In Western cultures, the snake is often associated with evil and deception, but in Chinese and Chinese-adjacent cultures, the snake represents wisdom, charm, elegance, and transformation. And in nerd culture, we’ve got Python — as well as Solid Snake from Metal Gear, Viper from Marvel Comics, Slytherin House in Harry Potter, and so much more!
Coders, Creatives, and Craft Beer is just what it says on the label: a new regular gathering of coders and creatives over craft beer! We’re pretty flexible on the definition of “creative”, and it doesn’t matter if you express your creativity in the form of programs, prose, poetry, paint, pitch-bends, processor chips, or project management — if you create and like craft beer (and even if you don’t drink beer), this is the meetup for you!
What: “A fun and friendly environment for all data professionals, no matter the industry, to meet and grow through shared contributions, interests, and mutual discovery. You’ll hear from data thought leaders, make connections across the tech ecosystem, and expand your network. You won’t be sitting down all day listening to speaker after speaker. Discussions won’t be focused on only one industry.”
How much: $99. There’s also a government and student rate of $50!
A data conference?
You’ve heard the saying: “Data is the new oil.” That observation is generally attributed to Clive Humby, who’s said to have first used it in 2006. The idea is that data shares a lot of qualities with oil:
It’s a valuable resource.
It’s not useful in and of itself; it needs to be extracted, then refined and processed before you to highlight the idea that data, like oil, is a valuable resource that needs to be extracted, refined, and processed — but after that you get a lot of benefit from it.
And finally, like oil, it’s a key driver for several industries and the economy in general.
Something this valuable needs a conference, and we’re having such a conference here in Tampa!
Explore one of the most critical frontiers in the lakehouse ecosystem: catalogs. Alex will demystify leading catalog solutions such as Apache Polaris (incubating), Nessie, Unity Catalog, Gravitino, Dremio Catalog, and AWS Glue, and guide you through navigating this evolving landscape to effectively manage your lakehouse.
AI Safety: Crafting Certainty in an Uncertain World
Unpack how robust design, user-centric interfaces, and regulatory collaboration can transform AI from a black-box risk into a predictable and valuable tool.
Learn to refine problems and apply iterative systems thinking, drive continuous improvement for data initiatives, and develop successful data strategies to reach business analytics objectives.
Defense as a Market: Overcoming Barriers for Tech Innovation in DoD
Jim Smith Former Acquisition Executive for the United States Special Operations Command
Casey Johnson VP of Business Development, Certus Core
Daniella Diaz VP of Revenue and Marketing at Lumina AI
Learn how to make a high performance geo workflow on large data through covering the four key aspects of the geospatial pipeline.
From Data to Dominance: Navigating Edge and Enterprise Data Needs for Scalable Insights
Lisa Costa Former Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, U.S. Space Force | VC Partner
In a world defined by data ubiquity, success hinges on the ability to align edge-based and enterprise-level data strategies. This talk explores the nuanced differences between edge and enterprise data needs and how semantic frameworks, AI, and edge-based processing can bridge the two. Learn how to harness data at the right place and time—enabling hyper-localized decision-making, predictive analytics at scale, and adaptive cyber defense to create resilient, value-driven organizations in an interconnected global ecosystem.
Driving Data Innovation in Telecom: Trends and Opportunities
Antra Malhotra Associate Director of Software Development, Verizon
Prescription for Precision: Building Smarter Pharma Sales Forecasting Dashboards
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, January 20 through Sunday, January 26, 2025! This list includes both in-person and online events.
Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Green Bench in St. Pete: It’s the January edition of St. Pete Connects, a meetup for a diverse group of entrepreneurs, founders, and community partners helping them to create friendships and network!
They’re bringing together the tech founders, connectors, creatives, and innovators of St. Pete. A laid back meet up for those new and old to the Sunshine City to find new friendships, expand their networks and build community partnerships.
Bring yourself and/or a friend and help us enjoy an evening with good beer and people.
Thursday morning from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. at Computer Coach in Tampa: LinkedIn Local™ events are organic meetups, hosted by members all over the world — this one’s the Tampa Bay edition! These gatherings provide an opportunity to network, build community, discuss industry trends, and share best practices for using LinkedIn.
Who should attend?
IT Professionals: Expand your tech network and share industry insights.
Business Leaders: Connect with peers and explore collaboration opportunities.
HR and Talent Acquisition Specialists: Meet top talent and discuss the latest trends in recruitment.
Entrepreneurs and Start-up Founders: Exchange ideas and gain support from like-minded individuals.
Community Leaders and Influencers: Strengthen your influence and build lasting relationships.
Why attend?
Enhance Your Network: Meet diverse professionals from various industries.
Professional Growth: Gain new perspectives and learn from others’ experiences.
Reconnect: Strengthen existing connections and make new ones.
Collaborative Opportunities: Discover potential partnerships and business ventures.
Thursday evening from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Oldsmar: This event is all about meaningful conversations and building valuable connections with fellow tech professionals and industry leaders.
