Amanda Payne, CEO, AMPLIFY Clearwater
Amanda Payne, CEO of AMPLIFY Clearwater, spoke with Invest: about recovering from the 2024 hurricanes and the resiliency of the Clearwater community. She detailed how that resiliency translates into the strength and growth of the business community, and the role AMPLIFY plays in continuing that growth.
What are some of the most significant achievements and milestones over the last year?
We successfully launched a tourism-focused small business incubator under the AMPLIFY Clearwater Chamber Foundation. We graduated 20 entrepreneurs through two different cohorts from the program, many of whom have expanded their business in this market and had opportunities created for them that they may not have had access to otherwise. It was focused on mid-growth businesses within the 3-5-7 year mark to help them gorw to the next level. Entrepreneurs participated in pitch nights, presentations, and received $60,000 in grant funding to reinvest in their businesses. We’re the first incubator of its kind in Florida, and one of only two nationwide, that is focused specifically in tourism related services. Because tourism touches so much of our economy and destination, we had unique participants beyond the traditional areas of retail, restaurants, and hotels, including medical services, transportation, and wellness.
What are some of the toughest parts of the year in light of recent hurricanes? How are you supporting the local business during the recovery process?
The greatest thing about our community is its resiliency. Clearwater has not just our city leadership, but our business owners and residents have locked arms and risen to the occasion to bring our community back to the place it was before, to help it shine once again. After Hurricane Helene, a 100-year storm, we received between four to six feet of water across the island and affected everybody in the community. Our immediate response included distributing food and water and checking on affected community members. We realized that this affected our community in a way we’d never seen before. This was a 100-year event. We have to operate in the entrepreneurial mindset, or we don’t survive and we don’t meet the needs of our members. We immediately activated AMPLIFY Hope, a program we built during hurricane Erma to provide financial assistance and support. The Philadelphia Phillies are family to the Clearwater community. The Phillies donated up to $1 million in a matching grant to the organization, and $200,000 of those funds have already been distributed.
What makes Tampa Bay and Clearwater an ideal location for businesses and residents? What makes it different from other markets in the Tampa Bay region?
Clearwater is a family-oriented, resilient community where many hospitality businesses are locally owned and operated. Residents and businesses are deeply invested in the region, creating a sense of closeness and commitment. We are famous for our beautiful beaches, family-friendly atmosphere, and a vibrant tourism industry. Visitors often transition into residents or investors due to the area’s welcoming and growth-oriented environment.
Can you highlight any recent local business developments that demonstrate this momentum of Clearwater and the region?
Clearwater has seen a lot of investment and growth as new businesses like Foot Locker are moving to the area. David Habib, founder of Yo Mama’s Foods, was born and raised in Clearwater, and has continued to expand his business in every market in the country. He has remained committed to our community and employed people in the region. We’re working closely with our city team to be able to do that and make sure that we’re as attractive as we can be. We have two visitor centers, and as we provide service, our goal is to turn those visitors into an investor, whether that is a small entrepreneur looking to get off the ground, or a larger brick-and-mortar investment.
What are some initiatives you have in place to continue the economic growth in the region?
After Hurricane Helene, we’re focusing on resilience in 2025, and how to prepare business and residents for future disasters. People outside Florida tend to misconceive our state’s vulnerability to hurricanes, so it’s important to continue targeted marketing to domestic and international visitors that Florida is still a great place to visit. Additionally, we’re focusing on Hispanic outreach, as our community has many Hispanic business owners. Clearwater is known for having the largest population of Hidalgo, Mexico natives outside of Hidalgo itself. We’ve noticed a disconnect between the Hispanic business and the traditional business community, and we want to break down those barriers. The entrepreneurial services and classes we offer are available in Spanish as well as English, to make sure that our Hispanic investors in our business community have the support and access to the resources our organization provides.
Is there any specific programming to incorporate workforce challenges, adoption of technology, and sustainable practices for your members?
We’re redesigning the way we deliver incubator classes in 2025. 2024 was a testing year for us, and we received feedback from those who went through the program. Instead of doing a 10-week intensive program, we’re spreading it out over 8 months and incorporating additional options and topics in the curriculum. Workforce development challenges remain a top priority for our organization and our business. In 2025 we are launching a program called Youth Entrepreneurial Academy (YEA), identifying entrepreneurs in middle school and high school and teaching them what it’s like to employ people and talk to investors. Even if they don’t grow up to be an entrepreneur, they will understand from an employee side what it’s like to run a business, making them better employees in the future.
What do you see as the next evolution of AMPLIFY Clearwater in supporting the region’s growth?
We continue to advocate for our members’ needs. We have a strong public policy arm and advocate in all levels of government for our businesses needs, to make sure that policies and regulations are pro-business. In many cases, business owners don’t know how important that is for their bottom line until something adverse has happened and could have been stopped if they knew and could be more proactive. We want to create a proactive space to keep Clearwater an attractive destination to do business. As we grow, we want to offer our services to a greater area connecting with and offering resources to neighboring communities in a way that we haven’t traditionally done. If our neighbors are strong, we’re strong as well, and it’s vital to be in tune with the needs of the surrounding region.
