Finance & Insurance

TOM WALLACE
MANAGING PARTNER, FLORIDA FUNDERS, TAMPA
Recognized as the top VC in the Southeast by Pitchbook, Florida Funders is a hybrid of a venture capital fund and an angel investor network that discovers, funds and builds early-stage technology companies in Florida and beyond. Wallace majored in management information systems and “loved how it allowed me to explore business and computer science in near equal parts.” He began his career as a programmer, but started his first company a few years after graduating and “just fell in love with everything about starting, building and running companies.”
EDUCATION | Indiana University of Pennsylvania (BS) |
CIVIC EFFORT | Florida Funders manages the Florida Institute’s portfolio of 60-plus life science and technology companies that have received funding through either the institute’s loan or equity investment programs. |
SOMETHING SURPRISING | I write poetry, short stories, and I’ve been working on a book for a long time. |
NEW HOBBY | Over the past year, I’ve started the Investing in Florida Technology podcast. We have since produced episodes with everyone from Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Reddit, to Jason Calacanis, one of the first angel investors in Uber, Chris Sullivan, the founder of Outback and Bloomin’ Brands, and many other investors. |
ADMIRES | Brian Murphy from ReliaQuest. He’s done an amazing job with that company, and he just has an all-around great reputation as a strong leader. |
READING | Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott; Peace is Every Step, by Thich Nhat Hanh; Trillion Dollar Coach, by Alan Eagle, Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg; Think Like a Monk, by Jay Shetty |
GEORGE ACEVEDO
CHASE CONSUMER BANK
EDDY ARRIOLA
APOLLO BANK
Fabiola Brumley
Bank of America
Trevor Burgess
Neptune Flood
Kevin Burgoyne
Florida Venture Forum
Timothy Cartwright
Fifth Avenue Family Office
David Chitester
Seedfunders
Marcelo Claure
Sprint
Scott M. Coble
Wells Fargo
TONY COLEY
BB&T
John Corbett
Centerstate Bank
KERRY C. DUSTIN
FALLS RIVER GROUP
V. RAYMOND FERRARA
ProVise Management Group
John Forney
UPC Insurance
JOHN D. FUMAGALLI
Northern Trust
Pat Geraghty
Guidewell and Florida Blue
Barry Gilway
Citizens Property Insurance
JORGE GONZALEZ
City National Bank
Drew Graham
Ballast Point Ventures
Keith Hoskins
Navy FCU
Dennis S. Hudson III
Seacoast Banking
KEVIN JOHNSON
SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION
Rodger Krouse
Sun Capital Partners
MARTY LANAHAN
IBERIABANK
MARC LEDER
Sun Capital Partners
FELIPE LEMOS
KAWA
INEZ LONG
BLACK BUSINESS INVESTMENT FUND FLORIDA
AGOSTINHO MACEDO
OCEAN BANK
DAVID MILLER
BRIGHTWAY INSURANCE
MICHAEL MILLER
BRIGHTWAY INSURANCE
Harold Mills
VMD Ventures
Gary Norcross
Fidelity National Information Services
Brian Philpot
AgAmerica Lending
Joy Randels
New Market Partners
Paul Reilly
Raymond James Financial
GARRETT RICHTER
First Florida Integrity Bank
BOB RITCHIE
American Integrity Insurance
Gene Schaefer
Bank of America
Yvette Segura
USAA
Bruce Sherman
Miami Marlins
RAJINDER P. SINGH
BankUnited
THOMAS SITTEMA
CONVERSUS
BILL SMITH
CAPITAL CITY BANK GROUP
ADRIA STARKEY
FINEMARK NATIONAL BANK & TRUST
TROY TEMPLETON
TRIVEST
Gary Tice
First Florida Integrity Bank
Mario Trueba
First Horizon
Jeff Vinik
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tom Wallace
Florida Funders
Will Weatherford
Weatherford Capital
CHRISTINA “CINA” WELCH
FCCI INSURANCE GROUP
Bill West
Bank of Tampa
BRIAN WOLFBURG
VYSTAR CREDIT UNION