Continuing its support of local entrepreneurs, innovators, and the creation of new ventures, Haneke Design today announced its sponsorship of the 2014 Tampa StartupBus.  This intense competition involves groups of “hackers, hipsters, and hustlers” who’ve not collaborated before meeting up to form ideas for new technology products and companies over the course of 72 hours.  They’ll do this while on board a bus headed to Austin, Texas for a competition at Rackspace head quarters, which takes place this year March 2-6.  The newly formed teams will disembark, meet up with other ‘buspreneurs’ from across the country, and pitch their company ideas in the StartupBus finals there.

“Programs like this keep the entrepreneurial momentum growing here in Tampa,” said Jody Haneke, president of Haneke Design.  “It’s always been part of our mission to mentor and support people in our tech community who thrive on developing new ideas, companies, and partnerships. We’re excited to help the local organizers make this opportunity a reality for Tampa Bay buspreneurs. It’ll be amazing to get on board the StartUpBus and see what happens.”

The StartupBus program began in 2010 with the goals of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem through unique experiences and inspirational connections. Over the course of a three day bus ride, super talented buspreneurs – who range from designers, developers, coders, technology specialists, marketers, financial whizzes, and sales superstars – board buses from six regions across North America and converge on Austin for the big competition.  The success of the North American StartupBus events led to the launch of sister competitions in Europe and Africa as well.

To learn more about StartupBus, visit http://startupbus.com/.