USFRF Board Members
Linda Olson
Linda Olson
CEO & Founder
Tampa Bay Wave
Linda Olson is the CEO & founder of Tampa Bay Wave, Florida’s #1 Accelerator for tech startups. Tampa Bay Wave runs the only Florida-based accelerator accredited by GAN, the Global Accelerator Network, and has supported 450 startups since 2013. Collectively, these startups have raised $650+ million and created 4,000 jobs. In 2012, she led a regional effort to secure a $1 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce that launched Tampa Bay Wave's Venture Center and Accelerator program in partnership with the University of South Florida. In total, she has raised $14 million from sponsors, foundations, donors, and others to support the nonprofit mission of growing Tampa Bay's tech startup ecosystem.
A Tampa Bay native, Linda began her career managing software implementation projects for Fortune 500 companies and has worked with tech startups and venture capital since 1999. She has Masters and BS degrees from Florida State University, and an MBA from Columbia University.
Linda is a proud alum of Leadership Tampa and Leadership Florida. She is also an original member of Startup America Partnership and is currently an active member of Startup Champions Network. Linda serves as an Honorary Commander at MacDill Air Force Base and sits on numerous boards such as USF Research Foundation, USF CAMLS, Synapse Florida, Tampa Downtown Partnership Foundation and Visit Tampa Bay. Linda was selected to the U.S. delegation to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Bahrain in 2019, and again in Riyadh in 2022. In 2019, Linda was awarded the Community Dedication and Leadership award by Tampa Bay Tech. She was also recognized by the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s as Business Woman of the Year honoree in 2018 and as Angie Joseph Excellence in Mentoring honoree in 2022.