Tell us more about your role at Ideal Agent. What does a day in the life look like?

My role at Ideal Agent as a Client Concierge is to connect sellers and buyers with the best local real-estate agent in their area. I first identify their sales goals and gather what their expectations are from our program. Then I advise our client of how amazing our agents are, I go over their accomplishments, and assure them that our agents are the most efficient professionals that can sell their home with ease and at top dollar.

How did you get your career started and what challenges did you face along the way?

I started my career as a real-estate agent not too long ago. I passed my real estate exam in August of 2019 and quickly signed on with Keller Williams. I really enjoyed being part of the Keller Williams team, but I faced challenges such as not having a strong clientele base. With Ideal Agent, my only challenge is when to stop working on the clientele base. 🙂 I really enjoy helping our clients find the best agent and at a discounted commission rate. I love to hear how excited they are after speaking with our agents because its satisfying to know we are really helping sellers and buyers save money on commission while getting high quality service.

How has this region shaped your career or startup journey? 

I love downtown Tampa. There's always great networking events, amazing restaurants, and its home for me. There is always something going on downtown for us professionals who work hard and play hard! As they say in real-estate, its all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION so Embar Collective has made it easy for me to drive or walk to everywhere I need to go whether its to meet with a client, grab lunch, see a concert, or go to the library.

What tactical advice can you share from building your startup or career? 

The tactical advice I would give is always be prepared, be consistent, ask questions, double-check your work, stay focused on the bigger picture, and always believe in yourself no matter what.

Where do you see Tampa Bay next? How do you play a role in this future? 

I see Tampa Bay continuously growing and expanding with people, businesses, and of coarse with real estate. Now days there are more entrepreneurs than I have ever seen before who don't want just a 9-5, but they want to master their craft so they can teach others how to succeed. I believe everyday more people realize you need a strong team in order to build, expand, and change other peoples lives. I see this expansion every time I see a new building be built and/or a new non-profit foundation being created to help others. I play a role in this expansion because outside of Ideal Agent and real-estate, I started my own shoe line named TarraSierra Design. With that business I want to give a portion of my proceeds to Pancreatic Cancer research in hopes to save a life one day. (My website can be found at www.TarraSierraDesign.com)

Learn more about Ideal Agent on LinkedIn and Facebook.

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Where are you from?

Originally from the East Coast of Florida, but moved to Tampa to go to the University of South Florida and Never Left.

Tell us more about your role at BlockSpaces. What does a day in the life look like?

I collaborate with our stellar team to produce content and strategies that people/businesses will find both entertaining and valuable. Blockchain is so new in the publics' mind that making something fun allows someone to really zero in on what you are talking about. I specialize more on the video side/photo side of things which really allows me to be creative in trying to come up with concepts that will grab your attention, and also impart a little info.

How did you get your career started and what challenges did you face along the way?

So while I did receive a marketing degree school was never my priority growing up. I have always had an entrepreneurs spirit, and constantly looked to develop my ideas into businesses. I have worked in a number of industries including gaming, metals markets, real estate, and radio. I really feel like these industries help to mold me for the industry I currently work in which is Blockchain Technology. Always looking for what motivates people to take action, and how you can bring value to what someone else is doing. That is the part of marketing I enjoy is more of the psychological art of seeing what makes a group of people tick.

For me my Achilles heel has always been organization/detail. I am a dreamer constantly with my head in the clouds thinking of big ideas. That is actually why I think the having a well-rounded team (Like we have at Blockspaces) is vital to start up success as it allows me to work on my weaknesses while learning from others strengths. Having a too one sided core group will always lead to problems down the road.

How has this region shaped your career or startup journey?

The Tampa Bay Region has shaped my career due to its diversity and growth. The diversity of business/startups in the area moves me towards constantly being a student of the game as something exciting and new is popping every week. The exponential growth of the ecosystem motivates me to push the boundaries of even what I thought was possible for our company.

What tactical advice can you share from building your startup or career?

Plain and simple for me complacency is death. Sticking to the norm crushes businesses as it stifles innovation. Always look for an edge, or a way of doing something new. Think about what could flip your industry on its head. Don't be afraid to cause disruption. Be afraid for people not to know your name, True breakthroughs in industry come from the edge so evolve or go extinct.

Where do you see Tampa Bay next? How do you play a role in this future?

The sky is the limit for Tampa Bay as long as we continue to push the envelope. My role will be to elevate Blockspaces to become a major player within blockchain technology by adding values to others lives / businesses through one of the biggest innovations since the invention of the internet.

Learn more about BlockSpaces on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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Last week, Virgin Pulse announced its acquisition of Chicago-based healthcare startup, Yaro. Yaro transforms healthcare by putting consumers at the center of their health and financial decisions.

Startup acquisitions are exciting no matter where they happen - it's a signal that the team has built a solution of tremendous value. In the case of Yaro, it only took 18 months for them to get from idea to exit, which demonstrates the strength of the team, the business and the execution.

Here at Embarc Collective, we're especially excited about this news as we are lucky to have Yaro CTO Vijay Singh amongst our membership. Vijay and his family recently relocated to Tampa from Chicago.

Congrats to Vijay and the whole Yaro team! Our community is ready to champion your growth as you take this next step for your company, and we're eager to learn from your incredible journey.

Learn more about Yaro: https://goyaro.com

Learn more about Vijay Singh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijaypsingh1/

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Where are you from?

I grew up in Clearwater/St. Petersburg, went to school in Gainesville and came back to the Tampa Bay Area to work with Grifin.

