leader.

⚡Why it matters:
Tampa Bay has the momentum to be a major AI hub, but we need more R&D firepower, deeper collaboration, and local investment to compete with coastal powerhouses like Silicon Valley. The opportunity is here—we just have to grab it.

🚗TRANSPORTATION

USF and Coast Autonomous Partner to Advance AV Research in Tampa Bay

California-based Coast Autonomous is deepening its Tampa Bay roots with a new research partnership at the University of South Florida. Coast, which already operates an R&D hub in Largo, will provide self-driving tech and algorithms while USF builds a digital twin simulation environment to test them in real-world scenarios. The partnership also aims to increase public understanding of AV deployment and accelerate innovation in logistics, transit and infrastructure.

⚡Why it matters:
This partnership positions Tampa Bay as a rising hub for autonomous vehicle innovation, blending academic research with real-world use cases—and creating more opportunities for talent, investment and smart mobility development across the region.

📢ANNOUNCEMENT

Pitch Your Health-Tech Startup in Front of Cathie Wood (Ark Invest)

Got What It Takes to Pitch in Front of a $40B Titan?

This November 13th, we're hosting a landmark event featuring Cathie Wood, legendary founder of Ark Invest and visionary leader managing over $40 billion in assets.

We're selecting 5 standout health-tech startups to pitch live on stage, in front of Cathie and a room full of investors, operators, and key decision-makers in tech and venture.

🎤 What’s at stake?
The prize is still under wraps, but the real win is who you’ll be pitching in front of.

To apply:
Reply to this email with 1 short paragraph about your startup and what you’re aiming to achieve. Think of it as your elevator pitch – concise, bold, and clear.

📅 Event Date: Wednesday, November 13
📍 Location: Ark Innovation Center

Space is limited! Don’t miss the chance to put your startup in front of one of the most influential investors in the world.

WORTHY MENTIONS: UPDATES, EVENTS, RESOURCES, ETC…

• ⚖️ Fear & Greed Index: 77 (EXTREME GREED) per CNN

• 📈 Bitcoin broke new ATH at 120k, now sitting at $118k with ETH at $3627.96 and SOL at $185.23

• 🎤 Venture Atlanta 2025 Pitch Competition deadline August 8th. Apply here

• ✨ Want a front-row seat to our biggest events and a chance to connect with Tampa Bay’s top founders, investors and innovators? Apply to join our team!

• 🚀 We’re growing our private Masterminds Slack community — and we want you in it! Connect with top entrepreneurs, founders, and techies building big things in Tampa Bay and beyond. Join now

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

RIDDLE ANSWER

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Let me break it down for you:

• "I see patterns in noise and answers in blur" → Refers to AI's ability to detect patterns and make sense of messy or incomplete data.

• "I learn from the past, yet I never prefer" → Hints at machine learning, which trains on past data but doesn't have preferences like a human.

• "I live in your phone, your car, even code" → AI is embedded in smartphones (Siri, Google Assistant), cars (autonomous vehicles), and software applications.

• "But misuse me, and chaos is owed" → Reflects the ethical concerns and risks if AI is used irresponsibly.

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