Thank you to all of the startups, sponsors, mentors, judges, and everyone who joined us in Tampa and virtually!
CONGRATS TO OUR STARTUP OF THE YEAR WINNERS
2021 Startup of the Year Winner
SCOUT, Inc | Alexandria, VA
SCOUT is developing orbital products and services to enable a new era of space safety, transparency, and improved Space Domain Awareness.
Breakout Success Award
GENESIS SYSTEMS | Tampa, FL
New Award created this year for a company that outgrew the requirements of the competition; Genesis Systems is an industrial tech research and design company that generates water directly from the air.
Top 5 Finalists
HEROSHE | Houston, TX
Home Lending Pal | Orlando, FL
Relavo | Baltimore, MD
SCOUT | Alexandria, VA
Target Arm | Ridgefield, CT
People's Choice Award
Cope Notes | Tampa, FL
Presented by ReliaQuest, the 2021 People's Choice Award was selected by internet voting. The overall winner was Cope Notes, which uses daily text messages that combine peer support, positive psychology, and digital journaling to improve mental and emotional health.
TOP 15
Top 5 +
Cope Notes | Tampa, FL
getWise | Framingham, MA
Humantelligence | Miami Beach, FL
interviewAI | Denver, CO
KarbonPay | Richardson, TX
MARVL | Tampa, FL
Neural Lab | El Dorado Hills, CA
Shamrck | St. Petersburg, FL
Spontivly | Tampa, FL
The Beans | San Francisco, CA
Startup of the Year Summit brings the best startups together with investors, mentors, corporate connectors, and other experts to help rising founders build their networks and learn from some of the best and brightest out there, all with a goal of helping them to build their business.
Match-made meetings, speakers, the competition, connections over shared meals - all designed to maximize opportunities for each attendee.
Our team began working with startups around the country in 2006. In 2013, we formalized the Startup of the Year community and awards with an annual Summit to create a national stage for the most amazing rising, early stage companies from coast to coast. Our judges and mentors have included investors and leaders from top firms and companies across the country.
Watch the Startup of the Year Finals event.
Watch the Speaker Sessions.
Through the years, we've worked with thousands of startups, many of whom are now household names, others are still on their entrepreneurial journey.
Are you a startup looking to participate in future Startup of the Year events? Join our community.
VOTING HAS ENDED for the People's Choice Award, sponsored by ReliaQuest!
Embarc Collective is Florida's fastest growing startup hub helping founders build bold, scalable, thriving companies. Embarc Collective works with a growing roster of over 100 early-stage startups at its 32,000 square-foot facility in downtown Tampa. Member companies receive customized, ongoing coaching and support from startup veterans to help propel their growth. For more information, please visit www.embarccollective.com
Las Vegas, San Jose, San Francisco, Boston, Memphis... next up, Tampa! Why?
The Tampa Bay Region is having a moment - for real. The Region's fast-growing startup ecosystem has put them on the national map. Forbes magazine recently named Tampa the country's top emerging tech city, while TechCrunch and Axios highlighted the region for its burgeoning blockchain startup community. Awesome tech, sunny skies, and warm breezes in January? Yes, Please.
A Lifestyle Upgrade: Florida's amazing weather + emerging arts & culture. And don't forget our 2020 + 2021 NHL Stanley Cup, 2020 Tampa Bay Rays World Series Finalist, and NFL Superbowl LV Champions. #ChampaBay
Where Everybody Knows Your Name: With accessible community & business leaders, you can have a seat at the table even as a newcomer.
Make Your Mark: As a region growing before your eyes, you have the opportunity to put your fingerprints all over it.
Get to Know the Local Community:
Watch the speaker sessions from the Summit!
Mayor Jane Castor
Mayor
City of Tampa
Derrick Brooks
EVP, Corporate & Community Development
Vinik Sports Group
Erica Duignan Minnihan
Co-Founder & General Partner
Reign Ventures
McKeever (Mac) Conwell, II
Founder & Managing Partner
RareBreed Ventures
Mert Iseri
Entrepreneur in Residence
MATH Venture Partners
Paul Sohl
CEO
Florida High Tech Corridor
Kimberly Overman
Chair
Board of County Commissioners
Lauren Coffey
Tech Reporter
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Destin Wells
SVP, Business Development
Enterprise Florida, Inc.
