ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 20, 2018)-Â The St. Petersburg Area EDC partnered with the City of St. Petersburg to bring the energy of the Sunshine City's entrepreneurial ecosystem to Nashville for the annual 36|86 entrepreneurship conference in August 2018.
EDC leadership led a team of St. Pete's local entrepreneurs to Nashville for the two-day conference and a St. Pete-themed event, but more importantly- to invite business owners and entrepreneurs to build their organizations in St. Petersburg.
"We want to make sure that the entire country knows that St. Pete is a great place to start or grow a business," J.P. DuBuque, President of the St. Petersburg EDC said.
The St. Pete team, including Rachel Carpenter of Intrino, InsideOut's Chad Nuss, Ashby Green of Gazelle Capital, and Reuben Pressman, Founder of Presence, participated in conference sessions and invited connections to join them for their St. Pete-inspired event held the evening of 36|86 day one, 'Sunshine City Happy Hour.'
Back row from left: Sophia Sorolis, City of St. Petersburg Economic Development Manager, Chad Nuss, InsideOut, Reuben Pressman, Presence, Kyle Taylor, The Penny Hoarder, Ashby Green, Gazelle Capital, Rachel Carpenter, Intrino, J.P. DuBuque, St. Petersburg EDC
Front row from left: Maryann Akinboyewa, The Penny Hoarder, Mallory McClellan, St. Petersburg EDC, Nina Mahmoudi, City of St. Petersburg
"We were brought here to connect with companies and show them why we're in St. Pete so that they can see what is so amazing about it, and convince them to come build with us," Pressman said.
The event featured all things St. Pete from palm trees to craft cocktails and fresh Florida grouper. Nearly forty 36|86 attendees and Nashville's local entrepreneurs, investors, and stakeholders gathered for the Sunshine City Happy Hour at one of Nashville's newest hot spots, The Bobby.
The Penny Hoarder's Kyle Taylor served as keynote, providing a TedTalk style overview of his experience as an entrepreneur in St. Pete and the community that supported him to now lead America's fastest-growing media company.
"We are a community of entrepreneurs that invests in each other and that honestly believes that when one succeeds we all succeed," Taylor said.
The mission produced lasting connections for St. Pete's local entrepreneurs and advanced the EDC and City's mission increase the awareness of the business climate in St. Petersburg. The EDC and City teams plan to coordinate similar initiatives to targeted communities within the next six months.
"We met a lot of startup owners who feel like they are getting lost in their cities," Carpenter said. "When these companies meet us and see the family we really are, they realize it is something they want to be a part of."
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