Episode 3

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Published on:

11th Jan 2023

Joe Russo on the Startup Santa Show Hindsight 20/20

Joe is a tech entrepreneur with the Mission to Build a Better World through Technology and Innovation.

In 2021, he founded Emergency Ventures, a startup building technology to save lives in natural disasters.

In 2015, Joe founded South Florida Tech Hub, a nonprofit tech association Building South Florida's Tech Hub. Since its founding as the Palm Beach Tech Association, Joe led the organization to attract over 200 corporate members and over 10,000 professionals to their community, with an annual budget over $300,000 and 5 FTE's.

In 2018, Joe co-founded 1909, a nonprofit to support entrepreneurs throughout the Palm Beaches by partnering with the FAU Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and with $350,000 in support from the Knight Foundation and four (4) local Cities. Originally established in 2016 as Downtown West Palm Beach its first coworking space raising $150,000+ from the Knight Foundation, City of West Palm Beach, and private donors.

Since 2013, Joe has also served on the academic Advisory Boards for FAU, FIU, PBSC, and local School Districts. In addition to Economic Development Taskforces, Chamber of Commerce Councils, and several nonprofit boards and committees.


A Native Floridian, he attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach and Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.

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Startup Santa Show
Robert Blacklidge is the Education Director for Catapult Lakeland.His work building the Lakeland Ecosystem has had and continues to have a significant impact.Robert has worked to bring several international programs to the Lakeland community. (1...
Our goal is to share the lessons learned and the lives impacted by those who have pursued their passions. Join us as we talk about the journey our guests have taken to get to where they are now.

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Robert Blacklidge

Robert Blacklidge - Domi Station's Executive Director

He is an educator, mentor, speaker, and ecosystem builder. His work building the Florida Ecosystem has had and continues to have a significant impact locally and beyond. Robert has worked to bring several international programs to Florida communities. (1 Million Cups, Startup Grind, and Techstars Startup Weekend.)

It is through these efforts and the efforts of others that Florida communities have garnished national recognition. These current efforts are built on his past experience creating and running Hackathons including Office Depots, IEEE, Code Tampa, Startup Bus, and Biz Sprint. Robert volunteers running programs for several organizations to include Action Zone a veteran-focused business accelerator and Techstars Startup Week and Weekend.