News

Seven lessons from the Clearwater entrepreneur who got backing from ‘Shark Tank’

Plenty of talented workers and a much lower cost of living were among the reasons Sara and Josh Margulis moved Honeyfund, their crowdfunded wedding registry service, from Silicon Valley to Clearwater.

The company, which won $400,000 in financial backing in 2014 from Kevin O’Leary, one of the sharks on ABC TV’s Shark Tank, is poised for growth in 2019, two years after the move, said CEO Sara Margulis. Along the way, she learned a lot about growing the business.

St. Pete Council Chair: West Central Avenue project success depends on community cohesion

An effort is underway to bring the same kind of economic revitalization to West Central Avenue in St. Petersburg as in trendy areas such as the Grand Central District, the Edge District and the Skyway Marina District.

St. Petersburg School of Rock opens this weekend

With more than 30,000 students in 200 locations worldwide, the Massachusetts-based music school franchise School of Rock has developed – and succeeded with – an alternative method. It’s a performance-based curriculum for kids age 8 to 18, which means there’s an emphasis, from Day One, on playing rock ‘n’ roll music with other young musicians, in real time, in the same room.

Is Selling in Walmart a Good Thing? (#54, Copper Cow Coffee) [The Pitch]

Debbie Wei Mullin is pitching her pour-over Vietnamese coffee startup, Copper Cow Coffee. The company is already doing well on Walmart’s shelves. But does she have what it takes to take the brand online?

Russell Baker: ‘When Writing Is Fun, It’s Not Very Good’ [The Atlantic]

Falling potatoes, reading lists, and humor critiques: a wide-ranging conversation with the legendary New York Times columnist, who died this week at 93.

The Shuffle

Michael Clifton
Syniverse

Zaps

The Hustle

Keith Gilbert (Buster's Antiques)

Buster's Antiques is a home decor-focused antique shop in the heart of St. Pete's Warehouse Arts district. Not only is the shop named after Keith's pet Frenchie, it also pays homage to actor Buster Keaton.

Imagine Museum

St. Petersburg’s Imagine Museum is a beautiful collection of studio glass right in the heart of the city’s artistic downtown.

Influencer

Bridgette Bello
Tampa Bay Business & Wealth Magazine

Focus: Infrastructure

The Big Urban Mistake: Building for Tourism vs. Livability [Strong Towns]

To put it simply, do cities invest in big projects that create an entertaining space that grows tourism, or do they invest in the people that have already taken a risk by moving back into their long-dormant downtowns?