Innovation + Job News

Many businesses value educational attainment and appreciate the impact on the local economy. Bradenton IT support and consulting firm United Systems Computer Group not only recognizes the external benefits, but takes it one step further to integrate it into the company culture. 

Now in its eighth year of business, the company delivers IT support services to small- and medium-sized businesses in the Tampa Bay region. The company is growing and thriving in a down economy, something they attribute, in part, to the value placed on employee educational attainment.

"Education is paramount to our success,'' says David Spire, president and CEO of United Systems Computer Group.

In addition to the typical tuition reimbursement, the company takes it a step further by providing paid time off for employees to study. They also have an on-site lab where employees can take a study break during the work day. Education is also an integral part of each employee's individual strategic plan.

In a world where long work hours are encouraged, the company truly supports work/life balance by telling employees to go home if they're working too long. Spire has even been known to pay for an employee to go on a date with his wife. "I don’t care if you like me, as long as your wife likes me,'' jokes Spire. 

Support from the business community is essential to increasing educational attainment in the region, a goal of the Graduate Tampa Bay initiative launched in March of this year in conjunction with the Talent Dividend. A 1 percent increase in the number of Tampa Bay residents with college degrees would result in an additional $3 billion for the region in the form of increased productivity, innovation and social benefits.

A perpetual learner himself, Spire is currently pursuing an MBA degree at Webster University's Sarasota campus.

"I'm the champion for my people,'' says Spire. "If I make their existence in the organization solid and enjoyable, they're going to take that out to our clients. Our clients are happy, and that's based on the happiness of our staff.''

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: David Spire, United Systems Computer Group

EXMO, winner of Tampa's third annual Startup Weekend, represents the Tampa Bay region in the first-ever Global Startup Battle. The team is competing against 137 other regional Startup Weekend winners for a chance to travel to Rio De Janeiro for the Global Entrepreneurship Conference, as well as other prizes to help with the company’s launch. ?

EXMO is an interactive platform designed to facilitate communication between organizers, vendors, sponsors and attendees to help people EXperience MOre at conferences and other events. The app provides a localized feed that integrates with other social networks, allowing for real-time virtual interaction. Virtual conversations can occur pre-event, during and post-event, allowing for more personalized connections.

?The motivation for the concept came from co-founder Todd Goldberg, who was looking for a better way to connect with people at large events. As he prepared to attend Startup Weekend, he realized the only way to connect with other attendees was through Facebook or individual messaging. The original idea was to provide attendees with a way to communicate even if they didn’t know each other.

"During Startup Weekend, the concept evolved into a full conference solution that not only provides an amazing attendee experience, but also enables event organizers to offer more,'' says Nancy Vaughn, co-founder of EXMO and principal, pr & marketing director for White Book Agency.

The founders, all of whom reside in the Tampa Bay area, worked together for the first time at Startup Weekend Tampa. Their identification and understanding of the target customer ultimately led to their selection as the winner. 

The next step is additional feature enhancement and a beta release using Tampa Bay technology events, expected in late January. 

"The Tampa Bay area has a growing and diverse tech community, with many events bringing people together from all aspects of the industry,'' says Karl White, co-founder of EXMO and Founder of Charisma Studios. "We would love to be able to lead the way with a global flagship product, promoting both Tampa Bay’s technology events and its highly skilled community.''

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Todd Goldberg, EXMO; Nancy Vaughn, White Book Agency; Karl White, Charisma Studios

Visual Alliance Media, Moonstruck Marketing Group and Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design will be merging to create Exakt Marketing, a full service marketing agency in Tampa. As part of the merger, the newly created company plans to create seven jobs.
 
"There are two overarching reasons to why we decided to merge,'' says Kerek Lee, CEO and partner of Exakt Marketing. "The first stemmed from the realization that we couldn't be experts in every aspect of marketing whether we wanted to or not. Also, coming together allowed us to bring together three organizations that were experts in their own respective areas of marketing. We can’t begin to stresss enough the importance of cohesive marketing strategy as it relates to a brand and an organization’s success.''
 
