Category: Tampa Bay

What’s happening in the Tampa Bay tech/entrepreneur/nerd scene (Week of Monday, November 9, 2020)

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date November 8, 2020
1 Comment on What’s happening in the Tampa Bay tech/entrepreneur/nerd scene (Week of Monday, November 9, 2020)

Once again, here’s the weekly list of events for events for Tampa Bay techies, entrepreneurs, and nerds. Every week, on GlobalNerdy.com and on the mailing list, I scour the announcements for events that are interesting to or useful for those of you who are building the future here in “The Other Bay Area, on The Other West Coast”.

This list covers events from Monday, November 9 through Sunday, November 15, 2020.

I’ve opted to list only those events that I can confirm are happening online. I’m not yet listing in-person events, as we’re still in the middle of a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit states (844,000 cases, which is an increase of 41,000 since last week, and 15,916 deaths, which is up 1204 from last week) in one of the hardest-hit countries in the world (10 million cases, which is an increase of 800,000 from last week, and 238,000 deaths, which is up 8,000 from last week).

Events — especially virtual, online ones — can pop up at the last minute. I add them to the list as I find out about them. Come back and check this article from time to time, as you might find a new listing that wasn’t there before!

Monday, November 9

Tuesday, November 10

Wednesday, November 11

Thursday, November 12

Friday, November 13

Saturday, November 14

Nerd Night Out — NNO Book Club: Midnight Riot @ 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 15

Shut Up & Write! St. Petersburg @ 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM

Do you have any events or announcements that you’d like to see on this list?

Let me know at joey@joeydevilla.com!

Join the mailing list!

If you’d like to get this list in your email inbox every week, enter your email address below. You’ll only be emailed once a week, and the email will contain this list, plus links to any interesting news, upcoming events, and tech articles.

Join the Tampa Bay Tech Events list and always be informed of what’s coming up in Tampa Bay!

Current Events Tampa Bay

What’s happening in the Tampa Bay tech/entrepreneur/nerd scene (Week of Monday, November 2, 2020)

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date November 1, 2020

This list covers events from Monday, November 2 through Sunday, November 8, 2020. That’s right, this week has both Election Day and my birthday!

I’ve opted to list only those events that I can confirm are happening online. I’m not yet listing in-person events, as we’re still in the middle of a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit states (803,000 cases, which is an increase of 51,000 since last week, and 15,916 deaths, which is up 844 from last week) in one of the hardest-hit countries in the world (9.2 million cases, which is an increase of over a million from last week, and 230,000 deaths, which is up 11,000 from last week).

Monday, November 2

Tuesday, November 3

Sure, there are events today, but if you’re in the U.S. and eligible to vote and haven’t done so already — GO VOTE!

Wednesday, November 4

Thursday, November 5

🎂 Oh hey, it’s my birthday! 🥳

Friday, November 6

Saturday, November 7

GDG Suncoast — Southern DevFest! @ 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Sunday, November 8

Dialogue and Human Experience — How to Stay Calm During Times of Chaos @ 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Do you have any events or announcements that you’d like to see on this list?

Let me know at joey@joeydevilla.com!

Join the mailing list!

Join the Tampa Bay Tech Events list and always be informed of what’s coming up in Tampa Bay!

Current Events Tampa Bay

What’s happening in the Tampa Bay tech/entrepreneur/nerd scene (Week of Monday, October 26, 2020)

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 25, 2020

This list covers events from Monday, October 26 through Sunday, November 1, 2020. That’s right, this week has both Halloween and Day of the Dead!

I’ve opted to list only those events that I can confirm are happening online. I’m not yet listing in-person events, as we’re still in the middle of a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit states (752,000 cases, which is an increase of 23,000 since last week, and 15,916 deaths, which is up 700 from last week) in one of the hardest-hit countries in the world (8.14 million cases, which is an increase of 390,000 from last week, and 219,000 deaths, which is up 5,000 from last week).

Monday, October 26

Tuesday, October 27

Wednesday, October 28

Thursday, October 29

Friday, October 30

Saturday, October 31

Sunday, November 1

There aren’t any scheduled online tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events for Tampa Bay…yet!

Do you have any events or announcements that you’d like to see on this list?

Let me know at joey@joeydevilla.com!

Join the mailing list!

Join the Tampa Bay Tech Events list and always be informed of what’s coming up in Tampa Bay!

