St. Pete X

Shilen Patel lives at the entrepreneurial crossroads of passion, talent and capital. It's a nice place for an entrepreneur to hang out and he gets to enjoy it on 'both sides of the transaction'. His startup HealthAxis is already successful and on the road to even bigger wins. His role with the Patel family office means he's seeing and investing in, well, pretty much anything he wants to.

In densely packed episode, Shilen shares his insight on the health care industry and the path he sees to transforming it through HealthAxis. We also hear what he looks for before consider investing in a startup and his thoughts on the Tampa Bay brand.

Joel Momberg is a people person, and it has served him well. Momberg spent 30 years with All Children's Hospital, in a range of fundraising roles including Executive Vice President of the ACH Foundation, and 10 more as Chief Executive Officer for the University of South Florida Foundation, before retiring in 2019. "The key is," he explains, "if you're a good fundraiser you rarely really ask for money." Momberg recently published his third novel, "For Those Who Can."

Veteran technology executive Ron Tarro, now a leading investor in early-stage businesses, has a good handle on what it takes for a startup to become a success and generate big returns for investors. As vice president of New World Angels, Tarro keeps an eye out for companies with unique products and founders who can execute on their ideas and who think big about how they plan to use investment funding. In this interview, he also describes the syndicate process used by New World Angels and what it means for investors and for startups.

In 1985, longtime Tampa Bay Times journalist Lucy Morgan was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (with Jack Reed) for uncovering corruption in the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the first woman to be so honored for investigative reporting (she was a Pulitzer finalist, for another story three years earlier). In this interview, she discusses her feelings on the role of a reporter in keeping government honest and the community safe, and the current state of journalism, vis a vis social media, the decline of physical newspapers and the attendant culture of politicians crying "fake news." Morgan, who retired in 2013, is considered a pioneer - and a hero - in southern journalism.

On this episode of SPX, Joe visits with legendary photographer Herb Snitzer, a longtime resident of St. Petersburg. In a non-stop career than spanned more than 50 years, Snitzer - as a professional on assignment for Life and Look magazines, the New York Times and other publications - created dozens of now-iconic images of the great jazz musicians of the 1950s and beyond. He discusses his self-described job as a "visual historian," his thoughts on photography as an art form, and why he prefers to work in a darkroom, perfecting his prints, rather than shooting things digitally. Other topics include the business of selling limited-edition prints and Snitzer's important role as a chronicler of the civil rights movement in America.

On this episode of SPX, Joe is joined by Dr. Sandra Braham, CEO of Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services. Dr. Braham discusses her extensive career in higher education, before moving into the non-profit world. They talk about her transition to Florida, and about her deeply-held spiritual belief that God had a plan for her. She explores balancing the quantitative and qualitative value of each of her organization's individual programs, and the wrap-around nature of those programs and how they work in tandem with one another to provide help for families in diverse and meaningful ways. With more than 10,000 non-profits in Pinellas County alone, Dr. Braham ponders whether or not the available funds are being split too many ways, and talks about Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services' plans for growth in the non-profit sector in the coming years.

On this episode of SPx, Joe is joined by Bill Edwards, CEO of the Edwards Group and the Bill Edwards Foundation, and a well-known businessman and philanthropist. Edwards, who arrived in St. Petersburg in the early 1990s, discusses the run away success of his Mortgage Investors Corporation, his contributions to downtown including the renovations of SunDial, Al Lang Stadium and the Mahaffey Theater, his strong work ethic and his unwavering dedication to helping his community.

On this episode of SPx, Joe is joined via Zoom by Jim Craig, founder of Gold Medal Strategies. Craig was the celebrated goalkeeper of the 1980 Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team, known as the Miracle team. Craig shares the story of his success in professional hockey, what it taught him about business and how he has shared those lessons with clients through his books and renowned consulting practice.

On this episode of SPx, unicorn entrepreneur Arnie Bellini joins the podcast to tell the story of ConnectWise. He shares how the managed IT services provider went from its founding in 1982 in his parents' house to the area's first company with a billion dollar valuation. Then, he shares his efforts to give back, starting with connecting the dots of business and higher education. Finally, he shares his next venture, saving wild Florida.

On this episode of SPx, Joe is joined in the studio by Fred Bullard, veteran developer and entrepreneur. Bullard, the man behind some of St. Pete's most iconic places, including Feather Sound/Carillon and BayWalk, shares his storied history of entrepreneurial endeavors, lessons learned over the years and what gives him meaning now.