Happy Thursday! This is Mind Your Business.

Holy moly, the markets are having a rough day!

By midmorning, the S&P 500 was down more than 3%, and NBC News reported the drop had erased nearly $2.5 trillion in wealth from the index. AI and chip stocks led the slide. The Nasdaq Composite touched correction territory. Treat those as a midday snapshot. Numbers will keep moving into the close.

This could be an opportunity to snatch up great assets at a discount.

Now, onto what's happening around Tampa Bay…

A lot of this week's local news still comes down to who gets to make the next big decision.

Moffitt-led FORGE got a major federal funding announcement for a cancer-drug hub. Cathie Wood, Tim Draper and Austin-based Capital Factory are building a new connection to St. Pete founders. A Clearwater manufacturer found a new owner, a Palm Harbor PGA resort agreed to a sale, and a Tampa software company gained an investor. St. Pete's incoming mayor may also revisit the 86-acre Tropicana Field site.

🔔 WHAT JUST MOVED
Recent news from the last week shaping Tampa Bay right now.

Here's what's on the board:

🧬 $47.3M could put Pasco on the cancer-drug map.
🚀 St. Pete startups catch Cathie Wood and Tim Draper’s attention.
🏭 Clearwater’s 95-person textile plant changes hands.
⛳ Who’s behind a $19.8M PGA resort deal?
🏢 Tampa proptech attracts a new Boston investor.
🏟️ St. Pete’s election puts 86 downtown acres back in play.
💰 Tampa VC commits $100K for qualifying accelerator startups.

Big numbers, unexpected moves and a few developments worth watching.
Scroll down for the details…

🧬LIFE SCIENCES / MANUFACTURING

A Moffitt Cancer Center-led coalition called FORGE announced a $47.3 million U.S. Economic Development Administration award on October 29 to build a radiopharmaceutical hub around Moffitt's 775-acre Speros campus in Pasco County. The EDA has described the funding as an intent to award, so the final award process still matters.

With matching funds from partners, the portfolio now totals about $88.2 million. The work splits into five projects: a 130,000-square-foot Integrated Theranostics Center ($16.9M), a 120,000-square-foot Catalyst Convergence Center for growing companies ($15M), a 14,000-square-foot wet-lab incubator run by Embarc Collective ($4.3M), USF nuclear-pharmacy training ($6M), and Pasco-Hernando State College imaging credentials ($5M).

The coalition projects about 4,000 jobs across Tampa Bay at full operation, including 1,100 direct jobs at Speros. Embarc's incubator plans to support up to 20 early-stage companies.

The Discovery and Innovation Center already opened October 22; the incubator space inside it is expected to open in early 2028.

⚡Why It Matters: The U.S. still relies on overseas sources for some medical isotopes. FORGE aims to bring manufacturing, wet labs, startups and specialized training closer together. The real test is whether those pieces turn into companies, skilled jobs and treatments.

🚀VENTURE CAPITAL / STARTUPS

Austin-based Capital Factory announced a partnership with Cathie Wood's ARK Invest and venture investor Tim Draper on October 29. ARK and Draper are joining Capital Factory's All Access 2027 initiative as investors and strategic partners. The groups plan to share startup leads and investment research.

The Tampa Bay connection is concrete: a member of Capital Factory's venture team will be based at the 45,000-square-foot ARK Innovation Center in St. Pete, scouting startups across Florida. Companies in ARK's spARK Labs program will also have a connection to Capital Factory's Austin network.

The partnership targets robotics, autonomy, space, energy, biotech and advanced manufacturing, including technologies with commercial and defense uses. Capital Factory says its All Access network includes more than 1,000 venture funds and angel investors. It has not announced a specific amount earmarked for Tampa Bay startups.

⚡Why It Matters: Tampa Bay founders spend plenty of time trying to reach investors outside Florida. Now a national venture network plans to scout them here. The real measure will be introductions that turn into customers, partnerships and investment, not simply another name on a building.

