Pinellas County Business News
December, 2017
Happy Holidays from all of us at Pinellas County Economic Development!
We are so thankful for the wonderful residents, businesses, and partner organizations that help make Pinellas County the Ideal Business Climate, this year and every year. Best wishes to all for a happy and prosperous 2018!

The Penny Hoarder Expands in Pinellas County, Expects to Create 165 New Jobs

Kyle Taylor, CEO of The Penny Hoarder, owned by Taylor Media, Inc. Magazine's top ranked private media company of 2017, announced that the company has selected Pinellas County for a major expansion. The St. Petersburg-headquartered company recently built out 23,000 square feet on the top floor of 490 1st Ave. S., and expects to hire 165 new employees by 2020.

The Penny Hoarder delivers unique money tips to millions of readers every day. The mission of the company is to put more money in readers' pockets by sharing inspiring stories from real people and practical tips anyone can use.

"It's hard not to fall in love with this city. We're surrounded by artists, thriving tech companies, and a bustling downtown," explains Taylor. "In addition, we have a supportive city government, and neighbors like the 12-time Pulitzer winner, Tampa Bay Times, and Poynter, one of the finest journalism schools in the world. St. Petersburg represents the future of media and technology and we're thrilled to call it home."

"This expansion is representative of the growing appeal of Pinellas County for digital media, technology, next generation advertising and growing data analytics companies," said Mike Meidel, Director of Pinellas County Economic Development. "We're so pleased that Kyle chose our business community with its adaptable millennial workforce, digital media talent and vibrant quality of life as the best environment for The Penny Hoarder's growth."

Visit pced.org/tph to read the full release.


2017 Pinellas Industry Cluster Analysis
 
A new report reveals emerging, transforming and industry stars in Pinellas County. The 2017 Cluster Analysis report shows Pinellas County's economic specializations and compares them to the nation, state and region. You'll see that Pinellas County's economy is based on much more than just tourism. For example, corporate headquarters operations in Pinellas have twice the employment share of the nation as a whole and nearly three times that of the state thanks to our three Fortune 500 companies (Jabil, Raymond James and Tech Data) and numerous smaller corporate, divisional and regional headquarters.  Find out the other areas of opportunity and concern here.

2018 Florida Defense Expo:
Feb. 20 - 21 in Orlando
 
This Florida Defense Contractors Association event provides an opportunity for representatives from the U.S. military, the Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations serving our country to coordinate with businesses dedicated to providing high quality, safe, innovative defense-related products. The Expo includes business-to-business matchmaking and sponsorship opportunities. Learn more and register at www.fl-dc.com/calendar/6th-annual-fdca-florida-defense-expo/.
  
The Voice of Business: National Conference On Industry Sector Growth Strategies
Dec. 7 - 9
Join business and community leaders to include Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, HCA, Raymond James, and US Representative Virginia Foxx to take part in The Voice of Business: National Conference on Industry Sector Growth Strategies December 7-9, 2017. Attendees will be able to provide and gain feedback on industry needs, vision for the future of work, talent challenges, and skills required to take their business to the next level. In addition, experts from fast-growing industries will share their insights on what the future may hold. Learn more and register at http://careersourcetampabay.com/pages/conference.
 
Grow Smarter Summit: Dec. 8, 7:30am-12pm

The inaugural Grow Smarter Summit will introduce the Grow Smarter Strategy: a transformation movement bringing together leadership from the business, government and community sectors to support initiatives for the smart growth of St. Petersburg and fuel a community-wide discussion of the city's plan for the future. Click here to learn more and register.

Regional Competitiveness Report for Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Partnership, in collaboration with its partners, led the development of this comprehensive research tool that benchmarks the community against peer and aspirational markets nationwide. It provides an unbiased and contextual account of the economic performance, competitiveness and prosperity of the region. The report enables the leaders of Tampa Bay to prioritize issues and resources, and measure community progress toward shared goals. View the report: www.tampabay.org/research/regional-competitiveness-report
 
Pinellas County's population and employment are on the rise...

In the next five years, Pinellas County's population is projected to grow by only 7.9%; but, over a third of the 2021 residents will be new arrivals since 2016 - that's 350,000 people new to the county!  Find out how this is possible in the new Pinellas County Population Projection report.


201 7 3rd Quarter Economic Indicators highlight increases in Pinellas County employment and consumer spending. Visit pced.org/DataCenter to view full reports and Quarterly Economic Indicators.
 
Access to Capital Fair, Dec. 2

Learn about help available to local small businesses at the "Access to Capital Fair," Dec. 2, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Connect to lenders, whether you are just starting out or are an experienced business person. The event will be held at Pinellas Technical College, Auditorium G8, 901, 34th St. S. Consultants from the FSBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development will be available. For more information, please call (727) 318-6770.
 
Pinellas News
 
Raymond James wraps up $173M deal
(Tampa Bay Business Journal)

Stay on Course (GE Aviation)
(Business Observer Florida)

 

In This Issue
Quick Links
Business Workshops
The Florida Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County Economic Development hosts a number of business workshops each month. Find a full schedule of upcoming workshops at pced.org/workshops.

Pinellas County Economic Development | 727-464-7332 | econdev@pinellascounty.org | http://www.pced.org
13805 58th Street N.
Suite 1-200
Clearwater, FL 33760