About & impact
A Tampa Bay–born model for the next generation of inventors, creators and entrepreneurs.
From a countywide technology competition to a regional innovation incubator that has impacted more than 2,000 students over eleven consecutive years, SharkMakers has spent more than a decade changing how young people learn to innovate.
The journey
Eleven years of getting this right.
Every stage below is a real change in how the program works - not a rebrand.
- 2025–present
Next Gen Tech 360 becomes SharkMakers
The platform expands across innovation, entrepreneurship, accessibility, industry and media. Partnerships include the Florida High Tech Corridor and the Grant Cardone Foundation, with RHS TV producing a five-episode docuseries.
- 2024–2025
Accessibility becomes foundational
Accessibility moves from afterthought to the core of product design. A winning student team becomes the only youth program invited to present at the inaugural WAWABILITY event alongside enterprise leaders. Pasco County joins.
- 2021–2024
A comprehensive experiential model
Product strategy, human-centered design, entrepreneurship, business development, pitching, fundraising, marketing and industry mentorship. Hillsborough County joins in 2022–23.
- 2020–2021
Fully virtual through COVID-19
The program moves completely virtual rather than stopping - demonstrating the adaptability and resilience it teaches.
- 2020
Connect-IT 360 takes operational leadership
The nonprofit assumes full operational leadership, creating the foundation for regional expansion.
- 2015–2018
The gap becomes obvious
A critical gap emerges between traditional technology competitions and real-world innovation. Robyn Mussler develops the proprietary curriculum that turns the experience into hands-on product development and entrepreneurship.
- 2015
Next Gen Tech launches
The first season ran in 2015–16 as a countywide technology competition, in partnership with the Pinellas Education Foundation.
Impact reports
The detail, season by season.
Every season since 2020–21 has a published impact report covering students served, mentors, partners, scholarships and finances. Our newsletters follow each season as it happens.
Leadership
The Board
The directors below serve as volunteers. Each name links to their LinkedIn profile, and their portraits are on the leadership page.
Our registration details, EIN and last year’s financial summary are on the transparency page. Our annual information returns are not posted there; email us and we will send you what we hold, free of charge.
The 2027 vision
Tampa Bay → Florida → National.
Tampa Bay
The proving ground. Demonstrate the model across Tampa Bay and build the ecosystem.
Florida
The expansion platform. Extend a proven model to additional communities.
National
The long-term opportunity. Bring the approach to young innovators beyond Florida.
We are not simply preparing students for jobs. We are helping young people learn to create the jobs, products and businesses of the future.
Born in Tampa Bay. Ready to scale.
Built through more than a decade of experience, and designed for the next generation.
