Growing Pains: The Unheard Stories of Lakeland's Business Owners

We have an extra special episode for our listeners this week as we sat down with Lakeland native, Wesley Barnett, and Andreas Calabrese, who are partners at Tampa Bay Ventures capital firm where they write the first professional seed check into promising startups that are led by great entrepreneurs in Tampa Bay & Lakeland.

In addition to providing capital, they support the companies in their portfolio with strategic guidance and help them strengthen their relationships within the community.

🎥 Watch this interview on our YouTube channel

👉 Learn more about Tampa Bay Ventures

Wesley Barnett is a native of Lakeland. He graduated from All Saints Academy in 2004, and then earned a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University’s Calloway School of Business, with a focus on Finance. Wesley earned his Master of Business Administration at UCLA Anderson.

Wesley, the son of Carol and Barney Barnett, is involved in a wide-ranging collection of activities throughout Polk County and the State of Florida, including start-up investments and real estate development. Wesley is also deeply committed to improving the community through philanthropic endeavors, most recently assisting with the annual United Way campaign, serving on the board of The Children’s Movement, and as a founding member of Bonnet Springs Park. Wesley also sits on the Boards of Citizens Bank & Trust, All Saints Academy, GiveWell Community Foundation, and qGiv.

📲 Connect with Wesley here

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With a deep focus on industrial and enterprise technologies, Andreas has reviewed over 12,000 early-stage investment opportunities. He has worked as a trusted advisor for tech founders from the first check to exit.

Andreas is a former debate champion, voracious reader and a former competitive alpine skier at the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy.

📲 Connect with Andreas here

Paige Wagner, broker and owner of Paige Wagner Homes Realty, moved to Lakeland in 2012 with her husband Chase Wagner. After graduating college in 2014, decided she wanted to pursue a career in business and chose real estate because of the interactions and impact it has on people.  

Paige wanted to create a company that speaks to the soul of Lakeland. Lakeland is full of unique individuals with a love for community and deep pride for their city and Paige Wagner Homes strives to live out that same mantra.  Her expertise in design is rooted in the many historic homes she’s assisted clients in selling over her career. Some of Paige’s past historic home projects can be found on Instagram: #TheEdgewoodHouse and #TheHiawathaHouse.  

Paige along with her husband, Chase, and directors, The Collection Media, produced a Lakeland-based documentary titled The People Who Live There. The film premiered at Lakeland's Historic Polk Theatre on October 1st, 2021.

Watch on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npH4EA0sxug

Connect with Paige here: Instagram | LinkedIn

Not everyone starts their journey as a business owner or entrepreneur. Jeremy Voss and Cole Springer tell us what steps they took to eventually achieve their goal of owning a construction company and how working for a corporation set them up to become successful business owners.

Springer Construction has been building and maintaining quality Industrial, Retail, and Commercial Construction for over thirty years. As a third-generation, family-owned General Contracting firm, they believe in building the community from the inside out through the successful completion of construction projects and our strong philanthropic ties to the community.

Visit Springer Construction's Website

Connect with Jeremy Voss | Connect with Cole Springer

JD Arbuckle founded Smart Inbound Marketing after moving on from the CEO position of a larger agency with 50 clients and 15 employees. He observed how difficult it can be to deliver effective results at an affordable cost with standardized packages and too little face time. Smart Inbound was created to change that frustrating aspect of the digital marketing industry. JD Arbuckle received his Masters Degree in Business at Florida Southern College. He has personal experience with 100's of clients of all sizes in many different industries.

Smart Inbound Website

Email: [email protected]

Rut was born and raised in India. At 19, he got the chance of a lifetime to come to America and pursue his dreams. Coming to a foreign country, his odds were stacked against him. Despite everything, he has started his own company and has discovered his passion for creating solutions that protect the planet and serve communities. Rut takes us through every obstacle that stood in his way and tells us how he overcame each and every one of them.

Austin's entrepreneurial journey started at 16 when he originally wanted to be a musician and was pursuing audio engineering and song writing, but ended up starting a digital marketing company. Even though he didn’t become a famous songwriter, Austin shows us how following your passions and being open to opportunities can bring you happiness and success.

Connect with Austin! ➡ https://www.linkedin.cn/in/austin-st-jean-79468bb3/

From insurance to virtual reality, Michael Woodhouse gives us his experience and story starting his Insurance company 'W Insurance Group' as well as his other company 'Paragon'. Michael covers some of his knowledge from the insurance industry as well as his experience trying to grow his business through marketing and branding.

https://www.wgroupfl.com/

Get Connected! ➡ https://www.linkedin.com/in/businessinsurancepro/

Delta never saw herself starting an organization, but she heard a call she couldn't refuse. After a mission trip to Africa, she was never the same. She felt a calling and a passion to do something about the struggles of the people she met in Kenya. From quitting her job to starting a business she was not prepared for, we cover her story of starting Take Heart.

From passion project to working with companies like Fanatics, join us as we take a peek into Clay Canning's journey! Clay is the founder and owner of Screen Skinz,  the best-selling branded screen protector in the world. In this episode, we dissect his story, and how his relationship-centered approach to business has impacted his journey so far, and how it might help him in the future.

Check them out!

Facebook ➡ https://www.facebook.com/ScreenSkinz/

Website ➡ https://screenskinz.co/

Connect with Clay on Linkedin! 

https://www.linkedin.cn/in/clay-canning/

Have you dreamed of taking your passion and making it your full-time job? Well for Kelly Riley, that's her reality. In this episode, we cover Kelly's story as she finds out about her passions and how she has turned those passions into a business.

Through this journey, Kelly learned a lot about herself that she wasn't aware of. She learned about talents and interests she didn't know she had, and just what goes into running a business full time.

Check them out!

Website ➡ https://www.junetaylorshop.com/

Instagram ➡ https://www.instagram.com/junetaylorshop/

Facebook ➡ https://www.facebook.com/junetaylorshop