Every founder in the Launchpad program is matched with a mentor. The seed grant gives them money to start, and the mentor gives them someone who has already made the early mistakes and can help them avoid a few. Launchpad is a CodeBoxx Foundation program for early-stage entrepreneurs in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay. Most of the founders are working on their first business. They usually have a real skill and a workable idea. What they often lack is someone to ask: how to price a service,...

Most new businesses get their first funding from family and friends. That money pays for the LLC filing, the website, the equipment, and the first few months of getting customers. Plenty of capable people in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay have the skills and the idea but no one in their circle who can write that check. Launchpad is a program of CodeBoxx Foundation built for those founders. It pairs a seed grant with a mentor who has been through the early stages of building something....

Launchpad, a new St. Petersburg initiative focused on entrepreneurship and economic opportunity, is addressing one of the most difficult challenges facing aspiring entrepreneurs: turning a promising idea into a viable business. Leaders from across the city's business, entrepreneurial, investment, education, nonprofit and civic communities are working together to strengthen entrepreneurship, prepare the workforce for an AI-enabled economy and shape St. Petersburg's next chapter of economic...