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Read more: Meet the Businesses Getting a Boost from UTampa’s Incubator

Richard Rivera’s original plan was to serve 20 years in the Army and retire, but injury forced him out after four years as a heavy equipment operator. Unsure about what to do next, he earned a commercial driver’s license and started driving trucks. That led to his becoming a lease operator, freight broker and owner-operator of his own truck for four years.

Now he’s an entrepreneur and a junior at UTampa.

Rivera founded Travectio Solutions in 2025 to solve a problem he saw firsthand in the industry. “A lot of truckers chase the rate per mile,” Rivera said. “But when they go back and look at their expenses, they’re not keeping anywhere near the amount they thought they would.”

His solution is a financial dashboard that considers individual vehicles, drivers, terrain and more to help truckers understand profitability before accepting a job. He already has a version that’s operational.

In his second semester as a transfer student, Rivera has business mentoring and office space thanks to the Spartan Accelerator in the John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center. “I was talking with a faculty member, and when he heard about Travectio, he said, ‘Oh, you have to join the accelerator.'”

Bert Seither M.S. ’19, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, has seen a lot of student business owners start with strong ideas but struggle with execution. His goal is to get those founders into an entrepreneurial ecosystem where they have a chance to flourish.

One of the ways he’s doing that is by converting the accelerator initiative into a four-credit course offered next spring. It will continue to be open to students in any major who are developing or growing a company. Students will be grouped based on the stage of their venture — idea, prototype, selling or raising capital — with real-world assignments specific to each.

“Students are going to come out of this course with a better entrepreneurial mindset, better decision making and the ability to pivot more quickly,” Seither said.

Here’s a look at some of the other businesses currently in the Spartan Accelerator:

Scaling Businesses in Indiana and Tampa

Marcus Hollifield ’27 wanted a city and a university where he could push his limits. As a student in Indiana, he participated in pitch competitions and helped businesses improve their operations with AI and digital automation through his business, Hollifield Scaling Co. For one restaurant client, he created an online reservation system and marketing plan that increased customers by 59% and boosted revenue by 36% year over year.

Feeling like he was outgrowing his college town, Hollifield started looking for cities on the rise. His research pointed him to Tampa and within the city, UTampa. He transferred over the summer and found a place to grow in the accelerator.

Sharing space with other student entrepreneurs is motivating for him. “Hearing one of the other students making cold calls fires me up to make more,” he said. “We’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other and learning from each other.”

From Reselling to Manufacturing

Spencer Flynn ’27 got his first taste of entrepreneurship at 13. He bought several plush dolls at a dollar store and resold them on eBay. “I ended up making $5, but the feeling was priceless,” he said.

That experience led to reselling more than 3,000 items, mostly sports trading cards and items from garage sales — and generating over $50,000 in revenue while in high school. Knowing he wanted to major in entrepreneurship, Flynn chose UTampa over larger schools after touring. “I knew that here I was going to feel like I mattered instead of just being a number.”

At UTampa, he’s gone from reselling sports cards to creating his own sports card game. Spitball is designed to bring fans together for competitive debate about sports. With help from mentors at the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, he found a manufacturer and plans to ship the final game to his pre-sale list this fall.

“Getting to know everyone at the Lowth Center, I feel like I’m meant to be here,” he said.