Tampa Bay Wave Inc

THE CONTINUUM, A COORDINATED OCEAN-BASED CLIMATE RESILIENCE NETWORK OF ACCELERATORS, BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS THAT KEEP STARTUPS FROM GETTING TO MARKET WHILE MAKING SUPPORT FOR RESILIENCE DATA SOLUTIONS MORE SCALABLE, EFFICIENT, AND INTERCONNECTED. BRINGING TOGETHER EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES OF TWO PHASE 1 TEAMS, UPWELL COLLABORATIVE ACCELERATOR (AWARD # NA24NOSX012C0011-T1-01) AND CATCHING THE BLUE WAVE (AWARD # NA24NOSX012C0013-T1-01), THE CONTINUUM OFFERS ROBUST ACCELERATION AND PILOT PROJECT SUPPORT PROGRAMS, AN INTENTIONALLY BUILT NATIONAL SUPPORT ECOSYSTEM FOR OCEAN AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE STARTUPS, AND A DIVERSE RANGE OF RESOURCES INCLUDING ACCESS TO CRITICAL NETWORKS OF MENTORS, INVESTORS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS. OUR COMPLEMENTARY ARRAY OF PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDE A TRUE CONTINUUM OF SUPPORT FOR BLUETECH ENTREPRENEURS; MAXIMIZING ACCESS TO CRITICAL CONNECTIONS, RESOURCES, AND GUIDANCE FOR ADVANCING DATA-DRIVEN BLUE ECONOMY SOLUTIONS. WE OFFER THE FLEXIBILITY TO ENGAGE WITH STARTUPS AT ANY PLACE IN THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY, WHILE PROVIDING FOCUSED INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT. TO FACILITATE COLLABORATION BETWEEN MEMBERS AS WELL AS OTHER ENTREPRENEUR SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS, WE CREATED AN INTEGRATED INTERREGIONAL MODEL TO HELP INNOVATORS GO NATIONAL AND GLOBAL ACROSS A SPECTRUM OF RESILIENCE AND BLUE ECONOMY ARENAS BASED ON VALUE CHAIN FRAMEWORKS FOR EACH THEME AREA.

THIS EDA INVESTMENT FUNDS THE TAMPA BAY CYBERSECURITY/FINTECH AND HEALTHTECH ACCELERATOR + INNOVATION NETWORK (TB CFHAIN) PROJECT. TAMPA BAY WAVE HAS PARTNERED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND OTHER PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES TO LAUNCH THIS PROJECT WITH A GOAL TO CREATE INDUSTRY-DRIVEN INNOVATION CLUSTERS IN CYBERSECURITY, FINANCE, AND HEALTHCARE. TB CFHAIN WILL EXPAND WAVE'S PROGRAMMING BY RUNNING NINE (9) 90-DAY ACCELERATOR COHORTS SPECIFICALLY TAILORED FOR THESE INDUSTRY VERTICALS, SUPPORTING 180 NEW HIGH-GROWTH POTENTIAL STARTUPS AND FOSTERING THE CREATION AND RETENTION OF 2,730 JOBS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO UTILIZE WAVE'S 150+MENTOR AND 400+ INVESTOR NETWORKS TO SUPPORT BOTH ACCELERATOR ALUMNI AND LOCAL TECH STARTUPS. TB CFHAIN WILL ALSO GREATLY EXPAND INVESTOR OUTREACH, LAUNCH AN INVESTOR PORTAL, AND INCREASE THE REGION'S CAPACITY FOR SBIR/STTR SUPPORT. ONCE COMPLETED, THE PROJECT WILL FOSTER A STRONGER INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM WITH INCREASED STARTUP DENSITY, GREATER GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS, AND LOCAL HIGH-WAGE JOB CREATION. BY ADDRESSING THE REGION'S LACK OF INDUSTRY-FOCUSED INNOVATION CLUSTERS AND EARLY-STAGE CAPITAL GAPS, THE PROGRAM WILL HELP TAMPA BAY DEVELOP A MORE DIVERSIFIED AND MORE RESILIENT REGIONAL ECONOMY AND BECOME A MAJOR HUB FOR TECHNOLOGY TALENT AND INNOVATION.

FY 23 CONGRESSIONAL COMMUNITY PROJECT TAMPA BAY WAVE, INC

I-4 INNOVATION INVESTORS COLLABORATIVE (I4I2)

FLORIDA HAS VALUABLE NATURAL RESOURCES AND BUILT INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG ITS 8,436 MILES OF COASTLINE, THE SECOND LONGEST COASTLINE AMONG U.S. STATES AND TERRITORIES [1]. IT HAS 13 OF THE 25 AMERICAN CITIES MOST AT-RISK FROM THE EFFECTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE AND COASTAL STORMS [2] WITH THREE OF THEM BEING IN THE TAMPA BAY REGION: TAMPA, ST. PETERSBURG AND CLEARWATER. OUR VISION IS TO CREATE A SELF-PERPETUATING CLIMATE RESILIENCE BUSINESS ACCELERATOR THAT WILL DEVELOP COMMERCIALIZATION PATHWAYS AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS FOR STARTUPS TO DELIVER SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE MOST VEXING CHALLENGES IN HAZARD MITIGATION AND COASTAL RESILIENCE AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CENTERED ON SOCIETYS INTERACTIONS WITH THE OCEANS AND COASTS. INTEGRATING A DYNAMIC TAMPA BAY COASTAL LOCATION WITH PROVEN ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT SERVICES WILL PROVIDE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR AT LEAST 50 INNOVATORS. IN DOING SO, OUR BLUETECH ACCELERATOR WILL CREATE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER PATHWAYS FOR COMMUNITIES THAT HERETOFORE HAVE NOT SHARED IN THE BENEFITS DERIVED FROM THE BLUE ECONOMY [3, 4] AND INCLUDE A MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE SET OF ENTREPRENEURS THAN CURRENTLY EXISTS IN THIS SPACE. INNOVATIONS DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED BY THE ACCELERATOR WILL BE BOTH SCALABLE TO OTHER REGIONS OF THE NATION AND TO THE WORLD, AND ARE EXTENSIBLE TO A BROAD SET OF ISSUES OUTLINED IN THE NOFOS PROGRAM PRIORITIES.