StartupBus Send-Off at the Sail Pavilion — Monday, July 25th!

Join us in a big get-together at The Sail (located on the Riverwalk and right by the Convention Center) on Monday, July 25th at 6:30 p.m. as we celebrate the return of StartupBus and give the coders, entrepreneurs, creatives, and coaches of StartupBus Florida a grand send-off!

StartupBus is no ordinary hackathon. It doesn’t happen in an afternoon in the comfortable surroundings of a coworking space, cafe, or corporate office. It takes THREE DAYS. On a BUS. With all the regular problems posed by a road trip (such as unreliable power and spotty wifi) as well as additional challenges that the organizers have devised. It’s been described as “Navy SEAL training for techies and entrepreneurs.”

While on the bus, the participants — we call them buspreneurs — form teams, come up with an idea for a startup, and build the business and the software that supports it. At the same time, they’re working on a pitch for that business, and practicing the pitch regularly.

After three days when the bus reaches its destination city — Austin, Texas — the real competition begins. StartupBus Florida’s bus will meet up with the other 4 buses coming from different parts of the U.S. and Mexico, and all the teams will pitch in front of judges in the semifinals. A handful of the best teams will go on to the finals, where they’ll pitch to the finals judges. And one will emerge victorious.

StartupBus Florida traditionally departs from Tampa Bay, and we have a solid track record. We had two teams make it to the finals in 2017 and 2019, and our alumni have gone on to start their own companies, build notable careers, and help grow Tampa’s tech scene. This will be the first StartupBus event since 2019, and we’re excited to be back!

StartupBus Florida doesn’t do what it does alone — it’s backed by our favorite hometown heroes: our sponsors! They are...

• CoreX Legal, the legal firm built for startups. CoreX know the tech and legal side of all things startup and blockchain.
• Hillsborough County’s EDi2, where EDi2 is short for “Economic Development Innovation Initiative.” Edi2 provide grant funding and support for events and opportunities that help Hillsborough County’s entrepreneurs become successful.

Join us at the StartupBus Send-Off! Come meet StartupBus Florida’s buspreneurs (contestants) and conductors (coaches), sponsors, alumni, and fans at The Sail, right on the Riverwalk.

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Questions you might have about the event:

• When and where, again? Monday, July 25th at 6:30 p.m. at The Sail.
• Where’s The Sail? Its street address is 333 S Franklin Street, and it’s on the Riverwalk, right beside the Convention Center.
• What is The Sail, anyway? It’s a laid back outdoor bar with a view of the Channel, which leads to Hillsborough Bay.
• What does The Sail serve? They serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There’s also food, courtesy of the adjoining restaurant, Big Ray’s Fish Camp. You can see the menus for The Sail and Big Ray’s here.

Questions you might have about StartupBus:

• When does StartupBus take place? The event starts with a 3-day bus ride that runs from the morning of Wednesday, July 27 to the early evening on Friday, July 29. The final two events happen in the destination city, with the semifinals on Saturday, July 30 and the finals on Sunday, July 31.
• Where is the destination city? It’s Austin, Texas.
• How many people will be on the bus? It varies from year to year, but typically there are 2 to 3 dozen buspreneurs (participants) on the bus, along with 2 - 4 conductors (coaches).
• How many buses will there be? There will be 4 in total. They’ll depart from Cincinnati, Mexico City, Silicon Valley, and Tampa Bay.
• I have tech/creative/business skills and want to be a buspreneur. How can I join? Sign up on the StartupBus “Apply” page, select “Florida” and use the code JOEY22.
• How do I find out more about StartupBus and StartupBus Florida? For starters, there’s the StartupBus site. Tampa Bay’s own tech blog, Global Nerdy, has a number of articles on StartupBus.