TechNova is an all-volunteer organization devoted to fostering collaboration and peer-to-peer education among startup founders, freelancers, and other grass-roots technology professionals in the Central Florida tech ecosystem. Primarily known for two long-running events in the Tampa Bay area BarCamp and Ignite!, TechNova is a Florida-based 501(c)3 organized by individuals with decades of tech industry experience and a deeply held belief that our region’s economic health is tied to improving the talent pool of individuals driven by innovation. Outside of the hosting of our signature events, TechNova’s leaders have initiated many other activities to support the growth of the tech ecosystem. From tech and business skills-focused workshops, founder mentoring, co-working, hosting local entrepreneurial support events like the Kauffman Foundation’s Global Entrepreneur Week and Startup Grind founder interviews to speaking at events all over the state in support of the Tampa Bay tech community. Ignite speakers challenge the status quo The Best Tech Minds and Startup Founders in Tampa Bay No Geek too young or old Participation is Its Own Reward Ignite Entertains and Informs TechNova’s leadership is a driving force in the local Tampa Bay tech ecosystem, frequently lobbying government officials, local journalists and business community leaders on topics such as STEM education, workforce diversity, improvements to transit, and a move evolved view of economic development to make our region a top producer of innovation and tech talent. Our signature event BarCamp is part of an international network of user-generated conferences primarily focused around emerging technology and the Internet. They are open, participatory workshop-type events, the content of which is provided by participants in what is called the “unconference” where topics are crowdsourced at the event to create a just-in-time agenda. Attendees then move from session to session picking the topics that most interest them. Past topics have included everything from software development, robotics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, social media, game development, and much more. Every year brings new topics and new attendees who are many times inspired to give their own talks at future BarCamp events. Team at Tampa Hackerspace BarCamp Crowds Wrap-up Session at BarCamp 2015 The first BarCamp in Tamp Bay was held in 2008 and attracted just over 100 participants. Now celebrating its 10^th anniversary, BarCamp Tampa Bay typically draws 800 people, covering a wide range of interests, professions, and ages. Unlike tech networking events, BarCamp attracts mostly practitioners and enthusiasts interested in hands-on skills and who motivated to develop new products and services based on emerging technologies and opportunities for solving problems through innovation. Ignite! Tampa Bay, also organized and hosted by TechNova, is a platform for expanding beyond just tech-related topics of interest to include more community engagement, social entrepreneurship, and issues that impact everyone in the Tampa Bay region. The motto of this event is “Enlighten us, but make it quick.” Ignite is a series of speedy talks where presenters get just 20 slides, automatically advancing every 15 seconds to share their passion for some topic they feel deserves broader community support. The goal of the Ignite model of accelerated storytelling is to help anyone anywhere learn to present their ideas & stories and to drive others in your community to get involved. The result is a night of ~20 fast and fun presentations that last just 5 minutes but often leave the audience engaged to learn more and maybe even become an active advocate for a newfound cause. Ignite talks occur in 350+ cities around the globe driven entirely by volunteers and passionate individuals that encourage active participation and change to make their communities more engaged and aware of the innovative programs, purposes, and people around them.

Email: [email protected]

TechNova: www.technonaflorida.org

BarCamp Tampa Bay: www.barcamptampabay.org

Ignite! Tampa Bay: www.ignitetampa.org