Lauren Prager
Chief Strategy Officer
Synapse
Mendy Yang
Investor
Lerer Hippeau
Jason Putorti
Executive Director
Resistbot Action Fund
Jacqueline Amable
Managing Director, Venture For ClimateTech
Nextcorps
Larry Berlin
Mentor
University of Chicago
Ronnie Martinez
VC Associate
CEAS Investments
Marco Liuzzo
CEO
MGI INTERNATIONAL LLC
Ally Schneider
Venture Partnerships Lead
Vouch
Sherman Williams
Managing Partner
AIN Ventures
Kim Seals
General Partner
The JumpFund
Rafiq Ahmed
Managing Partner
Dipalo Ventures
Allyson Plosko
Principal
SpringTime Ventures
Rich Maloy
VP of Engagement
Established
Cat Hernandez
Partner
The Venture Collective
Derren Burrell, CDFM, AIF
President & Founder
Veteran Ventures Capital
Eric Pilcher
Partner
Cherry Bekaert LLP
Mauricio Tashima
Venture Capital Investor
Paris Ventures
Marko Velazquez
Partner
Palladius Capital Management
Scott Lopano
Principal
Tech Square Ventures
Agenda
January 26, 2022
8:15 am - 8:30am ET - Welcome with Frank Gruber (Established) & Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)
After a long layoff due to the pandemic, Frank and Lakshmi kick off the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit and then welcome ReliaQuest CEO, Brian Murphy, to the stage.
8:30 am - 8:45am ET - Brian Murphy (ReliaQuest) with Jen Consalvo (Established)
ReliaQuest CEO, Brian Murphy, will share his startup story from bootstrapped to a unicorn with Established Co-CEO, Jen Consalvo.
8:45 am - 9:00 am ET - BREAK
9:00 am - 9:15 am ET - Product Mindset with Andrew Nguyen (BARK) & Matt Hunckler (Powderkeg)
Get into the mind of a product development lead as Andrew Nguyen of BARK discusses building products with Matt Hunckler of Powderkeg.
9:15 am - 9:30 am ET - Founder Conversation: Courtney & Tye Caldwell (ShearShare) with Frank Gruber (Established)
It's been six years since Courtney and Tye Caldwell, Co-Founders of ShearShare, became the 2016 Startup of the Year. Frank Gruber, Co-CEO of Established, will catch up with them on their latest round of funding and recent move to the northeast.
9:30 am - 9:45 am ET - Smart Cities & Making Your Metro Better - Kartik Goyani (Metro Development Group) with Lauren Prager (Synapse)
9:45 am - 10:00 am ET - Formation to Fundraising: Legal Traps for the Unwary - Nick Outman (Hill Ward Henderson) with Lauren Coffey (Tampa Bay Inno / Tampa Bay Business Journal)
Understanding the legal aspects of business are critical to you business success. In this session, Nick Outman of Hill Ward Henderson will share insights and tips with Lauren Coffey of Tampa Bay Inno / Tampa Bay Business Journal.
10:00 am - 10:15 am ET - Amy Beckley (mfb Fertility / Proov) with Frank Gruber (Established)
About 1 out of 8 Americans struggle to get pregnant, Amy Beckley, the CEO of MFB Fertility - the makers of PROOV- catches up with Frank Gruber of Established about what PROOV is doing to help.
10:15 am - 10:30 am ET - BREAK
10:30 am - 11:00 am ET - Funding Q&A - Julia Taxin (Grotech), Sherman Williams (AIN Ventures / Scout Ventures), Heather Buffo (Republic) with Saxon Baum (Florida Funders)
Cash is fuel for startups. In this panel, open Q&A discussion, angel and venture capital investors will help with all those burning fund questions.
11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET - LUNCH Sponsored by UBS
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm ET - Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay Lightning) with Frank Gruber (Established)
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm ET - Jesse Middleton (The Community Fund / Flybridge) with Matt Hunckler (Powderkeg)
1:00 pm - 1:30 pm ET - BREAK
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm ET - Startup Lessons From Rami Essaid (Finmark) with Jen Consalvo (Established)
Rami Essaid has started multiple successful startups. His last business could have been a unicorn exit, but was deeply impacted by some errors in his cash flow projections. With his latest startup, Finmark, Rami helps other founders ensure that these errors won't happen to them, too. He'll catch up with Jen Consalvo, Established, to talk about his progress and journey since finishing as one of the Top 5 in the 2020 Startup of the Year program.
1:45 pm - 2:00 pm ET - Mert Iseri (MATH Venture Partners) & Author of Exit Right, with Rich Maloy (Established & SpringTime Ventures)
Starting up is great, but so is exiting successfully. Mert Iseri of MATH Venture Partners shares insights on the best way to exit taken from his new book, Exit Right.
