Soudabah Moayedi
February 22, 2023
The St. Petersburg Area EDC hosted its 6th annual meeting in the lovely Vinoy St. Petersburg. This is a great opportunity for local business leaders and the community to see what the St. Pete EDC is bringing to our hometown of St. Pete. Businesses of all sizes are thriving in our area and companies like Huddy and and newcomer Relic Tickets are hardworking testaments to that.
We all know that the local businesses and artists are what make St. Pete so unique. The St. Pete EDC has been working hard since the beginning on bringing innovate and new business opportunities to the our small area. The allure of St. Pete is strong with its great weather, high quality of life, and inclusive community. In 2022 alone the St. Pete EDC has created 252 target industry jobs, 75 local business visits, and 84 companies added to the pipeline. They even brought the first ever Fintech X which brought the very fintech cohort to St. Pete. This collaboration drew 16 companies from all over the world to St. Pete.
Companies we met tonight included Haddy and Phospholutions two companies that have relocated to St. Pete. Jay Rogers CEO of Haddy creates sustainable furniture with the power of AI. The great quality of life and the ability to bring people interested in Stem to come live here is what brought his company here. He aims to create more microfactories and hire people from our city to create a community in his company. Hunter Swisher CEO of Phospholutions came to St. Pete for its unique culture and to be close to the community that would benefit most from his product.
The most exciting new company that is making their home in St. Pete is Relic Tickets. A company that offers a "smart ticket" system built on the blockchain. Co- founder and CEO Hunter Abramson believes the ticketing system is broken and takes away from fans and operators. His reasoning for choosing St. Pete over the other options his company was considering really boiled down to was the community. They felt welcomed, understood, and supported. With all the events that happen in our city we think Relic Tickets made the right choice in making St. Pete their home.
Development can be scary when locals feel like their being invaded by companies and people from other places who may not understand the uniqueness that is our home. With the St. Pete EDC by our side and guiding like minded individuals to our community I don't think we need to worry about these companies that have called St. Pete home. Thank you to the St. Pete EDC for your tireless work in adding newcomers to our community that continue to add and grow the already amazing community St. Pete has to offer.
