Region beats NY, D.C., wins 165-job expansion project

ST. PETERSBURG — The Penny Hoarder, a St. Petersburg-based personal finance website owned by Taylor Media Inc., moved into its new headquarters on Tuesday and announced that it expects to hire up to 165 new employees by 2020.

Accompanied by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, CEO Kyle Taylor made the announcement on the top floor of 490 1st Ave. S. — the company's new 23,000-square-foot office — in downtown St. Petersburg.

According to a press release, the Penny Hoarder, which Taylor founded in 2010, employs 80 full-time employees but will need to hire more video editors, writers, data journalists, media analysts, developers and account managers to support its growth. Taylor was a Business Observer 40 under 40 winner in 2016.

"It's hard not to fall in love with this city,” Taylor states in the release. “We're surrounded by artists, thriving tech companies and a bustling downtown. In addition, we have a supportive city government and neighbors like the 12-time Pulitzer winner Tampa Bay Times, and Poynter, one of the finest journalism schools in the world. St. Petersburg represents the future of media and technology and we're thrilled to call it home."

Taylor started the website as a blog that chronicled his strategies for managing his student loan and credit card debt. The Penny Hoarder now uses digital platforms to tell stories and share money-making and -saving tips.

According to the release, Pinellas County, in partnership with the city of St. Petersburg and the state of Florida, competed against sites in New York and Washington, D.C., to win the Penny Hoarder's expansion project.

"We are thrilled that the Penny Hoarder, a company at the forefront of financial services, creative arts and design, and data analytics — all industry clusters that St. Pete is laser-focused on — has chosen to expand here, in our thriving downtown," Kriseman states in the release.