I'm excited to welcome Michael Simas, President and CEO of The @FloridaC100, to the @EmbarcCollectiv board of directors. The Florida Council of 100 is an independent, nonpartisan organization of more than 200 CEOs of Florida’s leading companies employing more than 1.3 million Floridians, collectively shaping the state’s future through business-driven policy solutions and direct economic impact initiatives. In his role, Mike is leading the Council’s statewide expansion of @AmbitionAccel, a statewide platform that aligns Florida’s regional strengths into a unified system for innovation and startups -- connecting early- and growth-stage founders in healthcare, financial services, resilience, and dual-use defense directly to real market demand, enterprise partners, customers, and capital to catalyze and advance the startup and venture ecosystem across the state of Florida. Earlier this year, Embarc Collective announced its partnership with the Council to lead the Healthcare, Life Sciences, and MedTech industry vertical and serve as the Statewide Startup Platform that drives the Ambition Accelerated program across the state. For more info about Embarc Collective's partnership with The Florida Council of 100, visit fc100.org/news/floridas-lead…. Michael joins current Embarc Collective board members: ✔️ @DBrooks55, COO at @USFAthletics ✔️ Rachel Feinman, Senior Vice President, Innovation, Ventures & Digital Solutions at @TGHCares and Managing Director of TGH Ventures ✔️ Dave Felman, Shareholder, @HWHlawfirm ✔️ Dr. Judy Genshaft, co-CEO of the Genspiration Foundation and USF President Emerita ✔️ Kim Hill, Chief of Staff and Head of Corp Communications at @ReliaQuest ✔️ Jason Kuhn, Founder & President, Kuhn Automotive Group, and Founder, Kuhn Capital Partners ✔️ Rhea Law, former President of the @USouthFlorida ✔️ @USF_Pres Moez Limayem, President of the University of South Florida ✔️ Steven MacDonald, Angel Investor, General Partner, @FloridaFunders, and Founder, MacDonald Ventures ✔️ @brianmurphyRQ, Founder & CEO, @ReliaQuest (Embarc Collective Chair) ✔️ Tom O'Neil, Tampa Market Leader, Brixey & Meyer ✔️ Jack Shields, Founder, Chairman, & CEO, Shields Health Innovations, and Founder & Chairman, Shields Health Solutions ✔️ Jeff Vinik, Chairman & Governor, @TBLightning (Embarc Collective Chair Emeritus) ✔️ @WeatherfordDrew, Founding Partner at Weatherford Capital ✔️ Jeff Wysocki, Global CTO, Sims Limited For more info about Embarc Collective and to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

Excited to have Cooth's amazing team of GTM strategy and marketing execution experts join @EmbarcCollectiv's Shared Services Partner Program, bringing brand, go-to-market, and growth marketing expertise to our community of more than 150 Florida-based early-stage technology startups and growth-stage companies. Embarc Collective’s Shared Services Partner Program gives early-stage technology companies access to best-in-class banking, accounting, tax, legal, cybersecurity, marketing, and other strategic service providers that help founders build investor-ready businesses faster. By connecting startups with experienced advisors well before they would traditionally engage these services, the program helps companies strengthen core business operations, reduce complexity, and scale with confidence over time. For more information about Cooth joining Embarc Collective's shared services partner program, visit embarccollective.com/resourc…. Embarc Collective, a 501c3 not-for-profit and Florida’s largest and fastest growing startup hub, provides founders curated programming, on-demand coaching and mentorship, access to tech and tech-enabled talent, connectivity to corporates, universities, and investors, workspace, assigned offices, conference rooms and event space in our 32,000 sq ft hub in downtown Tampa, and engagement with a peer community of 300+ founders and founding team members that lead 150+ Florida-based early-stage tech startups and growth-stage companies in sixty sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, medical devices and robotics, cybersecurity and data analytics, AI and frontier tech, fintech and legaltech, edtech, renewable energy and climate tech, and defense and national security, among others. Member-companies have created 1,400+ Florida-based tech jobs, driving $100+M annually in direct economic returns to the state, and have raised more than $800M in funding, including $130M in seed, venture, and growth equity funding invested in Florida-based startups in 2025. For more info about Embarc Collective or to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

