Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on Homebrew Hillsborough:
Homebrew Hillsborough cooks up networking for techies
Sunday, February 22, 2015 9:02pm
TAMPA — As the smell of coffee wafted through the crowded cafe, men and women, some casual in jeans and T-shirts, others in jackets and ties, chatted about their passions, accomplishments and future plans for the Hillsborough community.
Small business owners, retired engineers, app launchers, mentors and inventors had all gathered at a local coffee shop to exchange ideas with fellow entrepreneurs.
The scene reflected just what the Hillsborough County Economic Development Innovation Initiative was hoping to cook up with Homebrew Hillsborough, a new series of networking events scheduled for the last Friday of each month. It launched in January at Buddy Brew on S Kennedy and the second will be held at 8:30 a.m. Friday at Jet City Espresso, 5803 N Florida Ave., in Seminole Heights.
“Technology affects all of our businesses,” said Jennifer Whelihan, economic development manager for Hillsborough County.
Whelihan helped coordinate the event sponsored by the initiative, also known as EDI2. The program aims to drive the growth, technology and innovation of start-ups and small businesses, and the networking event aids the goal by drawing folks familiar with the burgeoning tech community and those looking to get more acclimated.
Charlie Pratt of Quantum Measurements Corp. said he came out to the event after reading an ad in the newspaper. Newsline Media president Peter Vaka and Milford Communications Partners managing partner Robert Francis reminisced about gathering with fellow techies at coffee shops, long before this networking event became official.
“They used to be called Friday Hangouts,” Francis said with a smile. “I’m glad it’s back.”
Tony Selvaggio, founder of Scrap on Spot, a company that recycles and re-purposes electronics, recently won Access to Capital Summit’s Business Pitch Competition. He spoke with excitement about his technology being implemented in local schools.
He isn’t the only one gaining success in schools. Ayesha Hackman, Harmon STEM School founder and principal, also was there.
In addition to Homebrew Hillsborough, EDI2 will schedule other networking events.
Whelihan has a Hillsborough Women in Tech event in the works for late March, during Women’s History Month. Collaborative Technologies of Tampa Bay CEO and founder Sylvia Martinez also has an event planned for March. With the help of an EDI2 grant, she will host a collaborative peer networking event, Q1 Tech and Entrepreneur.
Wevue, an app designed to gather pictures and videos to turn into movies, is helping the community network in another way.
“We realized businesses could use the app as a way to share presentations, meetings, projects and other things with the rest of the office,” co-founder Taylor Wallace said.
In fact, Wallace used his application to share the first Homebrew Hillsborough event.
County Commissioner Sandy Murman is not a “techie” herself, but she is an advocate for small businesses and stopped by to support the scene.
“Small business is the foundation of our community,” Murman said. “It’s an investment.”
