Monthly Archives: March 2020

03.26.2020

Guide to Internships at Embarc Collective

Internships can provide hands-on learning opportunities to not only currently enrolled students and recent graduates with relevant experience/skills, but skilled professionals already in the workforce who are looking to be a part of a startup.

Working at a startup as an intern provides many benefits including learning about what it takes to build a startup, developing new skills, wearing different hats, taking on responsibility and ultimately growing skills that can keep you ahead in the market.

Those who thrive in startup internships are curious self-starters that are detailed-oriented, punctual and have a good attitude towards getting the job done. Here are some tips to help you maximize your internship experience:

 

Punctuality matters

Every startup looks different, but making sure to arrive early to work or check-in early online is a strong first step to show the team you’re ready to work.

 

Get the job done

Early-stage startups need to move fast to push the needle. In your internship role, make sure to get your daily tasks done to help add value to the team. This also may be staying late to finish the task as well.

 

Be present

As tempting as it may be to stay connected with your friends and families while at work, your startup will appreciate you being present and ready to engage in solving business challenges. Save your social media check ins for after work.

 

Ask questions

You’re taking on new roles and responsibilities so be sure to ask questions to ensure you’re clear about your tasks and how this ladders up to business goals and operations. Asking questions will help you learn about the company as a whole so you can start to understand how your role/project fits into the broader vision.

 

Dress appropriately

Startup culture varies from company to company, understand the dress code and stick to it.

 

Learn everyone’s name

While this seems obvious, it is important to know the name of everyone on the team. As the intern, you have to make an effort to connect with the people on your team and learning their first name is the start.

 

Document the journal

Be sure to take notes on what you learned. After each day, use your journal to reflect on what you learned, what you accomplished, and what do you plan to accomplish tomorrow. A quick reflection will help you take in this experience and give you a record of what you’ve learned.

 

Open Internship Positions

COI Energy 

 

Grifin 

 

Little Global Citizens

 

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03.26.2020

Growth Story: Jake Stodgel of DigitalCrafts

Welcome to our Growth Story series, where you’ll meet startup team members—either natives, boomerangs or transplants—in Tampa-St. Petersburg who are building and scaling their ventures to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges. We interviewed Jake Stodgel, Operations Manager of DigitalCrafts, a top-rated coding bootcamp, with campuses in Tampa, Atlanta and Houston, delivering training, up-skilling and job placement services.

 

Where are you from?

I'm originally from Pekin, Illinois

 

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

I was consulting for organizations focusing on organizational change methods, technology projects and policy writing before launching the DigitalCrafts location in Tampa.

 

What pain point is your company solving? 

DigitalCrafts is working on receiving a State of Florida continuing education certification which has been postponed due to COVID-19. Another issue was taking all of our programs from in-person to online and making sure everyone receives the same service they had when they were learning in-person.

 

What gets you excited to go to work every day?

What excites me about coming to work everyday is that we are always faced with new challenges and opportunities. We also have a bold mission of impacting the lives of 10,000 builders. This excites me that we get to help people re-skill and/or help individuals find a career that may better their lives.

 

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

One challenge and responsibility that we have is to help break the social barriers in the tech related field. We currently offer scholarships to all persons who identify as female and work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to and give full-ride scholarships to veterans looking to re-skill and find a new job.

 

Where do you see your company headed next?

We will continue to grow in building new campuses across the country. We would like to provide more services such as hiring out skilled developers to organizations needing short or long term assistance on projects.

 

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

Everyone has a story worth listening to. Never miss out on an opportunity to find out someone’s story because one day, you might be a part of it.

 

Learn more about Synapse on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

 

 

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03.19.2020

A Directory of COVID-19 Resources for Startup Operators

In an effort to keep entrepreneurs informed, well and productive, we've developed an open source database to compile resources available to support entrepreneurs and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This list includes professional and personal resources to help startup operators and their families stay healthy and effective during this time. We welcome you to share the list with peers and add any relevant or helpful resources to the database here.

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03.05.2020

Growth Story: Monica Angel of Synapse

Welcome to our Growth Story series, where you’ll meet startup team members—either natives, boomerangs or transplants—in Tampa-St. Petersburg who are building and scaling their ventures to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges. We interviewed Monica Angel, Program and Challenge Director at Synapse, a platform to connect and organize Florida's innovation community.

