Tampa Bay is a sun soaked city that’s attracting more and more businesses every year. 

Beyond the beautiful climate, what makes Tampa Bay so attractive for startups founders? 

Low cost of living. No state income tax. Endless sunshine. It’s the perfect formula to draw top talent away from the high-stress culture of Silicon Valley and New York City. It’s no wonder Tampa Bay was ranked as the second best large city to start a business in the U.S.

Whether you’re a startup founder currently in Tampa Bay or thinking about moving here, this guide will give you the resources you need to build and grow a successful business here.

Let’s dive in! 

Why Tampa Bay is the best place to be for startups

Let’s take a closer look at the forces driving Tampa’s rise as a hub for entrepreneurs.

• Low corporate tax rates: In 2025, Florida’s corporate tax rate starts at 5.5%, which is lower when compared to states like New York (7.25%), Illinois (9.5%), and California (8.84%).
• High investor activity per capita: Early-stage companies in Tampa gain more visibility and better access to funding.
• A resilient startup ecosystem: Tampa’s startup survival rates outpace many other metro areas. On top of the vibrant ecosystem, Tampa also has the third lowest startup costs in the country.
  

WalletHub’s Entrepreneurial Activity Index, which measures startup density and success rates, consistently places Tampa among the best cities to start a business in the country. 

The key drivers behind this reputation include:

• Financing accessibility: Strong lending activity and competitive loan values for small businesses.
• Venture investment per capita: Rising year-over-year.
• Investor prevalence: A growing pool of angels and VCs in the Tampa Bay region.
• Human-capital availability: Job growth outpacing unemployment, with skilled talent ready to work.
• Higher-education assets: Access to universities like USF, which ranks among America’s top schools.
• College-educated population: A consistent increase in degree-holding residents.
• Working-age population growth: Young professionals are moving here and sticking around.

Add to that the growing network of incubators, accelerators, and startup platforms, and it’s clear Tampa Bay is rising as one of the best places to build and grow a businessConsider just Embarc Collective: With over 125 startups in our ecosystem, we’re continually helping these founders with the support, resources, and community they need to thrive.

Recent Tampa Bay Startup Fundraising Wins

Success stories are happening in real-time in Tampa Bay. In total, businesses have received over $600 million in funding. Notably, four of these fundraising wins come from Embarc Collective members—Grifin, SkyTI, Blockspaces, and Iteright—highlighting the impact of the community in fueling startup growth:

• Reliaquest: Reliaquest, Tampa’s first unicorn in years, delivers advanced threat detection, investigation, and response through its GreyMatter security platform, which leverages artificial intelligence to automate critical cybersecurity tasks. They recently raised $300M in funding at a $3.4 billion dollar valuation. 
• Grifin: Grifin makes it easy to invest in companies you shop at. Buying something from Target? You can invest $1 or more into Target using Grifin. Grifin raised an $11 million series A round and is based here in Tampa Bay!
• SkyTl: A Tampa-based climate intelligence company wanting to expand its AI-powered disaster platform raised $3.5 million in a pre-seed round.
• Blockspaces: A blockchain and software services company, recently raised $2 million in funding.
• Iteright: An artificial intelligence platform that helps guide business executives through investment decisions, raised a 1.3M pre-seed
• Optiversal: An AI-powered content engine for e-commerce recently raised a $5.5 million Series A round.
• NeuroEM Therapeutics: a clinical-stage biotechnology research company pioneering the use of radio frequencies to reverse Alzheimer’s disease, has closed initial rounds totaling $1.33 million of a $5 million Series A round
• Guardare: An AI risk and compliance platform secured $5.1 million in funding. 

That money is flowing from investors to business owners in Tampa Bay. They’re investing in innovators and entrepreneurs who have visions of making an impact and solving problems. 

Raising soon? Investment firms to keep on your radar

Anzu Partners: Life Science, Manufacturing | Seed, Series A

Anzu is active and based in Tampa; they focus on industrial and life-science technologies, manage roughly $1 billion in assets, and operate through venture, revenue-based, and SPAC vehicles.

Ark Applications: Agnostic verticals | Series A, Series B

Founded in 2015, Ark Applications offers both consulting and investment services out of Lutz, Florida, with active involvement in the local startup ecosystem.

Axioma Ventures: Agnostic | Seed

Axioma is looking to identify, partner and support companies that are determined to work on transformation, innovation, change and disruption across various domains to build a better world and an even better tomorrow

Ballast Point Ventures: Healthcare, Tech Enabled Services, Software  | Series A, Growth

They target investments in companies led by experienced, focused management teams with deep domain and management expertise, a burning drive to succeed, and a high level of integrity.

Bisk Ventures: Education | Seed

Focuses on seed-stage investments in EdTech startups aiming to accelerate growth in educational technology.

Dreamit Ventures: Cybersecurity | Seed

Dreamit is a national accelerator willing to invest in early stage startups. 

Florida Funders: Agnostic | Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A

This firm is well-known for combining venture capital and crowdfunding in Florida

Hegemon Capital: Financial, Biosciences, Energy, Real Estate | Series B, C, Growth

Targets mid-to-late stage investments (Series B–Growth) across financial services, biosciences, energy, and real estate sectors.

