British hiring firm picks Ybor City for North American headquarters

A British staffing agency that specializes in sales and recruitment for software startups has picked Tampa as the site of its U.S. headquarters.

Strive Sales will work out of the Industrious coworking space in Ybor City as it extends its brand across Florida — and eventually North America.

In a statement, Strive’s U.S. hiring manager, John Hitchen, pointed to the area’s rapid uptick in venture capital investments as a big reason for the move.

“Tampa offers everything we were looking for in a North American headquarters — a robust talent pipeline, an active startup community, low business costs and an excellent quality of life,” Hitchen said. “We’re looking forward to building our team and joining this vibrant community.”

The company intends to hire 11 workers in the Tampa office in fields like accounting and sales, according to the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council.

“Demand for tech talent remains at an all-time high in Tampa,” council chairperson Angel Gonzalez, the regional president of SouthState Bank, said in a statement. “Thanks to our friends at Embarc Collective, Tampa Bay Wave and Florida Funders, we’re seeing significant startup activity and venture capital interest in the Tampa Bay area.”