Meet Rodolfo Saccoman, founder and CEO of @EmbarcCollectiv member-company WildlifeOS™. Rodolfo and his team joined Embarc as part of its September new member class. WildlifeOS™ is an AI-driven environmental intelligence platform built to create a physical-world system of record for real-time wildlife detection and risk intelligence. Traditional optical cameras struggle in murky water, darkness, or low visibility. The company's first product, CrocAlarm™, combines underwater sonar, edge AI, rugged solar-powered hardware, and cloud software to detect dangerous crocodilians before they surface. The platform provides real-time notifications via beacons, SMS, or safety dashboards when a biological threat is identified near human-occupied perimeters. For more information about WildlifeOS™, visit linkedin.com/company/wildlif…. Embarc Collective, a 501c3 not-for-profit and Florida’s largest and fastest growing startup hub, provides founders curated programming, on-demand coaching and mentorship, access to tech and tech-enabled talent, connectivity to corporates, universities, and investors, workspace, assigned offices, conference rooms and event space in our 32,000 sq ft hub in downtown Tampa, and engagement with a peer community of 300+ founders and founding team members that lead 150+ Florida-based early-stage tech startups and growth-stage companies in sixty sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, medical devices and robotics, cybersecurity and data analytics, AI and frontier tech, fintech and legaltech, edtech, renewable energy and climate tech, and defense and national security, among others. Member-companies have created 1,400+ Florida-based tech jobs, driving $100+M annually in direct economic returns to the state, and have raised more than $800M in funding, including $130M in seed, venture, and growth equity funding invested in Florida-based startups in 2025. For more info about Embarc Collective or to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

It's an honor for @EmbarcCollectiv to be included as one of the featured organizations in the @TBBJnewsroom's 2026 One Tampa Bay recognition program honoring "... standout local nonprofit organizations and corporate philanthropy leaders" across the Tampa Bay region. A big shout out to the Embarc Collective team, our coaches and mentors, our board members, and the corporate, university, and investor partners across the region that provide the continuing support needed to serve and support our community Florida-based early- and growth-stage tech companies. For the full list of featured organizations, visit bizjournals.com/tampabay/new…. Congratulations to all of the organizations named to the 2026 One Tampa Bay list, as well as the companies and leaders who support and strengthen the region through philanthropy, volunteerism and civic engagement. Embarc Collective, a 501c3 not-for-profit and Florida’s largest and fastest growing startup hub, provides founders curated programming, on-demand coaching and mentorship, access to tech and tech-enabled talent, connectivity to corporates, universities, and investors, workspace, assigned offices, conference rooms and event space in our 32,000 sq ft hub in downtown Tampa, and engagement with a peer community of 300+ founders and founding team members that lead 150+ Florida-based early-stage tech startups and growth-stage companies in sixty sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, medical devices and robotics, cybersecurity and data analytics, AI and frontier tech, fintech and legaltech, edtech, renewable energy and climate tech, and defense and national security, among others. Member-companies have created 1,400+ Florida-based tech jobs, driving $100+M annually in direct economic returns to the state, and have raised more than $800M in funding, including $130M in seed, venture, and growth equity funding invested in Florida-based startups in 2025. For more info about Embarc Collective or to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER. @EmbarcCollectiv's Q3 2026 Tampa Bay HealthTech Meetup, powered by @TGHCares Ventures and the Tampa Medical & Research District, will be held on Wednesday, September 9 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm ET in the @ReliaQuest Auditorium at Embarc Collective. To register for the Q3 2026 Meetup, visit luma.com/mby1hcyg. The event will feature Dr. Aman M. Shah, MD, Medical Director at TGH Centralized HF Remote Monitoring Program and Professor of Medicine in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology at @USouthFlorida @USFHealth, Richard Crews, CAHIMS, SHIMSS, Manager of Inpatient Informatics at TGH, and Scott Rein, Founder & CEO at Embarc Collective member-company Soteria 360, in a discussion on Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and how connected devices, real-time data, and digital tools are helping healthcare organizations extend care beyond traditional clinical settings. The Tampa Bay HealthTech Meetup is a quarterly educational program that bring the healthcare community together to hear from top healthcare and life sciences thought leaders and foster connections among industry professionals. Embarc Collective, a 501c3 not-for-profit and Florida’s largest and fastest growing startup hub, provides founders curated programming, on-demand coaching and mentorship, access to tech and tech-enabled talent, connectivity to corporates, universities, and investors, workspace, assigned offices, conference rooms and event space in our 32,000 sq ft hub in downtown Tampa, and engagement with a peer community of 330+ founders and founding team members that lead 145+ Florida-based early-stage tech startups and growth-stage companies in sixty sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, medical devices and robotics, cybersecurity and data analytics, AI and frontier tech, fintech and legaltech, edtech, renewable energy and climate tech, and defense and national security, among others. Member-companies have created 1,400+ Florida-based tech jobs, driving $100+M annually in direct economic returns to the state, and have raised more than $800M in funding, including $130M in seed, venture, and growth equity funding invested in Florida-based startups in 2025. For more info about Embarc Collective or to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

A BIG shout out to @USouthFlorida @USF_Pres Moez Limayem, @USFHealth CEO Charlie Lockwood and the faculty and staff at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine for locking down the No. 1 spot at the top of the ranking of the best medical schools in the nation for the second consecutive year!