 

Where are you from?

I was born and raised right here in Tampa!

 

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

Like so many growing businesses, our days can vary quite drastically from one to the next.  Leading up to the Summit, the days were quite long as our entire team worked tirelessly to ensure that the Summit was a meaningful celebration of the spirit of innovation in Florida.  It was my great pleasure to work with over 300 speakers on all of our breakout stages.  Now that the Summit has wrapped, my focus is on the Synapse Challenges which offer a great opportunity for newer entrepreneurs and startups to pitch their ideas and get “a foot in the door” where they may not have been able to do so otherwise.  Synapse empowers and provides the foundation for Florida’s innovators to accomplish their goals by building meaningful connections and sharing ideas.   My job is really to help build and nurture those connections so that our community continues to benefit from partnering with Synapse as much as possible.

 

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

I met Brian and the Synapse team while putting on a health tech conference to fund childhood cancer research in 2019.  Back in 2016, my career trajectory changed significantly when my youngest daughter died from brain cancer at only 5 months old.  At that time, I started Cure Kids’ Cancer NOW! Foundation dedicated to funding innovative research designed specifically to treat children with cancer.  Of course, we have encountered many of the same obstacles as other startups- namely seeking funding.  Thankfully, we have also encountered many of the same joys and victories that come with the camaraderie of a community rallying around and helping to propel our mission.

Synapse’s mission to be the guide for Florida’s innovation community to easily find what need and share what they have to accelerate success and create thriving economies speaks to me.  Joining Synapse this year has been such a joy as I get to work day-to-day on making my community better and stronger.

Our largest challenge from my view is that often people think that all we do is the Summit when in truth, the Summit is just one of the great things we do to connect our community.

 

How has this region shaped your career or startup journey?

This region has shaped everything about me.  I am a first-generation Cuban-Sicilian-Tampanian.  This town is in my bones.  Tampa Bay is certainly growing and changing but as a community, we have maintained our kind hearts, jovial nature, and unified village.  We are interconnected and invested in each other’s success.  While we may be tempted to take this for granted, we must recognize that not all areas benefit from the relationships we have here in Tampa Bay.

 

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

If you are going to fail, do so quickly.  It is maddening to watch someone push an idea that does not work.  We have all been there and in hindsight can often see how much time we have wasted.  Good ideas can come if we move the old ideas out of the way.  So fail, it’s ok.  Just do so quickly so you can learn (maybe have a laugh about it) and move on.

 

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

So often I hear people say that they want Tampa to be “the next Silicon Valley” or the next New York or Tel Aviv.  I cringe every time; I do not want that.  We are Tampa Bay!  We do not need to try to be anyone or anything else.  We are a strongly bonded community full of character and charm.  My role is to ensure that those who are already here and those who come to Tampa Bay feel welcome in our community and with our help can find what they need and share what they have; after all Innovation Lives Here!

 

Learn more about Synapse on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

 

 

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03.02.2020

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2020 in Tampa Bay

 

In February, JPMorgan Chase has announced a new, two-year investment in Tampa Bay Wave's and Embarc Collective's joint development of a new program designed to accelerate the growth of women-owned technology startups in the Tampa Bay area.

This new program will launch in the fall of 2020 and support women tech founders looking to scale their business. Members will participate in a 90-day accelerator program led by Tampa Bay Wave that will provide business development training and intensive mentorship from leaders in the startup industry. They will work with Embarc Collective coaches to identify and measure key business milestones, while also gaining access to both organizations’ large network of investors.

For those of us in the startup space, Fall 2020 seems like a lifetime away, so with International Women's Day coming up on March 8th, we wanted to share some great community programming created to support women in business during this week.

  • Self Made Sisterhood (formerly Startup Sisters) International Women's Day Breakfast + Power Panel

Looking forward to spending these days reflecting, discussing and celebrating how to continue to support women entrepreneurs in Tampa Bay.

#EachforEqual

#IWD2020

Tampa Bay Wave + Embarc Collective

 

Keep up with the latest in Tampa Bay startup news, local talent interviews and founder resources.
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