🏭MANUFACTURING / M&A

Tampa Bay investment group PCP Ventures acquired Clearwater textile brand Pellon through a bankruptcy process, with the deal closing October 1 and announced November 3.

Pellon employs about 95 people at a 220,000-square-foot Clearwater plant and makes interfacing, quilt batting, fiberfill, and craft foams sold at Walmart, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and through distributors reaching more than 5,000 stores worldwide. Purchase price and revenue were not disclosed.

PCP Ventures, led by Adam Schoenbaum and Ron Ciganek, says it represents family offices with combined assets of just under $1 billion and plans capital upgrades to machinery, systems, and the workforce. Existing customer and supplier relationships stay in place.

⚡Why It Matters: The new owners say they want to invest in the Clearwater plant, its equipment and its workforce. That's encouraging for a longtime local manufacturer, but the investment and job outcomes still need to play out.

⛳HOSPITALITY / REAL ESTATE

This one’s for all you golfers out there. Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor agreed to sell to affiliates of Lake Mary-based Concert Golf Partners for $19.8 million in cash plus assumed liabilities, per a November 3 SEC filing.

The deal covers the four golf courses, hospitality operations, and related assets. Salamander Collection, which bought the roughly 600-acre resort for $35 million in 2007, keeps about 34 acres for future development.

Innisbrook employed 474 people at year-end 2025 and reported $46.5 million in 2025 revenue. Its Copperhead Course hosts the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship, extended through 2030, with 2027 rounds shifting to May 6-9.

⚡Why It Matters: A national club operator could take over one of Tampa Bay's most recognizable resorts, while Salamander keeps land for future development. The deal has not closed. The buyer says operations and staffing will continue without immediate changes, and the Valspar agreement runs through 2030.

😂MEME STREET

🏢PROPTECH / PRIVATE EQUITY

Tampa-based ID Plans announced a strategic investment from Boston's Polaris Growth Fund on October 29.

Terms were not disclosed. Founder and CEO Jeff Landry and the existing leadership team stay in place, and the company keeps its name. ID Plans, founded in 1999, builds property intelligence for commercial real estate using field staff, 3D cameras, and aerial drones across retail, office, industrial, manufacturing, and government buildings. Software Equity Group advised ID Plans.

⚡Why It Matters: A Tampa software company founded in 1999 has a new backer without changing its leadership. The real test is whether the investment helps ID Plans reach more customers and improve its products.

🧠TICKLE YOUR BRAIN

A sale can transfer me.

A funding round can divide me.

Founders protect me, and investors ask how much of me they get.

I help decide who has a say in what happens next.

What am I?

(Answer at the bottom. No peeking.)

🤖FEATURED EVENT / AI

What will your business look like 12 months from now?

Some of the workflows we rely on today might not even make sense a year from now. The question is who's preparing for that shift and who's going to be caught off guard.

On November 19, we'll be hosting a conversation with leaders from Microsoft, Google, SOFWERX, RebelEdge Advisory and Byte Strategy AI about what's actually working, what's overhyped, and where the biggest opportunities are emerging.

But this isn't just about who's on stage. We're bringing together some of Tampa Bay's most ambitious founders, investors, executives and builders for an evening of conversations and connections worth making.

Real insights, valuable connections, and ideas you can put to work. Plus fun networking, food and drinks.

Best of all, net proceeds support pediatric cancer research through Save The Kids.

Limited to 150 people, on purpose.

📅 November 19 | 5-8 PM
📍 SOFWERX, 1925 E 2nd Ave, Tampa

Get your Techapalooza ticket (Early Bird pricing ends soon!)

🏟️DEVELOPMENT / POLICY

Former Gov. Charlie Crist defeated Mayor Ken Welch with about 62% of the vote on November 3 and takes office in January.

The business stake is the 86-acre Tropicana Field / Historic Gas Plant District site. Welch had selected the Burg Bid team for mixed-use redevelopment after the Rays' Tampa stadium path advanced. Crist said during the campaign that he wants more information before moving forward and could send the project back out to bid, the same move he watched Welch make early in the last term. He also argued St. Pete should keep pursuing the Rays until Tampa construction actually starts.

