Tampa Bay Wave Inc

Founded in 2008, Tampa Bay WaVE, Inc. is a ‘by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs’ 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping entrepreneurs turn ideas into growing tech businesses in Tampa Bay. Today we support over 150 tech startups and over 250 entrepreneurs and other crazy talented techies that call Tampa Bay home.

Tampa Bay WaVE launched its nationally recognized FirstWaVE Venture Center and tech business accelerator program in March 2013, thanks to the 2012 i6 Challenge Grant, awarded to a collaborative regional partnership including the University of South Florida (USF) and Tampa Bay WaVE, along with a network of universities, local businesses, nonprofits and public sector partners. FirstWaVE has been incredibly successful in connecting high-growth startups with mentorship, early stage capital and other critical resources to foster an innovation-driven economy for the region. To date, FirstWaVE has supported over 125 local startups who collectively have created and retained over 500 jobs, and raised over $20 million in outside investment capital, making it one of the critical economic drivers for the region.