Concierge Company Aims To Help Employers Welcome New Talent To Tampa Bay

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg entrepreneur has launched a business aimed at helping employers bring job candidates and new hires to the Tampa Bay area with a more personal touch.

The Welcome Standard, founded by Tori Smith, works with recruiting and human resources teams to plan tailored visits and early relocation support for people considering a move to the region.

The business focuses on both the pre-hire and the post-hire experience with services that include customized on-site visits for candidates and concierge support during a new employee’s first 90 days in the area, she told Patch.

Recruiting teams can use the service to show candidates how their lives, families, and futures could fit in St. Pete and the greater Tampa Bay area, Smith said.

She built the company after about a decade in recruiting. Before starting The Welcome Standard, she worked in sports and corporate recruiting, including as director of on-campus recruiting for Ohio State’s football program from 2016 to 2020.

That role taught her how to connect talent to a community, not just a position.

“It was a really cool job. I was in charge of anything the recruits were seeing while visiting Ohio State and it was really curated to them and their parents,” Smith said. “When they were on site, I figured out what they needed to feel comfortable going to school there and relocating.”

Working at Ohio State also taught her the value of such services.

“I learned how expensive relocating and recruiting people is. The dollars behind it are very quantifiable,” she said.

A turning point also came during her husband’s medical residency in Utah, when Smith saw doctors being recruited with help from community advocates who showed families how life in a new city could work beyond the job itself.

At the time, she was working as a recruiting manager for a trucking company in Utah. While it brought home a paycheck, she couldn’t shake a recurring thought: “I am bored to death.”

When she and her husband relocated to St. Petersburg three years ago, after his residency ended, the wheels started turning for her, as she thought about how the efforts by the community advocates at her husband’s residency could be applied to other sectors.

The Ohio native originally landed in St. Petersburg in the fifth grade, attending Northside Christian School. She deeply loved the city even then, and when, just a few years later, her family decided to return to Ohio while she was attending Osceola Fundamental High School, it was devastating for the teen.

She vowed to return one day, and kept in touch with her friends in Florida, including Jeremy, her best friend at Northside Christian and future husband, according to her website.

So, Smith was excited to be back in St. Pete after so many years, and even more excited when she learned she was pregnant with their first child.

She was still working remotely for the Utah-based trucking company, but knew it was time for a big career change.

“I was pregnant and realized that I want to be the mom that actually sets a good example; the mom who does the things she says she is going to do and has the courage to do it,” she said.

Recognizing St. Petersburg’s growth and the entire region’s appeal, as well as her love for the area, Smith took a calculated leap about a year ago to launch The Welcome Standard.

“I feel like St. Pete is growing … and I think it’s important that people, when they are moving here, we’re making these investments in the community and plugging in and making them a part of the community,” she said, adding, “It’s a deeply personal mission, I guess, because I also want to like the people in St. Pete. Companies are feeling these really important positions and I want the best of those people in St. Pete. This is kind of giving [businesses] that edge of attracting people that fit into the cool culture here.”

Smith went public with her concept for The Welcome Standard in December 2025, participating in St. Pete Pitch Night organized by the St. Pete Greenhouse and the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce.

Her pitch to community business leaders earned her the Audience Choice Award and a $500 prize.

“That pretty much paid for my chamber membership,” Smith said. “It was the first time I’ve ever pitched anything. And when I did it, I was like, ‘That was awesome. Now, I’ve set it out into the universe.”

Since then, she’s worked with employers in healthcare, finance, tech and education. Her service can include outreach before a visit, recommendations based on a candidate’s interests, and help connecting new residents with local events and activities after they move.

“It’s all completely tailored to them,” Smith said. “Having a connector point is a really big value add. “There are studies that show you normally make up how you feel about your move in 45 days. That’s a short window where your mind is made up on how long your tenure in a location will be.”

While she’s focused mainly on Pinellas and Hillsborough counties at the moment, she anticipates expanding into nearby Pasco and Manatee counties over time.

She also plans to launch newcomer events where adults can meet and make friends this summer.

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