We are excited to welcome Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest Tour to Tampa Bay on May 1st. This is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on our region and showcase the startups and entrepreneurs who grind towards success each day.

In preparation for May 1st, past hosts of the Rise of the Rest Tours offered advice on how Tampa Bay can maximize this opportunity. Their experience and lessons learned will help us all leverage the momentum beyond the tour stop and use that energy to spur even more startup traction.

Tip #1 – Demonstrate our Regional Connectivity (Kansas City)

Andy Stoll, Senior Program Officer at The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Rise of the Rest will meet startups and other stakeholders from both sides of the bay and should see how the broader region is collectively building a startup-friendly Tampa Bay.

Tip #2 – Invite More to the Party (Cincinnati & Madison)

Eric Weissmann, Vice President of Communications, Community & Economic Inclusion at Cintrifuse

Scott Resnick, COO of Hardin Design & Development

Given there is already 600+ RSVPs to attend the evening’s fireside chat and pitch night, there is lots of excitement for the event, including an after-party hosted by Synapse.  What’s even more energizing is knowing that new faces will get involved with the startup community because of the awareness the #ROTR8 tour will bring to Tampa Bay.

Tip #3 – Maximize Rise Of The Rest Network’s Expertise (Madison)

Scott Resnick, COO of Hardin Design & Development

This guidance will help eight finalists pitching for $100K better illustrate their story not only on May 1st but opportunities beyond.

Tip #4 – Make the Most of Your Visiting Audience (Madison/Milwaukee)

Gener8tor, A Concierge Startup Accelerator

The Rise of the Rest delegation is made up of startup stakeholders known nationally, providing an opportunity to create more awareness and engagement between local startups and their team of high profile leaders from around the country. We are excited for the Rise of the Rest investment team to meet a multitude of high growth startups based out Tampa Bay during the visit.

Tip #5 – Include the Media’s Megaphone (Nashville)

Kelley (Boothe) Griggs, Founder of Mealist

As an early stage company, being profiled in local media can go a long way to provide credibility when attracting talent and capital. Compared to other parts of the country, our region is lucky to have engaged members of the media focused on the regional startup landscape.

Let us follow your stories and observations from the Rise of the Rest Tour on May 1st. Share using #ROTR8 and #ROTR8TB.