For Episode 2 of Startup Capital, Season 2, we reached out to someone who knows the intricacies of Tallahassee's ecosystem better than anyone: Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

Elected to the mayor's office in April, 2013, Gillum has been the driving force behind a number of local initiatives, both civic and economic. Most recently, Gillum began a community-wide initiative called the Tallahassee Innovation Partnership (TIP). Spearheaded by Gillum's office, the TIP seeks to connect the city's different institutions with innovative new businesses in town.

Kicking off the TIP was an innovation pitch night, which gave local entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their startups to the community. This is a step towards solving one issue that we've identified here through Startup Capital: a disconnect between the local startup scene and many of the city's economic players in government and higher education.

Two weeks after that Pitch Night, our host Lucas Lindsey sat down with Mayor Gillum for an honest conversation about Tallahassee's past, present, and future as a home for startups and entrepreneurship. Listen in to learn more about Gillum's plans for infusing the local tech scene with life, building innovation locally, and bringing new opportunity to the Startup Capital.

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Mayor Andrew Gillum

Lucas Lindsey

Cuttlesoft

 

Episode One Links:

Tallahassee's Innovation Pitch Night

Kicking-Off the Tallahassee Innovation Partnership

From Government Town to Innovation Capital