Tell us more about your role at Grifin. What does a day in the life look like?

As a full-stack developer at Grifin I am responsible for building our product’s app, API, databases, and administrative client. I also work to establish and maintain workflow methods for the development process, and coordinate our out-of-office developers. Most of my day is spent writing code, while a good chunk of it is dedicated to managing our workflow boards, and the deployment of new features and changes.

How did you get your career started and what challenges did you face along the way?

My first experience with full-stack development came from attending Hackathons across Florida, where teams of 3 to 6 would develop and pitch a product over the course of 48 to 72 hours, often without stopping to sleep. These events sharpened my development skills as I quickly had to get familiar with every part of the stack from the web server to the app design, and I got to play around with new and interesting technologies to integrate into our products like IBM Watson.

Attracted to the fast-paced and tortuous world of startups, I dove in by showing Gainesville startup leaders how to involve themselves in the technical side of their product by teaching practical web development from the ground up, leaving them more prepared to hire, manage and communicate with developers. I went on to join the development agency side of Collective & Co, a local accelerator that provided mentorship, business services, and talent to local startups and businesses. While there I was responsible for taking the lead on multiple fledgling products that entered the accelerator by consulting them on technologies to use, building a Minimum Viable Product and helping them build a team of their own to take the product to the market. I dealt with many of the challenges of having a minimal team working on multiple products. Often times it was difficult to collaborate and establish an efficient workflow with the pace and development workload of nascent startups, that often pivoted their concept, and were eager to reach the market. Once I joined on with Grifin I was eager to focus on a singular product at Embarc Collective, and use my experience and the knowledgebase of the Embarc Collective team to build Grifin effectively.

How has this region shaped your career or startup journey?

Growing up in the Tampa Bay area has given me a significant leg up on my education and career. Early on I was able to get my Associates degree at 18 from St. Petersburg College through the St. Petersburg Collegiate High School which gave me more time to identify and work towards my goals for a career. Since my return to the area, Embarc Collective has been an excellent environment for Grifin to take shape and achieve our goals.

What tactical advice can you share from building your startup or career?

Remain present in everything you do, hone your skills deliberately, build your connections sincerely, and know your value and ability. Things will not always go to plan, but knowing yourself, your skills, and your connections will allow you to plan more precisely and adapt to new environments.

Where do you see Tampa Bay next? How do you play a role in this future?

I am thrilled to be back in the Tampa Bay area, and to be focusing my efforts on the Grifin product. We hope to build Grifin to be the financial revolution that we aspire it to be right here with the help of Embarc Collective’s resources and guidance. Hopefully some of the code I am writing now will still be around when we make it to the top floors of downtown Tampa, but I’m up for any challenge to get there.

Learn more about Grifin on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

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What were you doing previously and what inspired you to launch your company?

Kristen (my co-founder and better half) is a clinical pharmacist, and she and I have spent our entire careers in the business of healthcare technology and pharmacy.  We founded RxLive because we knew today’s pharmacy models underserve patients and pharmacists alike. Patients aren’t getting the time and attention they need to help manage their complex medication regimens and for many pharmacists, the meaningful patient interaction that fuels their passion has been lost.  We built a technology platform and a service model that pairs pharmacists in their spare/down time with patients who need their help.  Coupled with a ground-breaking new business model and regulatory strategy, we are completely reframing the role of the pharmacist in traditional primary care practices.

What pain point is your company solving? What gets you excited to go to work every day?

RxLive isn't for the traditional Embarc member audience—rather it's for people who take lots of medications, with complicated health problems.  Drugs now account for 20%+ of all healthcare expenses, and over $300B in healthcare expenditures are wasted each year due to medication mismanagement.  This cost is ultimately borne by the government, employers and patients themselves.  Medication mismanagement also leads to poor clinical outcomes, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits.  Helping employers and physicians solve these challenges coupled with the 1-on-1 connections we make with patients is incredibly fulfilling - as is the ability to build a business with my supremely talented and amazing spouse.

Name the biggest challenge you faced in the process of launching the company. How did you overcome it?

We face the same challenges with the 3 c's like everyone else (capital, customer acquisition, and capacity).  However, the biggest challenge is also the most exciting for us in that we are building a brand-new business model in addition to a technology and service.  Educating every member of the value chain from patients to providers to insurance carriers on how our model benefits them to create a new category is tireless but rewarding work.

Where do you see your company headed next?

Our vision is to integrate clinical pharmacists into everyplace in the healthcare system where they can create value.  Naturally we are exploring many different ways of doing that outside our physician practice core.  However, what I most want people to know about us is our ability to change patient behavior.  The next generation in pharmacy is not only the "clinical algorithm" of the right drug for the patient but more importantly the ability to successfully change patient and physician behavior.  We think leveraging our "human cloud" of amazingly talented pharmacists—complemented, not substituted—by our emerging data science work is the key.

Give us a tactical piece of advice that you’d share with another founder just starting out.

Building a business is a team and family sport.  Whether you are jumping in with your spouse like I am (or not) you and your partner/family need to have a solid, pragmatic, multi-year financial plan in place to fund the "dream" that you are all on board with.  Don't go too early.  Sometimes consulting or working in a domain is the perfect way to learn a space - see if your problem really needs solving and build up a war chest to fund the battle that will invariably take much longer than you expect.  Stay grounded and don't neglect the most important people in your life.  At the end of the day, your partner and your family will be there for you no matter the outcome...where others may not.

Learn more about RxLive on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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