Reliving the Magic of the Bus: Everything You Need to Know About Rise of the Rest’s Stop in Tampa Bay

On May 1st, AOL co-founder Steve Case brought a national delegation of entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders to Tampa Bay for the Rise of the Rest (ROTR) Tour. Now on his eighth tour, Rise of the Rest has become a key indicator that a community is on the rise, and on May 1st, the spotlight shined on our region. If you missed any of the day’s events or just want to relive it again, see below:

ROTR8TB Highlights:

• We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Room: We were the fastest region to reach venue capacity for the public fireside chat and pitch competition. The ROTR team realized we’d need a bigger space for the engaged Tampa Bay audience after all of the tickets were claimed in just two days. Luckily, Connectwise stepped in and offered space so that 2x the crowd could participate (600+ people).

• $100K for IMMERTEC: After hearing compelling pitches from 8 Tampa Bay-based startups, the Rise of the Rest team awarded the $100K investment to IMMERTEC, a real-time 3D VR communications platform that allows professionals to seamlessly train, consult, and observe any time, anywhere.

• We Trended: Both the #ROTR8 and #ROTR8TB hashtags were trending in Florida thanks to the community doing its part to share our region’s startup story.

The Path Forward

• Let’s Do 20 in 10: During the fireside chat, Jeff Vinik noted, “We can’t accomplish twenty years of progress overnight, but we can do our best to make twenty years of progress in ten years.” We can’t see May 1st as an endpoint, but as time to reflect on the progress to date and the work ahead. Let’s continue to be ambitious and focused on realizing our region’s potential and how that can positively drive the startup community.