Visual Alliance Media specialized in social media marketing, while Moonstruck Marketing and Good Dog/Bad Dog specialized in creative design. Lee says that the merger will allow Exakt the ability to offer clients a full range of services including branding, graphic design, website development, search engine optimization and social media marketing.
 
In order to give clients the array of services Exakt plans to offer, Lee says the new company will need to expand right away.
 
"We are anticipating bringing on two sales positions prior to the end of this year,'' Lee says. "We’re also expecting to add two to three additional positions in the realm of social media management, web development and design. The remaining positions will be filled over an approximate 18 month period.''
 
Exakt Marketing plans to serve several different market sectors; with an emphasis on hospitality, health/wellness and conference planning.
 
Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Derek Lee, Exakt Mareting

FreightCenter, a full-service freight logistics company in Pasco County, plans to relocate its headquarters to Palm Harbor in Pinellas County. The company’s need to move is due to the amount of growth the successful business has had and the continued growth that is planned.
 
"We’re running out of space at our current location,'' says Terese Kerrigan, director of marketing at FreightCenter. "We’re moving into a modern office building in Palm Harbor that has 13,000 sq ft of space, which triples the square footage of our current location.''
 
Kerrigan goes on to say that the move is designed to attract a larger group of qualified workers since the new location will be closer to a metropolitan area. With the company needing more workers, she says FreightCenter is already hiring.
 
"We’re looking to create about 60 jobs between now and the end of the first quarter of 2013,'' Kerrigan says. "We're hiring immediately. We will be transitioning groups to the new building in waves. March is our busiest month and we're hoping to get new hires trained and ready to go before that time next year.''
 
FreightCenter is currently hiring account managers, however, as the company continues to expand, there will be openings in marketing, IT, accounting and customer service.
 
"Our immediate need is for account managers who manage inbound calls from customers who need to ship a piece of freight,'' Kerrigan says. "These positions offer excellent mobility and benefits after 90 days.''
 
For more information on FreightCenter, or to apply online visit the company’s website and job page.
 
Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Terese Kerrigan, FreightCenter

In a typical day’s work, software developers focus on specific tasks and end results, but may not have a chance to explore alternative approaches to the craft of coding.

Enter Global Day of Coderetreat. The day-long worldwide practice event on December 8, 2012, gives coders a chance to practice different approaches, styles and philosophies in a focused and intense environment.

The organizers aim to engage 3,000 developers in 200 cities around the world, asking them to solve the same problem, but in their own unique way.

Now in its second year, the Tampa area event is hosted by 8th Light, Inc. on North Dale Mabry Highway. Coders break into pairs and participate in six to eight sessions throughout the day, each with different challenges and learning opportunities. The challenges are designed so that the teams won’t finish them during each session, purposely encouraging questions and issues. At the end of each session, the group reconvenes for a retrospective -- discussing what they liked, didn’t like, achievements and frustrations.

“It’s more about the practice,” says Gavin Stark, VP of product development for Real Digital Media and co-founder of Tampa Coderetreat. “We’re getting people away to improve their development skills.”

The event attracts a wide range of participants, from experienced developers to those just starting their software careers. Developers code in whatever language they know, and some will try a new language or learn a new approach to coding.
Last year’s event spawned monthly coding practice nights in which Ruby developers continue to practice the craft outside of the constraints of the workplace. The group plans to eventually expand these monthly events and form software communities throughout Tampa Bay to include other coding languages.

“Any time the community can help people reinforce or improve their skills, we improve as a community,” says Stark.

Source: Gavin Stark, Real Digital Media
Writer: Megan Hendricks

Now there’s an easy way for parents to keep track of their children and monitor their online presence regardless of their technical expertise. The recently launched MamaBear app is the first of its kind to combine location tracking with monitoring of both social network usage and driving speed.

The inspiration for MamaBear came from a conversation co-founder Stuart Kime had with a parent who described keeping up with a child as a fulltime job. The parent company, geoWaggle LLC, had already designed location-based technology through GeoMofo, a customer loyalty app. The social media piece was added, ad MamaBear was born.

“Parents don’t realize the level of importance they should put on social monitoring,” says Robyn Spoto, president of MamaBear and a graduate of the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. “There are some pretty explicit, open, public things our children have access to.”