KLH Capital: Manufacturing, Logistics | Private Equity

A private equity firm that invests in manufacturing, logistics, and technology companies—often partnering with family- and founder-owned businesses

MacDonald Ventures: Agnostic | Pre-Seed, Seed

Deploys pre-seed and seed-stage capital across industry-agnostic early-stage startups.

Mangrove Equity Partners: Agnostic | Private Equity

Provides private equity capital (agnostic verticals) to support growth and expansion-stage companies. 

SCP & CO: Healthcare, Security, Media | Private Equity

Invests private-equity capital across healthcare, security, and media platforms.

TiE Tampa Bay: Agnostic | Pre-Seed, Seed

As part of the global TiE network, TiE Tampa Bay is active in mentoring and early-stage support

Topmark Partners (formerly Stonehenge): Enterprise | Series A, B, C, Growth

Focuses on hypergrowth investments for rapidly expanding businesses. 

Tampa Bay Ventures: Agnostic | Series A and B

Focuses on companies in the greater Tampa Bay area who are in a high-growth stage and ready to scale (post-MVP, pre-significant traction). 

Tampa Bay Startups to Watch

The best way to understand Tampa’s startup energy is to meet, network, and share stories with like minded people who are invested in building the future of Tampa Bay:

• Running Mate, founded by Dena Lewis, is making running safer and more social. Dena chose Tampa to launch her app because the city had everything she needed for a successful launch.
  
• Actualization AI, founded by John Licato, a professor at USF. His work is centered on artificial intelligence and human reasoning, and he saw firsthand the growing need to ensure AI systems are both effective and ethically sound.
  
• Bulkitrade, founded by Mauro Costa, is building a B2B marketplace that connects the supply of emerging food and beverage brands with [the international demand of retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. He combines e-commerce, supply chain, fintech, and data analytics – all in a single location.
  
• Bea Better Eating, founded by Dr. Sera Lavelle, is building an app to help people improve their relationship with food. Dr. Sera Lavelle built Bea Better Eating with a vision to be an empowering, compassionate tool that leverages mindfulness, hypnotherapy, and AI to help people heal their relationship with food in a lasting and meaningful way.
  
• Pet Harmony, founded by Azza Diasti, is an app built for pet owners. Azza has been in the pet industry for over 20 years.  Her app offers an integrated solution for the pet owner to manage their pet’s health from a single easy user experience and get all pet owner’s questions and concerns resolved when you need them most.
  

And don’t miss the growing list of Florida Women Founders & Investors shaping the ecosystem. 

Tampa Bay’s Startup Platform: Embarc Collective

Funding is one part of the equation for entrepreneurs, but it isn’t the whole thing. You still need mentorship, coaching, and community. Embarc Collective is proud to be a core part of helping startups across Florida succeed.

As Tampa’s nonprofit startup platform, Embarc Collective supports more than 125+ early-stage startups across: 

• Coaching from experienced leaders and practitioners
• A vibrant community of industry-leading startup founders
• Startup-focused events to give founders the inspiration and roadmap they need to succeed
• Access to leading investors across the country

And our numbers speak for themselves: Embarc Collective members experience a 95% five-year startup survival rate (nearly double the national average). In 2024 alone, member companies created 977 new jobs and raised over $565 million in funding.

Tampa Bay Conferences and Events

With so many businesses launching and scaling within the Tampa Community, there are plenty of ways to connect with other founders at any of the region’s standout gatherings:

Glaring Gap Summit

The Glaring Gap Summit equips participants to understand the startup and investing ecosystem, from defining their role to evaluating startups, valuation, and board opportunities. It focuses on supporting women entrepreneurs, closing the gender gap in venture capital, and helping attendees build a personal strategy to make a real impact with their experience, network, and capital. The Glaring Gap is helping women founders build the future of Florida. The Glaring Gap Summit for 2025 has past, but you can still sign up for the waitlist for 2026!

Cyber Florida

Cyber Florida, based at the University of South Florida, Cyber Florida was established by the state to strengthen Florida’s leadership in cybersecurity education, research, and public protection. They build a pipeline of skilled professionals, support research, and provide safety programs that help students, career changers, small businesses, local governments, and citizens stay secure in the digital world.

Startup Week Tampa Bay

Techstars Startup Week, Tampa Bay is a free, five-day celebration packed with over 100 entrepreneur-led sessions, from legal and marketing to tech, designed to empower local startups and business owners through hands-on learning, mentoring, and growth opportunities. It helps founders and business owners in the Tampa Bay area by connecting them with seasoned community leaders, potential partners, and a strong professional network. Giving them the tools, support, and inspiration they need to succeed and thrive

Synapse Summit & Synapse Converge

Synapse Summit is Tampa Bay’s premier showcase of innovation, bringing together startups, companies, and community leaders to highlight new ideas and growth. It helps founders and business owners by connecting them with cutting-edge technology, fresh opportunities, and the region’s brightest minds.Explore more on Embarc Collective’s event calendar.

Sunshine and success awaits

The Tampa Bay startup scene is clearly thriving.  

With a strong business climate, a supportive community, and a wave of driven founders, this southern city should be at the top of your list if you’re considering relocating or launching a business. 

Whether you’re seeking capital, mentorship, or simply a network of peers who get what it means to build something from scratch, Tampa Bay is ready for you. 

Come and build in Tampa Bay and consider Embarc Collectives as your number one resource and support center on your entrepreneurial journey.