Tampa entrepreneur specializes in connecting people

It has been Roberto Borrero’s passion for music and art that fostered his desire to create and innovate, leading the Tampa musician to a life of entrepreneurship and business.

Borrero is a singer-songwriter known in the music industry at “Baby Boy” who scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Latin Tracks with “Ya No Llores (Let Me Love You)” in 2008. That was followed by a top 10 hit single and a top 14 song on the American dance charts.
 
After two other Top 10 singles, he left the music industry in 2013 and went on to become proficient in marketing and mobile applications, founding Mobile Apps Media in 2015, a Tampa mobile apps and marketing company.
 
Formerly working in an office in Tampa’s Ybor City historic district, Borrero and his team of 7 now work from their homes and help clients with branding, website development, mobile app creation, video production, consultation and creation of social media marketing and SEO best practices.

Borrero’s build-up to his own company began when he moved to Tampa from Vineland, NJ, in 1995 to run a relative’s pager business. That opportunity evolved into a successful, seven-figure cell phone company with several Tampa Bay Area locations that was sold to a publicly traded company. He then went on to found Mobile Apps Media.

 
Now in its fifth year and with 15 to 20 active clients from across the United States, Borrero, 40, says his company has actually benefitted somewhat from the current coronavirus pandemic.
 
“It’s picked up a lot, especially due to COVID, because companies are finding they have more time on their hands to rebrand, upgrade websites, rework logos, do video production, commercials,” he says.
 
Additionally, since the start of Mobile Apps Media, Borrero formed several Tampa Bay Area networking organizations, including the St. Pete Business Club, the Hispanic Business Club, the Tampa Business Club 2017, and Network After Hours. He also purchased a social club, New Town Connections, in December 2019. And he launched the Tampa Bay Latin Chamber of Commerce in January.

Currently, due to coronavirus concerns, Borrero, a graduate of Tampa’s Leto High School, caps in-person events to between 20 and 40 business owners.

“I like to connect people to creating relationships; this is the best way to do it,” he says about those organizations.  
Borrero also organizes Zoom networking weekly lunchtime events as well as after-hours meetups from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The Tampa Business Club’s signature annual event in August averaged more than 1,000 attendees since the first year in 2018. The Tampa Business Club is free to join and Borrero compares its website to Facebook, where user-friendly interface helps Tampa Bay Area business members connect. The only cost for members is for specific event passes or a premium membership that includes all event passes throughout the calendar year.
 
“It’s just building relationships, expanding networks, shaking hands and building relationships, and doing business; networking provides that,” he adds.