Newsletter September 11th, 2025

Happy Thursday! This is Mind Your Business, your backstage pass to Tampa Bay’s innovation theater… where startups step into the spotlight, big bets are placed, and new ideas take center stage.

This week, a Sarasota cyber startup lands a $27M blockbuster round, a Tampa tequila brand pours its sweet gold into the market, Duke Energy lays tracks for a data center boom, and USF locks in an $85M Army contract to fuel research firepower.

🛡️ $27M Series A: Sarasota Cybersecurity Startup Comes Out Swinging
🥃 Sweet Gold: Tampa Tequila Brand Brings Honey-Infused Spirits to Market
⚡ Powering the Future: Duke Energy Pitches Data Center Expansion in Florida
🎓 $85M Army Deal: USF Expands Cyber and Biotech Research Portfolio

Scroll down to learn more…

🛡️CYBERSECURITY / AI

Sarasota Cybersecurity Startup TENEX AI Lands $27M Series A

Sarasota-based TENEX.AI raised $27M in a Series A led by Crosspoint Capital with Andreessen Horowitz and Shield Capital joining in.

CEO Eric Foster says the goal is to “reinvent the service layer of cybersecurity” with agentic AI and automation at scale. The company has already topped $10M in revenue in six months and signed multiple Fortune 500 clients.

⚡Why It Matters: 

Silicon Valley capital flowing into Sarasota is a big win for Florida’s defense-tech scene. It positions TENEX to become a defining cybersecurity platform of the next decade.

🍾 CONSUMER / FOOD & BEVERAGE

Tampa Tequila Startup Dulce Oro Brings ‘Sweet Gold’ to Market

Tampa’s Dulce Oro debuted its reposado tequila this summer, aged in bourbon barrels and infused with Mexican bee honey. Bottles retail for $69–$74 in Florida and New Jersey, with online sales on the way.

Founder Jordan Anderson says the idea sparked at Bern’s Steak House in 2020 and grew into a grassroots, small-batch brand produced in Jalisco with a fourth-generation distiller.

⚡Why It Matters:
Tampa founders aren’t just building tech… they’re creating premium consumer brands with authentic roots. Dulce Oro shows how to scale one pour at a time.

🧠TICKLE YOUR BRAIN

Riddle of the Week:

I shrink a little every sunrise, though I am not a shadow.
You can raise me without building, and cut me without a knife.
When I hit zero, even rockets cannot lift.
What am I?

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

Pause for some deep thinking…

🔋INFRASTRUCTURE

Duke Energy Pushes to Attract Data Centers to Florida

Duke Energy Florida filed plans with regulators to create a new customer class for massive data centers. The framework would set rates and policies that protect residential users while attracting billion-dollar investments.

Data centers power AI, cloud computing, and digital storage, and Tampa Bay EDC says they generate strong tax revenue with minimal strain on public services.

⚡Why It Matters:
If approved, the move could unlock billions in investment and position Florida as a new data center hub. For Tampa Bay, it signals a potential economic engine that brings high-tech infrastructure and jobs closer to home.

🪖DEFENSE

USF Wins $85M Army Contract for Cybersecurity and Biotech Research

The University of South Florida secured an $85M, five-year contract with the U.S. Army to boost research in cybersecurity, biotech, quantum sciences, and more.

USF President Rhea Law says the partnership helps get “technology into the fight quickly,” while Army leaders praised it as a model for innovation.

⚡Why It Matters:
The deal cements USF as a national defense research powerhouse. More federal dollars mean top-tier talent, stronger partnerships, and a bigger spotlight on Tampa Bay innovation.

🙏🏼IN REMEMBRANCE

WORTHY MENTIONS: UPDATES, EVENTS, RESOURCES, ETC…

• ⚖️ Fear & Greed Index: 53 (NEUTRAL) per CNN

• ₿ Bitcoin Dominance at 57.4% See chart

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RIDDLE ANSWER

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