Career Programming Tampa Bay

Introducing “Night Shift”: Suncoast Developers Guild’s coding bootcamp, but as evening classes!

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 22, 2020

If you’ve wanted to learn programming and web development through Suncoast Developer Guild’s excellent bootcamp, but couldn’t take 12 weeks off work to do so, they’re launching a new program that might work for you. It’s called Night Shift, and it’s their bootcamp program, but as a part-time after-hours course that you can take while keeping your day job!

Suncoast Developer Guild’s 12-week, full-time immersive coding bootcamp is an excellent program. I know the folks at SDG. I’ve done guest presentations at their classes. I’ve met many of their students, and have even worked with their graduates (and yes, by and large, they’re good).

But not everyone can drop their job to devote 12 full-time weeks to a course and cover the costs of tuition. Night Shift allows you to keep a full-time job and still learn take part in SDG’s well-regarded course by stretching the course over 36 weeks, with online lectures on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and lab work in your spare time.

Think of it as more than just learning while still being able to cover the rent or mortgage. Think of it treating your day job as an angel investor in your new software development career.

I can tell you that having programming skills — especially in combination with other talents — is valuable. They can future-proof your work, open opportunities unavailable to many people, and help you weather seismic job market shifts like the ones COVID-19 is bringing about.

And now, the warning. In addition to devoting time to participating the Tuesday and Thursday evening lectures, you should expect to devote a couple of hours on most nights to your lab work. If you’re new to programming, you’re not only going to learn a lot of new concepts; you’ll also have to apply them in order to make working software. You’re also going to have to be creative, because you’ll have to come up with an idea for your end-of-course capstone project.

Simply put: Your spare time will vanish. You will work on a code editor and do Google searches for hours, and you will see them in your dreams. You will spend inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out higher-order functions, wondering why there are so many ways to create objects and functions in JavaScript, trying to understand the difference between == and === and experiencing all the other joys of working with a programming language whose original version had to be cobbled together in 10 days.

On the bright side, if you have a Netflix or videogame addiction, Night Shift is an effective (and productive!) way of quitting those “cold turkey”.

The folks at Suncoast Developers Guild aren’t just capitalizing on our software-driven economy to run a coding school. They’re key players in and supporters of the Tampa Bay tech scene. They support their students beyond just the coursework. If you think you can handle both your job and night classes (and a lot of time on your computer),Night Shift might be your first step into the world of software development.

Find out more in Suncoast Developer Guild’s press release for Night Shift.

Current Events Tampa Bay

What’s happening in the Tampa Bay tech/entrepreneur/nerd scene (Week of Monday, October 19, 2020)

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 18, 2020

This list covers events from Monday, October 19 through Sunday, October 25, 2020.

I’ve opted to list only those events that I can confirm are happening online. I’m not yet listing in-person events, as we’re still in the middle of a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit states (752,000 cases, which is an increase of 23,000 since last week, and 15,916 deaths, which is up 700 from last week) in one of the hardest-hit countries in the world (8.14 million cases, which is an increase of 390,000 from last week, and 219,000 deaths, which is up 5,000 from last week).

Monday, October 19

Tuesday, October 20

Wednesday, October 21

Thursday, October 22

Friday, October 23

Saturday, October 24

Pinellas Writers — Critiquing Session: Read Your Work Aloud To Receive Advice & Suggestions @ 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Sunday, October 25

Do you have any events or announcements that you’d like to see on this list?

Let me know at joey@joeydevilla.com!

Join the mailing list!

Join the Tampa Bay Tech Events list and always be informed of what’s coming up in Tampa Bay!

Current Events Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech news roundup

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 16, 2020

The 17th annual Tampa Bay Tech Awards: November 12th

This year’s Tampa Bay Tech Awards will be online and take place on November 12th at 4:30 p.m.. St. Pete Catalyst has story, and the categories and finalists are:

