TECH Talks Provide Networking Opps, Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Innovation Center, formerly STAR TEC, a center that helps innovators and entrepreneurs grow their businesses, will hold its monthly TECH Talk event on August 9th. The organization, which has been known to the community as STAR TEC since its inception in 2003, recently renovated its brand.

"We re-branded ourselves to be more in line with what our mission is and what we do," says Danielle Weitlauf, manager of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. "Since we work with innovators and entrepreneurs to help them develop their business and grow, we wanted our name to be reflective of that work."

While their name has changed, the mission has not. As part of their mission to help innovators and entrepreneurs grow their business, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center holds a monthly networking event called TECH Talk. Each month there is a keynote speaker who presents topics relevant to innovative companies.

"Our August speaker is a local former Department of Defense contract manager who spent many years reviewing business proposals and bids to find the right fit for the defense funds that were available," Weitlauf says. "He is now helping companies on a consulting basis, assisting them with finding a contract that will work for their business. In the Tampa Bay area with MacDill and SoCom so close, we have a lot of small businesses that could benefit from government contracts."

The August TECH talk event will be Tuesday, Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Microsoft headquarters, 5426 Bay Center Drive, Suite 700, in Tampa. There is no fee to attend, however space is limited so advance registration is suggested. Those interested in attending can register by visiting techtalk2011.eventbrite.com.

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Danielle Weitlauf, Tampa Bay Innovation Center