⚡Why It Matters: The 86-acre site could shape downtown St. Pete for decades. A new mayor may reconsider the current plan, but no new development decision has been made.

⚡QUICK HITS

🔒 WordPress Sites Need a Security Check
CISA added a WordPress Core flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 3. The bug, CVE-2026-119977, can let an attacker run code during a full upgrade. WordPress shipped fixes on October 28, including version 7.1.4. Confirm your site is patched, updates finished cleanly, and logs were reviewed if it was exposed.

💰 Florida Funders Commits $100K to Qualifying Accelerator Companies
Tampa-based Florida Funders committed $100,000 through Florida First Check for qualifying companies in the Florida Council of 100's Ambition Accelerated program. The November 2 announcement connects early-stage capital with introductions to corporate executives and potential customers. It is a program commitment, not $100,000 guaranteed to every participant.

✈️ Pinellas Moves Ahead on a Rescoped $145M Airport Terminal
Commissioners approved design and preconstruction contracts November 4 for St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. The revised plan calls for about 40,000 square feet of added terminal space and four jet bridges, down from an earlier design estimated above $220 million. A final construction price still needs approval.

🍗 World Series Crowds Fed St. Pete's EDGE District
Three Tropicana Field games drew 121,391 fans. Ferg's moved 42,000 wings and 3,500 cases of beer and seltzer, and Grand Central Brewhouse said sales jumped 85% versus the same three-day stretch last year.

🏥 Tampa General Names a New CFO
Lijah Lokenauth becomes executive vice president and CFO on January 4, 2027, succeeding Mark Runyon as the health system keeps expanding its network across Florida.

⚖️ Former mIQroTech CEO Pleads Guilty in Investor Fraud Case
A Tampa federal judge accepted Meade Lewis's guilty plea on one count of wire fraud tied to raising about $7.91 million from 12 investors. Sentencing is set for January 13, with up to 20 years and $7.9 million in forfeiture on the table.

🥩 Bloomin' Brands Bids $26.3M for a Bankrupt Outback Franchisee
Tampa-based Bloomin' Brands agreed to buy substantially all assets of Out West Restaurant Group, a 61-restaurant western Outback franchisee in Chapter 11, and to provide up to $5.5 million in DIP financing pending court approval.

🏢 Michael Saunders Expands Commercial Reach into Tampa Bay
Florida ROI Commercial's team and portfolio moved into MSC Commercial on November 2, extending the Sarasota brokerage's commercial division across Tampa Bay.

🎯OPERATOR'S TAKE

A lot of this week's headlines involve someone new getting a say in what happens next.

Pellon has a new owner. Innisbrook has a buyer lined up. ID Plans brought in an investor, and Capital Factory is adding a venture scout in St. Pete. The city's next mayor may also take another look at the Trop site.

The announcements are easy to understand. The harder part is what happens after them. Who makes the decisions? What changes for employees and customers? Which plans actually get funded?

Ownership is the easy part of the press release. Integration is the part that hits your P&L.

It made me think about something most of us probably don't check often enough: if your biggest customer, landlord or vendor changed hands tomorrow, would you know who to call and what your contract still protects?

That's worth figuring out before it happens.

Want to trade notes with other founders and operators? Come find me at Techapalooza on November 19th.

All the best,
Jon Tavarez

WORTHY MENTIONS

Market Signals
⚖️ Fear & Greed: 21 (EXTREME FEAR) | CNN Business
₿ Bitcoin: about $76.5K (about -5.48%) | CoinGecko
🛢️ WTI crude: $89.98/bbl (-9.94%) | CME

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RIDDLE ANSWER

Answer: Ownership.

Simple explanation: Ownership determines who has a stake and a say in a business or asset. This week PCP acquired Pellon, Concert Golf agreed to buy Innisbrook, and Polaris invested in ID Plans. The deals differ, but each raises questions about what the people in charge will do next.

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