Bridge Builder: “An individual in the community who is dedicated to building a radically connected tech ecosystem, whether through philanthropy, thought leadership or a commitment to social causes.” The nominees are:
- Evan Brenner, Geographic Solutions
- Brian Kornfeld, co-founder and President, Synapse
- Suzanne Ricci, Executive Director, Computer Coach
Emerging Tech Leader of the Year
- Erik Maltais, founder and CEO, Immertec
- Kate Dalley, Director of Product Development, PowerChord
- Samyr Qureshi, co-founder and CEO, Knack
Tech Leader of the Year
- Balaji Ramadoss, founder and CEO, Edgility
- Greg Ross-Munro, CEO, Sourcetoad
- Jean Kneisler, vice president and CIO, Jabil
Tech Company of the Year
- Digital Hands
- InSync Healthcare Solutions
- KnowBe4
Tech Project of the Year
- Cope Notes
- Geographic Solutions
- Nextech
Emerging Tech Company of the Year
- Chattr
- NIX United
- Venuetize

Tampa Bay Wave’s TechWomen Rising 2020 Cohort

The TechWomen Rising 2020 cohort, which comprises 13 tech woman-led tech startups selected by Tampa Bay Wave, has just been announced. TechWomen Rising is a JP Morgan Chase-funded accelerator program that gives women founders the resources to succeed in a world where male founders tend to get more startup capital earlier in their startup journey.

The startups are:

Tampa Bay Inno: Tampa Bay startups are getting recognized on a national scale

Here’s Tampa Bay Inno’s roundup of startups here in “The Other Bay Area” who are making waves at the national level. You can read the full article, which I’ve summarized below.

Of the 18 companies presenting at Florida Venture Forum’s Early Stage Capital Conference, which took place on October 14th and 15th, four were from Tampa Bay: BlockSpaces, TSOLife, Wedzee, and Wherewithal (whom you might know by their original name, Fruutfull).

At the Venture Atlanta conference, which happens on October 21st and 22nd, seven Tampa Bay companies will participate. Immertec and Knack were chosen to participate in the early stage companies presentation, while Chattr, Global Safety Management, ProCredEx, SoleVenture and TSOLife will be presenting compnies.

The Startup of the Year Summit 2020 will take place on November 16th through 20th. Out of 100 semifinalists, four are from Tampa Bay: Grifin, JustProtect, Nickelytics, and RxLive.

RxLive is a special one for me, as I helped to shepherd it from concept to initial version during my time as Lead Product Manager at Sourcetoad. Best of luck to Mark and Kristen Engelen, RxLive’s co-founders!

Current Events Entrepreneur Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech startups in 2020 are busy raising money (and what’s in it for you)

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 14, 2020

Photo: Tampa Bay scenery superimposed over a big pile of money

Even in the middle of a pandemic, Tampa Bay tech startups in 2020 are busy raising money, having raised over $200 million so far this year.

The really big deal was made by St. Pete-based deepwatch, which provides “cloud-first” managed security services to a number of Fortune 500/100/25 companies. Goldman Sachs led this Series B investment for $53 million.

Earlier this year, Telepathy Labs, who are in stealth mode and whose product is some sort of “predictive and adaptive conversational agent”, raised $6.6 million in early stage funding, and St. Pete Catalyst reports that there’s been a $14 million investment in them in Q3.

Immertec, whose product is a Unity-powered VR surgery training platform, raised $12 million in an early-stage Series A.

The IMCS (Integrated Medical Case Solutions) Group, who develop solutions for injury/trauma prevention and work-related injuries, received an $8 million capital infusion.

I’ll admit it — as an old D&D player and fan of Clash of the Titans, I can’t resist a good “Kraken” pun. That’s why I like SiteWit’s new name, Kliken. Their service lets you integrate marketing campaigns in your site, and they raised $6 million in a Series B.

Homee, the home construction/contractor service platform, got a $5 million early-stage investment in July.

SKUx, based in St. Pete, creates one-time-use digital incentives to get customers to spend more at retailers. They raised $4 million in angel funding.

Covercasa’s offering is a platform for searching for and buying home insurance. They raised $1 million in angel funding.

And finally, the blockchain development studio Blockspaces, where a lot of local blockchain-related meetups are held, raised $75,000.

“Okay, so these Tampa Bay tech startups in 2020 got some money. What’s in it for me?”

For starters, all this investment activity helps raise the profile of these Tampa Bay-based tech startups in 2020, which in turn helps put Tampa Bay on the tech map. This helps to push the narrative that “The Other Bay Area” is a great place for techies, entrepreneurs, and nerds in which to live, work, and play.

Also, there’s the matter that this money is meant to grow these companies, which in turn means new job openings. If you’re looking for work in tech, you’ll want to check out these companies’ sites and see what openings they have.