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While the U.S. technology landscape is by and large defined by young, straight white men, almost every Tampa Bay hub that supports technology startups is run by a woman:
- Lakshmi Shenoy, CEO of the startup accelerator and inclubator Embarc Collective, located near Tampa’s Channelside district.
- Linda Olson, founder and CEO of the startup accelerator and inclubator Tampa Bay Wave, located in downtown Tampa.
- Tonya Elmore, president and CEO of the startup accelerator and inclubator Tampa Bay Innovation Center, located in St. Petersburg.
- Jill St. Thomas, CEO of Tampa Bay Tech, one of the nation’s oldest and largest technology councils.
- Rachel Feinman, vice president of innovation at Tampa General Hospital and head of InnoVentures, Tampa General Hospital’s $15 million innovation-focused fund.
These women recently participated in a “virtual sit-down” interview panel with Tampa Bay Business Journal, and the result is their article, The Future is Female-Led.
As its tagline says, “Almost every major startup organization in the region is led by a woman. They’re setting a tone that will have a ripple effect across the entire tech ecosystem.”
If you’re wondering what the Tampa startup scene is like, you’ll definitely want to read this article.