The app’s four founders are all parents from the Tampa Bay region. “Our passion for wanting to protect our children became a big commonality, and MamaBear just took off,” says Spoto. “We knew it was going to help other parents.”

Those parents include a single mom of a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old. She uses the app to keep an eye on her children while she’s traveling for work, and a mom with an autistic son who was hesitant to give her son a phone, but now has a level of comfort she didn’t have before.

The app was recently recognized in the “GEW 50” – a list of the 50 most innovative new companies showing high-growth potential competing in the Startup Open during Global Entrepreneurship Week – and was also selected as one of 25 highlighted by CNBC.

The founders credit the connections they made in Tampa Bay with contributing to their success. “There’s talent here,” says Spoto. “To recognize that is really important. Many times we think we need to look outside of our own backyard for talent in the tech development area, but if you look hard enough you’ll be able to find it here.”

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Robyn Spoto, MamaBear

T-Mobile plans to add 150 employees to its Tampa call center operations.

"We're investing in our Tampa facility, which we are expecting will be taking more calls as a result of increased sales,'' says Katie Bookey, PR representative for T-Mobile. "We’re staffing up in order to provide the first-class service we are known for.’

All of the positions that T-Mobile is looking to fill are full-time financial care representative roles. The company is looking for experienced reps, including bilingual reps who speak Spanish and English. Collections experience, as well as a history of work in a call center environment, is required.

The call center is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight, so there are plenty of shifts available to potential employees. T-Mobile offers employees a comprehensive benefits package, which includes medical/dental/vision coverage, matching 401(k) program and paid time off. In addition, employees receive mobile phone and service discounts.

According to Bookey, the company is actively recruiting and plans to fill all of the positions by the end of March 2013. Those interested in applying for the financial care representative positions can do so through T-Mobile’s website.

T-Mobile’s Tampa Call Center is located at 18205 Crane Nest Drive in Tampa.

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Katie Bookey, T-Mobile

Florida Hospital Tampa's Pepin Heart Institute is the first in west and central Florida and one of only a few in the nation to treat heart patients with a new LARIAT procedure.

The catheter-based procedure ties off the left atrial appendage, a major source of blood clots, using sutures. These blood clots can lead to stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib). Previous treatments for these clots have included medications and pacemakers, but the new surgical treatment helps prevent the clots without the need for those.

AFib is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting approximately 3 million adults in the United States and accounting for more than 20 percent of stroke-related deaths. The disorder can cause shortness of breath, fainting and discomfort.

The minimally invasive LARIAT procedure may eliminate the need for open-heart surgery, as well as for anticoagulants, long-term medications that can cause numerous side effects and frequent medical visits. 

Dr. Dilip Mathew, cardiologist at Florida Hospital Tampa is the only physician in the Tampa Bay region performing the procedure and has performed it four times thus far. Mathew, who has been practicing in the Tampa Bay region since 2004, specializes in the management of heart rhythm disorders. He is qualified to perform the procedure because of his extensive experience with trans catheter surgeries (2,000 to date).

The procedure "allows our patient population to avail of this new technology which will help people who cannot take anticoagulants but are still at risk of stroke,'' says Mathew. "Patients are extremely pleased with the outcome.''

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Dr. Dilip Mathew, Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute

Foley & Lardner LLP was recently recognized in the InformationWeek 500, a list of the most innovative users of technology in the nation, for the seventh year in a row.

The recognition came primarily because of the law firm's adoption of the cloud-based Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), a software program that allows employees to access corporate systems in real time, regardless of their geographic location or device. Because files are kept on a central vs. local server, employees can access the same programs, applications and data, and perform all of the same functions from any location. They can also access files and execute applications from any type of device, such as a smartphone, iPad or laptop.

"It has drastically reduced the amount of person power we need from an information technology help desk standpoint because everything is centralized,'' says Chris Griffin, Tampa native and commercial litigator for the firm. This means problems can be solved from the central server, allowing for a quicker response in a litigation situation when time is critical.
 
Employees also have the flexibility to choose their preferred work device. The company no longer purchases computers for its employees, but instead gives them an equivalent amount of money to spend on the device they are most comfortable with. It also provides more responsiveness and timeliness to meet client needs.

