Launchpad Launches to Boost St. Petersburg Entrepreneurship

Launchpad, a new initiative in St. Petersburg, Florida, is set to boost local entrepreneurship and economic growth by addressing a critical challenge faced by aspiring entrepreneurs: turning promising ideas into viable businesses. This initiative builds on the work of CodeBoxx Foundation, which has been preparing people for careers in the technology economy.

Launchpad aims to extend its mission by helping individuals build the businesses and jobs of the future. It will collaborate with various stakeholders, including businesses, schools, investors, nonprofits, government, and existing entrepreneurial organizations. The goal is to identify gaps, connect resources, and support initiatives that can be measured for their impact.

One of the central aspects of Launchpad’s work is to help early-stage entrepreneurs access what is often referred to as friends-and-family capital. This is the relatively small amount of early funding needed to validate an idea, build a prototype, and get a business off the ground. Many capable entrepreneurs lack access to this funding, and Launchpad seeks to bridge that gap by connecting entrepreneurs with experienced mentors, technology guidance, potential customers, and investors.

Founders who receive this support tend to hire locally, spend locally, and remain rooted in the neighborhoods where they started. This localized economic impact adds up to broader opportunities across the community. Launchpad’s early work is organized around six priorities: entrepreneurship, AI and technology, workforce development, capital, using St. Petersburg as a living lab for new solutions, and community impact.

The initiative will begin with a small number of targeted initiatives and will track results such as the number of entrepreneurs supported and jobs created. These metrics will be reported publicly to ensure transparency and accountability.

Irv Cohen, founder of CodeBoxx Foundation, stated, "St. Petersburg already has talented people and organizations doing important work. Launchpad is here to bring those people together, find where we can do more collectively, and turn good ideas into results and new jobs."