St. Pete X

On this episode of SPx, former director of UNICEF (1995 to 2005) and the United States Peace Corps (1993 to 1995), Carol Bellamy joins Joe in the studio to preview her keynote at the Conference on World Affairs. Bellamy discusses the lessons learned from her rich professional history, which began in the private sector, moved to politics, and later into global public service efforts. Bellamy shares...

On this episode of SPx, Paresh Patel, CEO of HCI Group, joins Joe Hamilton in the studio. In this wide-ranging conversation, Patel shares his introduction to Tampa Bay in 1985 with tech company Paradyne, his professional evolution through the years in tech, real estate, banking and insurance, and the various opportunities that have presented themselves at unexpected times. Patel talks business phi...

On this episode of SPx, former CEO of Tech Data Steve Raymund joins Joe in the studio. Raymund stepped down as chairmain of the board of Tech Data in 2017, following 36 years with the company. Tech Data was founded by Raymund's father, but it was under his own leadership that the company began its meteoric rise, going national and then global to become one of the Florida's largest companies.

On this episode of SPx, local real estate developer Jonathan Daou joins Joe in the studio. Daou, the man behind the revitalization and curation of the EDGE District, shares how 20 years in New York helped him craft the EDGE District experience. Daou shares the philosophy behind his retail investments, the vision behind district-building, and his aspirations for St. Petersburg as a whole.

On this episode of SPx, Shipwreck Hunter and Aresty speaker David Mearns joins Joe in the studio to talk about uncovering some of the world's most famous shipwrecks and finding the "unfindable." Mearns shares the painstaking process of locating a shipwreck, the all-or-nothing stakes and the controversies attached to these discoveries. He shares the incredible story of the HMAS Sydney and the Kormo...

On this episode of SPx, Tony DiBenedetto joins our host Joe Hamilton in the studio. In this insightful episode, DiBenedetto walks listeners through the unlikely founding of Tribridge and the $300,000 check that brought it to fruition. He explains the tenets of Tribridge's culture, and the many acquisitions, pivots and evolutions before its eventual sale. DiBenedetto's talks coming "off the rocket...

On this episode of SPx, Blake Wilson, a.k.a. BatDad joins our host Joe Hamilton in the studio. BatDad, a viral internet sensation who became famous through the now-extinct platform Vine, has 8.1 million followers on Facebook and 722,000 subscribers on YouTube. Through the last six years as BatDad, Wilson has taken the internet by storm and monetized his platforms enough to make BatDad his full tim...

Former Tampa Bay Times Political Editor and Senior Vice President of Mercury, Adam Smith joins our host Joe Hamilton in the studio for a conversation on politics, media and the news business. Smith explains why regional newspapers are so important to the vitality of our republic and why he fears they may be on the way out. Joe and Adam cover everything from media silos like Fox News to the many ch...

On this episode of SPx, author Gilbert King joins Joe in the studio to share new insights from his book, Beneath A Ruthless Sun, and its connections to his Pulitzer Prize-winning second book, The Devil In The Grove. King shares the true story of the brutal man involved in both cases, Sheriff Willis McCall, and how King dug up long-forgotten/buried history through research and interviews. King talk...

On this episode of SPx, our host Joe Hamilton is joined in studio by the unparalleled Iqbal Paroo. There are few people in this world with a life story as inspiring as Paroo's. From his childhood in colonial Kenya to his time in the Kenyan air force, to the traumatic injury that changed the course of his life, Paroo has packed three lifetimes into one. He shares his story, his professional traject...

On this episode of SPx, our host Joe Hamilton is joined in studio by local glass legend, Duncan McClellan. Nearly a decade ago, McClellan famously moved into what is now known as the Warehouse Arts District, creating the first live, work, and show gallery in St. Petersburg. At the time, people called McClellan crazy. Now, he has had a leading role is transforming the district into an arts destinat...

On this episode of SPx, we throw back to February with Tampa's 58th mayor, Bob Buckhorn. Our host, Joe Hamilton, sat down with Buckhorn as he contemplated the end of his mayorship, the power of the office and life after. In this rare and insightful conversation with a leader at the pinnacle of his career, Buckhorn waxes on journalism, authenticity and the new political climate in the age of Trump.

On this episode of SPx, Marcin Kleczynski, founder of Malwarebytes, breaks down the origin story of the company he started at just 15 years old, living with his parents in the suburbs of Chicago. Kleczynski shares how pirated video games led him founding a company with more than 800 employees and four offices across the world. Kleczynski talks misconceptions around malware, company culture, how th...