"As we look to keep Tampa's business community thriving, recognition of local businesses by organizations like the InformationWeek 500 list will help enhance Tampa's reputation as a city that will welcome and support companies like Foley, that work every day to improve business performance,'' says Linda Sanders, chief information officer for Foley & Lardner.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Sources: Chris Griffin and Linda Sanders, Foley Lardner

INETICARE, a healthcare management company in Tampa, is currently hiring nurses, software engineers and administrative professionals. The company, which offers both care and claims administration services to employee groups, has grown steadily since its inception in 2004.

"When the company started in 2004, there were only three employees, today we have 50,'' says Ronnie Brown, VP of business development for INETICARE. "We’ve been able to grow quickly and successfully, and are very well respected in the healthcare industry, which is an industry that will continue to grow. There is a need for the technology solutions we provide.''

INETICARE was founded by CEO and President Joseph Hodges, who saw a need for innovative electronic solutions within the healthcare management industry. Today the company offers a variety of technology solutions related to claims services and care management.

There are currently two software engineering positions open at INETICARE. According to Brown, the company also plans to add to their sales staff and is currently looking for sales professionals. She goes on to say that due to the services the company provides, nursing professionals are often in demand.

"We are always looking to hire nurses because that is so much of what we do,'' Brown says. "Right now we are looking to hire two to three nurses whose function is to provide care to employees in our employee groups.''

INETICARE administrative offices are located at 400 North Ashley Drive, Suite 1550, in Tampa.

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Ronnie Brown, INETICARE

A manufacturing company based in Cape Coral plans to expand in Manatee County, creating 80 new jobs. JRL Ventures and its holdings company JRL Enterprises plans to purchase the former Wellcraft facility in South Manatee and expand its composite tool-making business. The facility, which has been vacant since 2008, will house all 80 positions, according to the company’s CEO.

"We have been looking for multiple years for a large building where we could expand. In the past we have had to move into various smaller buildings, which splintered our business among several locations,'' says Bob Long, CEO of JRL. "To build a new building would have been very expensive. The Wellcraft facility made sense because it has high ceilings for ventilation as well as a lot of the equipment we need.''

Long worked as president of Wellcraft for many years beginning in the mid-1970s, so he was very familiar with the facility. His current company will maintain its headquarters in Lee County, using the Manatee location for its expansion.
Long says the company plans to fill the approximate 80 jobs in the next three years.

"There are a lot of qualified candidates in Manatee County,'' he says. "The area has a very good labor market.''
As an engineering and design firm, Long goes on to say that the jobs his company plans to create will be mostly high-skilled positions. Job candidates can keep a lookout for opening positions on the company’s website.

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Bob Long, JRL Ventures

The Money Crowd, a crowdfunding website designed for nonprofits in Tampa Bay, provides a new option for  community members to support the causes they care about. The site aims to give nonprofits an avenue to fundraise with little to no overhead and less administrative work than traditional projects.

"We wanted to see if crowdfunding could work on a local level for a niche market,'' says Kostas Stoilas, senior associate at Cushman & Wakefield of Florida and founder of The Money Crowd.

Nonprofits develop a need with a specific project, event or cause. The Money Crowd's volunteer team then meets with the organization to fine tune the concept and shoot video to be used on the site. Promotions are done by both the nonprofit and The Money Crowd, and donations go directly to the organization through their Paypal account.
 
A Venice, FL native and graduate of The University of Tampa's MBA program, Stoilas developed the idea while on the leadership council at Big Brothers Big Sisters, which is also the site's first project. The goal is to fund an event that will recognize volunteers who have been with the organization for five years.

The most recent -- and most successful -- project is Hannah's Homeless, a winter clothing and food drive to benefit St. Petersburg's homeless population. The project began in September and has already exceeded its $2,500 goal. The success of this project in the early stages indicates they're on the right path and the community embraces the concept.
Future plans include events to allow donors to meet the organizations they are benefitting for happy hours and networking. 

"Charities love it,'' says Stoilas. "Now we're trying to build the audience and get people to regularly visit the site to find other causes they can get involved with.''