Silicon Valley is no longer the epicenter of America's tech scene as the stakes in the tech industry are rising fast with AI reforming everything in sight. A recent study by @Lemoneyeo ranked Tampa No. 20 for best tech hubs in the nation — behind Miami, which ranked 4th, and Orlando, which ranked 13th. Washington, D.C., got the top spot. The study considered 250 of the country’s most populated cities to determine where tech talent is thriving right now. In an interview with @PoetsandQuants, Lemon.io CEO Aleksandr Volodarsky (@volodarik) suggested that the demand for people who can sense-check, build and understand AI is skyrocketing. “The cities in the ranking highlight where some of the best tech minds reside,” he explains. WFTS @TampaBay28 reporter @MichaelPaluska visited @EmbarcCollectiv last week to discuss Tampa's meteoric rise as a leader in tech talent and startup activity nationwide. To watch the full @ABC News Tampa Bay 28 segment, visit tampabay28.com/news/local-ne… or youtu.be/8szb2AC2I3s?si=e41R…. Michael and I talked about the importance of circulation, optionality, and density of startup activity, talent, and capital in the region as a continuing driver of further growth. "Density is a positive thing in that the workforce sees the options that they have available to them, and they're more willing to start a company in the Bay Area ... because they know if it doesn't work that they will have good job opportunities in the region to choose from," Holcomb said. "If you have a culture and a mindset where people will support you, is it more likely that we'll continue to have that innovation and people will take that risk?" Paluska asked. "[One of the biggest challenges that founders face is] learning how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. The very nature of startups is, as a founder, at least, that they're doing something new, and that they're in doing something new that creates a natural discomfort," Holcomb said. "I firmly believe being a part of a community with a strong startup and innovation climate like Tampa Bay, generally, and being a part of a community like Embarc Collective, in particular, provides founders opportunities to learn how to channel the energy that comes from the uncertainty." As Paluska noted in his interview, the Lemon.IO ranking isn't the only study putting Tampa at the top. In April, WalletHub ranked Tampa the No. 1 best large city in America to start a business. For a list of Lemon.io's Top 30 cities for tech in the U.S., visit poetsandquantsforundergrads.…. For @wallethub's list of the best large cities to start a business in 2026, visit wallethub.com/edu/best-citie…. For more info about Embarc Collective or to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

Tampa is officially the best city in America to start a business and @EmbarcCollectiv has played a very important and impactful supporting role. @wallethub compared 100 of the nation's largest cities and Tampa ranked #1. Orlando, Jacksonville, Hialeah, and St. Petersburg finished the top five. With Miami rounding out the top ten, Florida dominated the rankings with six major metropolitan areas in the top 10. The analysis is based on 19 key metrics, including the five-year business survival rate, labor costs and office-space affordability. For more info, visit wallethub.com/edu/best-citie…. According to WalletHub: "The monetary benefits of Tampa are evident in the fact that the city scores very high on the Entrepreneurial Activity Index, which indicates that there is a large number of startups in the city and those startups have a high survival rate." It's no surprise to us that WalletHub points to startup activity and survival rates in ranking Tampa #1, right? Embarc Collective's community of more than 150 Florida-based early-stage tech companies have: 👉 Created and currently support 1,400+ Florida-based high wage tech and tech-enabled jobs, driving more than $110M annually in direct economic returns to the state, 👉 Raised $800M in funding, including $130M in seed, venture, and growth equity funding in 2025, and 👉 Achieved a remarkable 96% survival rate over the past five years. For more info about Embarc Collective or to explore membership, visit embarccollective.com/. #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #EcosystemBuilders #StartupTB #StartupFL

Excited to return to Ohio next month and share the stage for "The Innovation Flywheel: How Corporates, Startups, and Capital Create the Next Wave of Companies" panel at the JumpStart Inc. VC Fest 2026 with Kaleigh Gallagher, Vice President of Tech Startup Services at JumpStart, and Suraj Maraboyina, Executive Director of the @MiamiU_ENT in the @FarmerSchoolMU at @MiamiUniversity. The panel will be held on Wednesday, September beginning at 11 am ET at the @CLEConventions in downtown Cleveland. More than 800 attendees, including 300+ tech founders, 150+ venture investors, angel groups, corporate innovation leaders, and startup ecosystem champions are expected for "... two action-packed days of deal flow, conversations, and insight into what’s next for venture in Ohio and beyond." For more information about JumpStart VC Fest 2026 or to register to attend, visit ohiovcfest.com/. For more information about @EmbarcCollectiv, visit embarccollective.com/. #EcosystemBuilders #Startups #HighGrowth #VentureCapital #Founders #Technology #Innovation #StartupTB #StartupFL