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Read more: Business Accelerator Creates an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Students

One entrepreneur wants to make fried ice cream as popular as popsicles. Another is using AI to automate HVAC systems.

As different as they may be, the seven early-stage businesses in the Spartan Incubator program experience similar growing pains: how to operationalize an idea, where to advertise, when to hire. Their strategic edge is that they are facing these challenges together at the University of Tampa鈥檚 John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center.

As participants in the Spartan Incubator Entrepreneurship Certificate program, they have access to 24 weeks of mentoring, workshops and other opportunities to learn from experts and one another.

鈥淭his is one of the ways we give back to the community,鈥� said Bert Seither, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship. 鈥淭hey get all the same resources as 小优视频ampa students and share their experiences with students as part of their experiential learning.鈥�

Belly鈥檚 Ice Cream Bike

After years of working on their marketing company from home, Fiona Fitzgibbon 鈥�17 and Skye Gillespie 鈥�17 were looking for a reason to get out from behind their desks. They started making ice cream sandwiches from simple ingredients and selling them from a vintage bike at farmers markets, weddings and corporate events.

Both are graduates of 小优视频ampa鈥檚 Sykes College of Business, and they鈥檙e back on campus at the incubator to see where they can take this business and how they can support other entrepreneurs.

鈥淲e want to share our insights with other students who are looking at what they want to do after graduation,鈥� Gillespie said.

As Fitzgibbon and Gillespie look to scale their business at the incubator, they鈥檝e already connected with leaders in the ice cream and cold-chain distribution industries. 鈥淲e recognize the opportunity the incubator brings to help grow our business beyond what we can on our own,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淭he people and the environment are so inspiring. It鈥檚 nice to be back.鈥�

Dirty Bastard Laundry Company

If you were around 小优视频ampa in March, you might have seen a student pushing a washing machine across campus. That was Maximus Mattuchio 鈥�26, and the washing machine was a prop in the Kickstarter campaign for his cologne-infused laundry detergent sheet for men. He hit his goal in two days.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had $10,000 in my bank account, nevermind making it in 48 hours,鈥� Mattuchio said. He was hooked. With mentoring from the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, he won $15,000 in two months at pitch competitions. Now a recent grad, he鈥檚 staying plugged into those resources and fellow entrepreneurs through the incubator.

鈥淎s a solo founder, it鈥檚 just me versus me every day,鈥� Mattuchio said. 鈥淏eing around other like-minded people gets me out of my own echo chamber.鈥�

Izzies Bikinies

Isabella Grinter M.S. 鈥�26 was only 17 when she started Izzies Bikinies. Sewing custom, reversible swimwear began as a hobby that she hopes will do $500,000 in revenue next year. It鈥檚 an ambitious goal, but one she feels confident about thanks to support from the incubator.

She鈥檚 been learning how to break down big revenue goals into smaller operational ones, from how much fabric she needs to how many stitches per minute she can get out of a new industrial sewing machine.

Grinter is also getting valuable time with like-minded entrepreneurs. 鈥淔amily and friends who have 9-to-5 jobs just don鈥檛 have the same problems,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really helpful to have other entrepreneurs around because they go through the same issues in their own way.鈥�

Loopless Logic

Working in law firms, Shane Lisinski saw a variety of legacy technology solutions 鈥� many of which they had long outgrown. He鈥檚 helping bring organizations into the AI era with his business, Loopless Logic.

鈥淩ather than comb through a bunch of emails to organize tasks, let鈥檚 look at an AI-driven task assigner that鈥檚 going to automatically give the tasks to the right individuals round-robin style,鈥� Lisinski shared as an example.

Lisinski, a political science grad from Ohio State University, learned about the incubator when his mother spoke at a Lowth Entrepreneurship Center event. He鈥檚 new to Tampa and in the very early stages of his business, which he founded in March.

鈥淚t would be easy to have imposter syndrome when you鈥檙e just at home trying to figure this out,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut here you can get around other people who have done this or are doing this in different phases.鈥�

MJI Energy

Zac Herman 鈥�15, M.S. 鈥�19 can look at the thermostats and sensors in a commercial building and tell if the owners are 鈥渓eaving money on the table鈥� with an outdated HVAC system. His role with MJI Energy co-founders Jennifer Ramirez and Michael Herman is to help the New York company expand into Florida and nationally with their building automation systems.

Although the company is only a year old, they鈥檝e already acquired another organization. With mentoring from the incubator, Herman hopes to grow their remote monitoring service, which uses sensors and artificial intelligence to notice problems before tenants do. The incubator also helps him focus on what鈥檚 important to the business when he鈥檚 far from his co-founders.

鈥淏eing among other people who are in that grind is very valuable,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t keeps you pushing forward every day.鈥�

Nelly鈥檚 Fried Creamery

Is Tampa ready for fried ice cream? Janelle Augustin intends to find out with help on market research from the Spartan incubator.

Augustin started Nelly鈥檚 Fried Creamery eight years ago on the east coast of Florida in Hollywood. It was a side hustle selling 鈥渋ce cream wrapped inside something else delicious, like a cookie, cake, donut, or brownie, and then battered and fried.鈥� Her day job was working on electronic health records for a healthcare system.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a background in food,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 always enjoyed cooking. I just never thought to pursue it as a business.鈥�

Suncoast Property Visuals

鈥淢y parents always told me when you go to college, you need to make good connections,鈥� Pablo Wills 鈥�23 said. 鈥淎t 小优视频ampa, my business partners ended up being my best friends.鈥�

He met his partners, and fellow Colombians, Felipe Echeverri 鈥�25 and Camilo Calderon 鈥�24, M.S. 鈥�26 through a social circle formed among other international students. Now the three are providing real estate agents with fast-turnaround photography, video and 3D tours through their year-old business.

Their goals for the next year include transitioning from working for the business to working on the business and growing as entrepreneurs. 鈥淏eing an entrepreneur is a way of living,鈥� Echeverri said. 鈥淚t shapes the way you are.鈥