On the kickoff episode of Season 2 of the St. Pete X podcast, Dr. Kiran Patel joins host Joe Hamilton in the studio to share his insights about entrepreneurship, philanthropy and wealth as a by-product of personal meaning. Patel, a cardiologist turned businessman whose estimated wealth nears $250 million, has called Tampa Bay home for decades. He shares his journey - growing up in Zambia under apa...

On this episode of SPx, Joe sits down with Bob Glaser, president and CEO of Tampa Bay real estate titan, Smith & Associates. They compare St. Pete's Warehouse Arts District with Miami's Wynwood and talk possibilities of the Tropicana Field site. Glaser shares his expertise on hot topics like downtown development, housing, and what St. Pete needs to become a next tier city (it's probably not what y...

On this episode of SPx, renowned author and lover of cities, Peter Kageyama joins Joe in the studio for an emotional conversation about love and personal evolution, and how those have manifested in Kageyama's latest book. They share appreciation for one of St. Pete's best known co-creators, talk districts and how cities can address gentrification. Kageyama sheds light on the characteristics of a w...

On this episode of SPx, Joe welcomes Steve Tingiris, serial entrepreneur and founder of Dabble Lab, to the studio. After many iterations, Tingiris has found the perfect niche for his business, functioning as fractional R&D teams that build tech products and tools for other companies. Dabble Lab's most recent focus has been artificial intelligence and machine learning. The team builds digital assis...

On this episode of SPx, Joe welcomes Jennifer Hall, executive coach and licensed psychologist. The woman behind Mindset Coaching, Hall has more than 20 years of experience in executive coaching and has co-developed two assessment tools - the Entrepreneurial Mindset Index and the Coaching Mindset Index. She talks the evolution of her coaching business, what she looks for in a client, and predictive...

On this episode of SPx, Joe welcomes Marc Blumenthal, founder of Synapse and partner at Florida Funders. In this acumen-packed episode, Blumenthal shares his thoughts on the Tampa Bay startup community and the tipping point that brought him to found Synapse. He reflects on the inaugural Synapse Innovation Summit in March 2018, and how "scaling serendipity" through Synapse can cause high-value coll...

On this episode of SPx, Lakshmi Shenoy joins Joe Hamilton to talk building Tampa Bay's very own "central landing zone" for tech entrepreneurs, Embarc Collective. A veteran of Chicago's 1871, Shenoy shares her thoughts on the burgeoning entrepreneurial scene in Tampa Bay, and lessons learned thus far as CEO at the helm of a startup supporting startups. Shenoy explains the importance of collective s...

On this episode of SPx, we say goodbye to co-host Ashley Ryneska. Ashley has been a staple since the show's inception, but she's moving on to greener (and colder) pastures in New York. For her last episode, she and Joe host her former colleague, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg, David Jezek. As head of one of the most impactful nonprofit organizations in the area, Jezek shar...

On this episode of SPx, Rick Homans, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership joins Joe and Ashley in the studio to talk regionalism. Despite Tampa Bay's standing as the 19th largest metropolitan area in the country, fractured advancement efforts have hurt the region's development and hindered collective productivity and wage growth. The Tampa Bay Partnership is looking to bridge the gap, cr...

On this episode of SPx, David Downing sits down with Joe and Ashley to talk the nuances of tourism marketing and what the $1 billion industry means for Pinellas County. Downing explains his deep ties to St. Petersburg and why he returned to the area after starting his career in New York City. He shares the lesser known aspects of VSPC, including its global reach and the economic impact of tourism...

On this episode of SPx, Joe and Ashley host AgileThought CEO, David Romine. Since founding AgileThought in 2004, Romine and his partners have grown the business exponentially. Headquartered in Tampa, the company has expanded to Orlando, and most recently to Atlanta, Georgia. Romine talks endings and new beginnings in founding AgileThought out of the settled ashes of Arthur Anderson. He shares the...

On this episode of SPx, Peter Schorsch, the politico behind Florida Politics, joins Joe in the studio to talk St. Pete media. Schorsch is a complex and controversial figure in local and national politics. This episode goes deep - we see a surprisingly soft side of Schorsch, as he shares the challenges of building StPetersBlog (which later became Florida Politics) in his hometown - and the risks of...