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Kostas Stoilas, The Money Crowd

Going Green Tampa, a directory and advocate for eco-friendly businesses and City Recycling Group, a professional clothing recycling company, are partnering to keep textiles such as clothing, shoes, purses and stuffed animals out of landfills while benefitting those in need. The companies are seeking businesses to host bins at their site, making donating convenient and accessible to the community.

Clothes and shoes take up more space than any other non-durable good in the solid waste stream, accounting for approximately 12.5 million tons of total waste per year in the U.S. alone. That amounts to 67 pounds of clothing contributed by the average person.

Currently, 185 business host bins throughout the Tampa Bay region. Any type of business qualifies to host -- apartment complexes, gas stations, restaurants, retail establishments. Businesses can receive money back from the collections they turn in or choose to donate the money to a charity. City Recycling Group picks up collections weekly.

Most of the clothing collected is recycled as second-hand clothing and sent to Second and Third World countries. Some is made into cleaning and polishing cloths for industrial use, while some is recycled into fiber for insulation.

"It's a triple benefit,'' says Tara LaSalla, partner and account manager for Going Green Tampa. "Most importantly, it keeps things out of the landfill. The host also gets money back, and it furthers their green efforts.''

If companies don't have a lot of money to spend on a green initiative, this is an easy way for them to make a difference.

"It's helping people, and it's good for the environment,'' says LaSalla.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Tara LaSalla, Going Green Tampa

J.T.D. Enterprises, a company that makes tubular assemblies for various products, is planning to relocate from Michigan to Pasco County next year. The business will create 10 new jobs that are expected to exceed average annual salaries in Pasco County by 115 percent. The owners of J.T.D. Enterprises were drawn to Pasco County by tax incentives, weather and a significant regional customer base.
 
"My wife and I own the business, which was started by my father over 30 years ago,'' says Tom Nihra, VP of J.T.D. Enterprises. "We have a lot of customers in Florida and throughout the Southeast. Also, it's certainly a lifestyle change for us to move to a warm climate year round.''
 
J.T.D. Enterprises is unique from other manufacturers in that they have proprietary technology, which enables them to manufacture tubular assemblies used in golf ball accessories, flagpoles and defense technologies. With a growing customer base, the company will be able to expand as it relocates.

"The relocation is scheduled for the middle of next year,'' says Nihra. "We are looking at starting the first phase of hiring in April of 2013, which will be five or six positions. The balance of the jobs will be filled by September 1, 2013.''

Nihra says he plans to hire a couple customer service representatives, who will be expected to perform administrative support duties as well as sales. He will also be looking for qualified candidates who are skilled in machinery.

"For the skilled manufacturing positions, candidates will need to bring an applicable skills set, however, there will still be some training on the proprietary technology we use to make our products.''

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Tom Nihra, J.T.D. Enterprises

Vistra Communications, a full-service public relations and consulting firm in Tampa, has been growing steadily over the past year and plans to hire an additional two to three people in 2013. The company, which was started by Brian Butler five years ago after retiring from the military, serves clients in both the public and private sector.

Butler started the firm out of a room in his house; eventually he was able to move into the company’s current Tampa office and added a couple employees to the firm’s headcount. Within the last year, Butler has added to his team and now employs seven full-time employees and three part-timers.

"We are growing in the nonprofit arena offering marketing services in the small and medium government arenas, as well as federal government,’' Butler says. "We now have a contract with US Central Command out of MacDill Air Force Base.''

Due to the firm’s growth, Butler says he plans on hiring an additional two to three people in the next six months. He says he will be looking for marketing professionals and public relation practitioners with experience working with government contracts.

"The positions are not open right now, but we hope to be in a position to hire soon,'' he says.

Vistra Communications headquarters are located on 15436 N. Florida Ave., Suite 160, in Tampa. Butler, who calls Tampa home, has no plans on moving himself or the headquarters; however growth outside of Tampa is planned.

"We opened a small office in West Palm Beach, and our plan is to hire a couple employees out of that office,'' Butler says. "We also want to eventually open an office in Washington, DC in the next two years.''

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Brian Butler, Vistra Communications