Mayor Suarez’s initiative makes conducting business easy
By Kylie Wang
It all started with a tweet. On December 4, 2020, Varda Space Industries founder and Founders Fund principal Delian Asparouhov logged onto Twitter and sent out a simple call to action: “ok guys hear me out, what if we move silicon valley to miami?” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez replied simply, “How can I help?”
And thus, the first domino fell.
Suddenly, there were a lot of eyeballs in the tech industry turning to Miami. As growth in the sector skyrocketed, there became a pressing need for an initiative to guide these technologists, entrepreneurs, and funders to success in Miami and support their companies and innovations. Venture Miami was born out of that need, a City of Miami office focused specifically on growing and maintaining Miami’s burgeoning tech hub.
Started by Mayor Suarez in January, Venture Miami “operates for the entire city as an economic development office focused on the tech and innovation industry,” according to Executive Director Erick Gavin. The office is split between business development and community engagement, with a concierge service to help companies moving to Miami with their relocations. They can help individuals with everything from obtaining a Florida driver’s license to finding tax credits for their businesses, even deciding on which schools are best for their children. The office also hosts hiring fairs and has a scholarship fund that provides free tuition to residents who have been accepted into STEM or high-wage, in-demand programs at four local universities.
Venture also organizes the “Miami For Everyone” tech series, which encourages citizens to embrace the growing number of tech opportunities now available in Miami. Its “hackathon” event awards cash prizes to winners who build and submit a prototype to solve a local problem.
Though Venture Miami doesn’t discriminate based on industry, it finds the tech sector to be “the most innovative way to help serve citizens within Miami,” Gavin says. Partly because “technology has a very low access point – it’s easy for people to engage in – and it has a lot of upside potential for growth for the City.” Still, Venture Miami does describe themselves as “industry agnostic.”
To explore the services Venture Miami offers or join its Talent and Founder Database, visit venturemia.org or DM the team on Twitter at @VentureMiami.