2:00 pm - 2:15 pm ET - BREAK
2:15 pm - 2:30 pm ET - Erica Duignan (Reign VC) with Matt Hunckler (Powderkeg)
2:30 pm - 2:45 pm ET - Startup Lessons from Accelerating Startups Travis Holoway & Rodney Williams (SoLoFunds) with Lesa Mitchell (Techstars)
It's been one year since SoLoFunds was named Startup of the Year. Founders Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams share their latest news and lessons learned from their rising startup journey with Lesa Mitchell of Techstars.
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm ET - Jenny Fielding (The Fund) with Frank Gruber (Established)
Jenny Fielding led Techstars NYC for years until recently when she left to take on The Fund full-time. Frank Gruber of Established catches up about her decision to go all-in on venture capital, what she likes to invest in, and more.
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET - BREAK
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm ET - Building A Culture with Jenn Lim (Delivering Happiness and Author of Beyond Happiness) with Jen Consalvo (Established)
Culture is an important part of every business. Jenn Lim has dedicated her life to helping organizations from Starbucks to Sallie Mae build workplace cultures. Jenn will share insights from her latest best-selling book Beyond Happiness with Jen Consalvo from Established.
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm ET - Blake Hall (ID.me) with Frank Gruber (Established)
Over the last decade, Blake Hall of ID.me and his team turned their startup into a unicorn business, while developing a way to simplify and share your identity online. We'll learn from his experiences in this final session of the day as he speaks with Frank Gruber of Established.
4:30 pm - 4:45 pm ET - Closing Remarks with Frank Gruber (Established) and Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm ET - Happy Hour & Feast of Innovation
January 27, 2022
8:00 am - 11:00 am ET - Mentor Matchmaking
Building relationships that last is one of the most important things you can do in life and business. This session, much like speed dating, aims to spark those connections as we look to play matchmakers between startup founders and investors, and corporate industry leaders.
11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET - LUNCH
11:30 am - 11:45 am ET - Welcome / Announce Top 5 - Finals Kickoff - Frank Gruber & Jen Consalvo (Established) and Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective) & Commissioner Kim Overman
Kicking off Summit's final day with a special welcome.
11:45 am - 12:00 pm ET - Paul Sohl (Florida High Tech Corridor)
This talk will stage for the day with insights and motivational words from Paul Sohl.
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm ET - Anna Mason (Rise of the Rest Fund / Revolution) with Frank Gruber (Established)
These days you can startup anywhere. Anna Mason and the Rise of the Rest fund have been investing in 'everywhere else, since 2015. Frank Gruber has toured with Anna and team, and they will catch up about the hot new trends.
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm ET - Derrick Brooks (NFL HOFer / Vinik Sports Group) with Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)
Former NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks leads up the corporate and community efforts at Vinik Sports Group. He will share about his pivot from NFL superstar to corporate executive with Lakshmi Shenoy of Embarc Collective, highlighting the value of teamwork and the importance of community.
12:30 pm - 12:45 pm ET - Finals Judge Introductions - Erica Duignan (Reign Ventures), Derrick Brooks (NFL HOFer / Tampa Bay Lightning), Jesse Middleton (The Community Fund / Flybridge), Anna Mason (Rise of the Rest Fund / Revolution), Mac Conwell (RareBreed VC), and Lesa Mitchell (Techstars), introduced by Frank Gruber & Jen Consalvo (Established)
Let's meet the finals judges for the 9th annual Startup of the Year Summit! The Finals come next.
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm ET - Top 5 Startup Pitches - 5 Minute Pitch, 3 Minute Q&A, 2 Minute Transition
The five top startups in the 9th Annual Startup of the Year competition pitch for the grand champion title.
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET - BREAK
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm ET - Startup of the Year Awards Ceremony, including the People's Choice Award presented by ReliaQuest
ReliaQuest, a global leader in Open XDR-as-a-Service, is known for being the force multiplier for security operations teams. ReliaQuest GreyMatter is a cloud-native Open XDR platform that brings together telemetry from any security and business solution, whether on-premises, or in one or multiple clouds, to unify detection, investigation, response and resilience. ReliaQuest combines the power of technology and 24/7/365 security expertise to give organizations the visibility and coverage they require to make cybersecurity programs more effective.
ReliaQuest is a private company headquartered in Tampa, Fla., with multiple global locations. For more information, visit www.reliaquest.com.
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Top 5 Finalists
2021 Winner
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The Startup of the Year program continues all year long. Contact us today to see how you can get your brand involved as a sponsor and supporter.
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