No presentations, no demos—just people talking to people. Come ready to connect, and grow your professional relationships in a relaxed, engaging atmosphere.
Thursday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at 501 E. Kennedy (2nd floor) in Tampa: Tampa Bay AWS User Group is hosting a re:Invent recap session where local Solution Architects from AWS will talk about the many announcements and various highlights from the 2024 re:Invent event. Speakers from AWS include Renato Fichmann and Vivek Mittal.
This event is sponsored by JetSweep, and refreshments will be served!
Thursday evening from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at Embarc Collective, Tampa: Tampa Bay Data Engineering Group is kicking off 2025 with an introduction to data engineering. We’ll review Joe Reis and Matt Housley’s book Fundamentals of Data Engineering and other resources to define and explore the expanding world of data engineering practices.
Thursday evening from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at The Secret Insurance School: Tampa Bay’s security guild and band of merry pranksters, The Neon Temple, are featuring To Pimp a Benjamin, with Crispy presenting.
Their abstract is more fun than anything I can come up with right now, so I’ll just quote it:
Crispy has started in the basement and worked his way to the penthouse. From managing a taco joint to being one of the premier blue teamers in Tampa Bay, if not the country, he knows what the value of a buck is. He also knows how to make a dollar stretch its absolute value and make the convoluted financial system that spawned the meme below work for you. He pretty much planned his BFF Cochise’s retirement account (not that he’s smug about it). Join him for a night of financial literacy, knowledge, and some advice from a guy who’s not a financial planner and doesn’t have a college degree, but makes more than you.
How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
Tech project management / agile processes
Video, board, and role-playing games
Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, January 13 through Sunday, January 19, 2025! This list includes both in-person and online events.
Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Hays, Tampa: The topic is OKRs — objectives and key results. they’re not just a goal-setting framework, but a powerful tool for driving focus, alignment, and measurable outcomes in product management. In this session, we will discuss how OKRs can significantly sharpen your product strategy to create meaningful and impactful results for your teams.
Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Computer Coach, Tampa: Join Tampa Bay User Experience for a year of reflection. As we enter 2025, it is time to look back on what we have done, celebrate together, learn together, and talk about what 2025 might look like.
Rob will share some highlights from the year. Then, we will switch gears and you will have the opportunity to share what you want from the group in 2025.
Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Magnanimous Brewing, Tampa: Join Tampa M365 for an awesome social gathering at Magnanimous in Seminole Heights on Florida Ave., where you can enjoy beers, socialize, and network with awesome local techies. Whether you’re new to Microsoft 365 or an experienced M365 IT Pro / Developer, this event is a great opportunity to meet new faces and get to know your local counterparts!
Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at 5406 Hoover Blvd STE 10, Tampa:
Curious about how hackers think? Want to explore the mindset that drives innovation, creativity, and problem-solving in the digital age? Join us for “The Hacker’s Mindset w/ Outlier”, hosted by Neon Temple!
Dive deep into the world of ethical hacking, critical thinking, and strategies that will challenge the way you approach problems. Whether you’re a cybersecurity pro, a tech enthusiast, or just curious, this event is for YOU!
Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Wind Rover Brewery, Tampa: Tampa Bay Agile & Clearly Agile are bringing the happy hour version of Lean Coffee to your area! Drinking not required!
Lean Beer is an alternative to the early morning Lean Coffees, for folks who can’t always join us at 7:30AM. Lean Beer is a great place to ask questions and share your stories of using Agile and Lean software approaches, over an adult beverage, if you choose. We discuss any topics on Agile and Lean that are of interest to whomever is gathered. You suggest the topics, then we prioritize that list democratically, through a good ole’ fashion vote. We manage our discussions via time boxes, and a Roman vote (drinks up/drinks down). Vegas rules apply!
We are a non-formal group, like to loosen our ties and roll up our sleeves at the end of a long day, and gather with other like-minded Agile Practitioners to exchange ideas and information. Come see what Lean Beer is all about and get your Agile on.
Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company, Tampa: Tampa Bay Techies is holding their monthly study group and tech meetup!
This is a space to socialize, show off your current projects, ask questions with others studying for similar topics, and enjoy a nice cup of coffee! ☕✨
Whether you just started studying, about to take an exam, or still trying to figure out which certification path to take, our study groups are the perfect setting to share knowledge, learn some new study tips & tricks, and ask questions to current industry professionals.
Although they schedule the study session from 10am-1pm, attendees are free to come and go as they please.
How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
Tech project management / agile processes
Video, board, and role-playing games
Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
Jennifer Reif is a Developer Relations Engineer at Neo4j, who will walk through what a graph database is and how it can transform your applications and data.
Graphs are different from other types of databases because they store relationships between data points. This makes them ideal for applications where the connections between data provides additional context, improving decision-making with existing data.
Join us to learn how to leverage graph databases in your applications and AI projects. Jennifer will talk about creating, querying, and displaying data and learn how to integrate a graph database into applications. Finally, she will discuss how graph databases can be used in AI applications and the strengths they bring to the table. Live code will demonstrate these concepts in action.
