![\"Controversy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/n7z12nsqa3xbv348.jpg\")
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TAMPA, Fla. – Clockout, which first gained popularity in New York City in 2024, has since expanded its presence in Tampa<\/a> and is built around connecting professionals in person through clubs and meetups.<\/p>\n Application process controversy <\/p>\n The backstory:<\/p>\n LinkedIn has long been a familiar way for professionals to connect, find jobs and build their networks.<\/p>\n But the newer networking app is taking a different approach, requiring users to apply before they can become members.<\/p>\n Unlike LinkedIn, where users can create a basic account for free, Clockout has an application process.<\/p>\n That exclusivity has generated attention online, including reports that applicants need to earn at least $80,000 a year and pass an intelligence test to be accepted.<\/p>\n App’s response <\/p>\n The other side:<\/p>\n Clockout disputes those claims.<\/p>\n According to the company’s website, there is no required job or salary for membership. Applicants do have to complete a quiz as part of the application process.<\/p>\n User experience <\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n Sebastian Bolivar, a Wesley Chapel residential mortgage lender, heard about Clockout from a friend and decided to apply.<\/p>\n He was accepted within a few days.<\/p>\n “I think, looking back, it’s just great marketing, right? I think nobody wants FOMO for fear of missing out. So I think it was their way of getting people to go, Hey, can I get in, and I think once you apply, it gives you some crazy number, like your 300,000th in line or something,” he said.<\/p>\n After joining, he created a “Tampa Real Estate Mastermind” group and hosted three meetups.<\/p>\n Local perspective:<\/p>\n Bolivar said his experience with the in-person events didn’t live up to his expectations.<\/p>\n He would sometimes see 25 to 30 people RSVP for a meetup, but only about eight to 10 people would actually attend.<\/p>\n Despite being accepted and creating his own group, Bolivar said Clockout ultimately didn’t become his primary way of networking.<\/p>\n Today, he prefers more traditional options, including run clubs and free networking events.<\/p>\n The Source: FOX 13 spoke with Sebastian Bolivar about his experience using Clockout and reviewed information provided by Clockout about its membership and application process.<\/p>\n Hillsborough County<\/a>Technology<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – Clockout, which first gained popularity in New York City in 2024, has since expanded its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,115,135,137,136,1576,628],"class_list":["post-408976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-fl","tag-hillsborough","tag-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-technology","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vlcsnap-2026-09-23-22h56m48s005.jpg\")
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Business owner prefers traditional options <\/p>\n