PackfilesTampa-based Packfiles is a project management and software platform founded this year. After meeting and working together in Tampa Bay, co-founders Rob Bremer and Charlton Trezevant — the creator of the software developer meetup group and nonprofit Tampa Devs — wanted to create a tool that eliminates the need for service firms during the coding file migration process, which developers utilize for efficiency.
The tool seeks to simply and controllably migrate files to Microsoft-owned platform GitHub, a popular tool for software developers that hosts code for collaboration and storage. In an ecosystem where successful startups are all about fulfilling a need, the co-founders’ experience collaborating at their prior company to help found one of the premier GitHub Professional Services practices in the United States will be key as they continue to build the platform.
Okay, that’s the layperson’s explanation. What does Packfiles actually do?
Packfiles’ SaaS, called Warp, is a GitHub migration service. Normally, the process of migrating repositories from Azure DevOps to GitHub involves a complex process that requires a fair bit of planning, a number of shell scripts with limited support, and tedious, error-prone manual work.
It looks like this:
Warp is built on Packfiles cofounders Rob Bremer’s and Charlton Trezevant’s experience with performing these migrations. It automates the lion’s share of the process, and once you’ve done the necessary configurations, Azure DevOps-to-GitHub migrations end up looking like this:
In case you were wondering, that’s an actual screen capture of what I did to migrate a repository from Azure DevOps to GitHub, and if it looks like the comments section from a GitHub issue, that’s because it is! In Warp, you use GitHub to migrate to GitHub:
Warp creates a GitHub repository called Migration HQ, which represents the migration-to-GitHub project.
Each Migration HQ issue represents a repository to be migrated.
You enter Warp commands in the issue comments. For example, in the issue representing a repository that I wanted to migrate, I entered the “slash command” /migrate to start the migration process for that repository. Warp first replied in a follow-up comment to tell me that the migration was in progress, and then notified me in another follow-up comment that the migration was complete and provided a link to the repository’s new GitHub location.
Who’s going to use Packfiles’ Warp?
Warp’s target market, as you’ve probably figured out, is organizations who use currently Azure DevOps and want to switch to GitHub.
And who uses Azure DevOps? It turns out there’s a little club of businesses call the Fortune 500, and 85% of them are on Azure DevOps.
This leads to a follow-up question: What makes you think organizations want to move from Azure DevOps to GitHub?
My unofficial answer would be: Have you tried using Azure DevOps?
My more-official answer’s a little more serious, and it’s a citation of a Reddit thread in r/devops from a mere 14 hours ago at the time of writing:
Finally, there’s the reaction that Rob, Charlton, and the rest of the Packfiles team got at the 2024 edition of GitHub Universe, the conference for all things GitHub. They were approached by companies of all sizes, including some very large ones you’ve definitely heard of.
Simply put, Warp solves a problem that most people don’t even know exists, but a lot of organizations need solved.
What will I be doing at Packfiles?
Long story short: I’ll be doing whatever Packfiles needs me to do. A lot of it will involve creating their documentation and developer/devops relations material, as well as technical sales and support.
The work I’ll be doing, especially in the beginning, will be collaborating very closely with Charlton, who’s lead developer and CTO, as well as with developer Justin Linn (whom I’ve been on not one, but two editions of StartupBus), so I’ll be working at least three days a week at Packfiles’ office at Tampa’s premier coworking/incubator space, Embarc Collective. Here’s what I see when I enter the place:
Luckily, it’s a quick drive from my place; in fact, it would take me 35 minutes to bike there, which I’ll do when the weather’s nice.
And here’s my desk at the office:
I’ve been working with Packfiles for the past couple of weeks, and I’m enjoying working there, being “in the room where it happens,” and also seeing the other folks at Tampa Bay’s startups at Embarc Collective.
This should be an interesting year. Keep watching this space for more!
It’s going to be an abbreviated, but very intensive program is perfect for B2B software startups that are less than 9 months old. It will cover strategy, product development, and market validation and is for first-time startup founders, who could benefit from the planning activities and tools, and aren’t ready to commit to a full-time program.
The tl;dr
What: IdeaSprint Bootcamp
When: Wednesday, January 15, 5:00 — 7:30 p.m.
Where: Tampa Bay Innovation Center (1101 4th St S, St. Petersburg)
Application deadline: Apply by Friday, January 10!
First-time tech innovators with an idea for a tech product
What should attendees expect?
Expert-led workshops
Peer-to-peer learning
An understanding of Tampa Bay’s ecosystem of tech resources
What categories of startup are eligible?
Enterprise software (including SaaS)
FinTech
MedTech
AgTech
SpaceTech
Energy storage & management
Robotics
Please note:
TBIC’s elevator was damaged by the storm and will not be accessible. Attendees must be able to use the stairs.
This in-person event is open to founders located in the Tampa Bay region.
This program is limited to 20 companies; applications must first be approved, and founders will be notified via email in advance of the program. Please make sure your contact information is correct.
This program is exclusively for product companies, consultants or service providers will not be accepted.
