4 things to know in #MiamiTech: eMerge postponed until 2021; EndeavorLAB cohort unveiled; free cloud training & career expo

1 eMerge Americas cancels 2020 conference

In light of the recent restrictions imposed in Miami-Dade County to curb the spread of COVID-19,  eMerge Americas announced on Friday it has called off this year’s rescheduled tech conference. The conference is scheduled to return April 26-27, 2021, at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
eMerge issued the following statement: “This is not the outcome that we hoped to confront, but we wholeheartedly remain steadfast in our commitment to the health and well-being of our attendees, partners and overall community. We, along with the entire event industry, will have to make dramatic changes to protect your health and safety. We’re now focusing on necessary precautions to ensure a safe environment while delivering the curated experience that makes eMerge Americas unique.”
The 7th annual eMerge Americas, originally scheduled for March 30-31, was postponed until Nov. 4-5 after the outbreak of COVID-19. But now the state and South Florida is a hot spot for new coronavirus cases.  All previously registered passes will be applied and honored for the new dates, eMerge said.
“In the face of this pandemic, the tech and entrepreneurial community are confronting a new set of challenges,” eMerge said in its announcement. “It’s our responsibility to deliver relevant content with the necessary resources to weather this storm. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the new lineup of stellar keynote speakers and participating investors, startups and government officials.”

 2 Endeavor announces inaugural EndeavorLAB cohort

Endeavor Miami announced the startups that will be participating in the first cohort of its accelerated growth program, EndeavorLAB. Endeavor is partnering with the City of Miami to equip female founders with the right tools and skills to scale their ventures, thus fostering local economic wealth.
EndeavorLAB will be  a two-month accelerated growth program. Similar to its ScaleUp Program, it is designed to help early stage companies with a market-tested business model to accelerate their growth through access to seasoned mentors, workshops and exclusive content. In its first iteration of the program, EndeavorLAB will focus solely on female entrepreneurs but future labs may focus on other groups or sectors. 
Endeavor Miami will be partnering with Ninety.US to conduct the Diagnostics of the EndeavorLAB companies. The sessions will be led by Juan Damia, Founding Partner  of Ninety.US, to identify the key challenges to their growth.
Here are the startups in EndeavorLAB Cohort One: 
Aerosens: Founded by Maria Esther Martinez, AEROSENS seeks to develop technology solutions to make the aviation industry more transparent, smarter and cost efficient. Today, the startup provides solutions that transform the way information about parts, products, equipment and even people is gathered and analyzed.
 Approvely: Founded by Chelsie Cooper, Approvely provides payment solutions for businesses that operate in high risk environments. Through proprietary software and a partnership with Visa it can reduce fraud and chargebacks by up to 65%. 
Bridge: Founded by Adrienne McWilliams, BRIDGE allows you to connect to a city and see what’s happening around you. I It’s like a local channel in your pocket on mobile and the ‘Netflix’ of your city on TV.
  Deepblocks: Founded by Olivia Ramos, Deepblocks aggregates all the math and data around real estate development to optimize real estate investment. Its SaaS software provides a holistic view of real estate development with a user friendly, intuitive interface.
 Event Village: Founded by Melissa Frantz & Susan Frantz, Event Village is an e-commerce platform to support local artisans, makers, designers, curators and chefs. In live virtual marketplaces, vendors will be live in their e-commerce shops and will be able to interact with customers in real time, post videos, and showcase their wares.
Lean Orb: Founded by Anastasia Mikhalochkina, Lean Orb is a biodegradable food packaging company with one big mission – to provide a solution to the problem of plastic pollution. Their full product line of disposable tableware and catering supplies is made of an agricultural by-product as well as plant roots, grass fibers, and highly sustainable wood.
 Lifetime Omics: Founded by Patricia Buendia & Gabriela Sabaté, Lifetime Omics studies the dynamics of people’s system biology in health and disease, and packages that knowledge into omics-based AI screenings and diagnostics for health systems, for employers and for communities of people with a joint health concern. 
 Luxe Fete Social: Founded by Nathalie A. Cadet-James, Luxe Fête Social is an in-home dinner party rental experience unlike any other. We’re bringing the art of the dinner party back with ONE click.
 Stow Simple: Founded by Silvia Camps, Stow Simple is a next-generation, full-service storage company designed to take the pain out of using traditional self-storage. Stow Simple will pick up, store and photo-catalogue items, which can be delivered back with the click of a button. 
 VIEWN: Founded by Areeya Lila, ViewN makes enterprise data actionable for marketers with our insights-driven customer data platform. We work with brands to unlock useful data needed to drive successful customer campaigns.

3 MDC-Microsoft partnership offers free cloud computing training

Miami Dade College announces a collaboration with Microsoft to train students and faculty in cloud computing as part of its Microsoft Learn for Educators program. MDC will also offer courses in Azure Fundamentals to the community at large.
“This strategic collaboration with Microsoft will allow MDC to expand its offering of cloud computing courses with Azure, one of the most in demand cloud platforms,” said Antonio Delgado, dean of MDC’s School of Engineering, Technology and Design. “The Azure Fundamentals courses will help students and existing professionals take their first steps into the cloud.”
Registration is now open for the first Azure course, which is free and open to all through the sponsorship of the Microsoft Philanthropy office in Miami.
“Advances in technologies like cloud computing are full of promise, but they’re not without their challenges. We are proud to grow our relationship and empower MDC as a leader in digital skilling, and best position their students for employment in the digital economy,” said Edgar Ferrer, Sr. Account Executive of Florida for Microsoft Education.  
The Azure Fundamentals course is designed for those beginning to work with cloud-based solutions and services and prepares students for the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification exam. Through the Microsoft Learn for Educators program, Microsoft will provide industry certification exam vouchers, practice tests, official Microsoft learning products for Microsoft Azure fundamentals, and training to support participating educators and students.
Registration is open to applicants age 18 and older and will accept up to 25 students. The four-week online course runs from Monday, July 20, to Friday, August 14, through MDC’s Cloud Computing Center.
To register and for more information: visit https://www.mdc.edu/upskill/#technology.

4 Virtual Career Expo set for July 15

Palm Beach Tech Association is taking the job fair to the next level. Partnering with Career Source and Premier Virtual, it is bringing together scores of hiring companies, educational sessions and job seekers in a Virtual Career Expo July 15.
What to expect:

  • Virtual Booths: online platform designed to bring employers a wave of talented new job applicants, capture applicant data, and assist in the hiring process.
  • Multiple Categories: Tech, Non-tech, Contract/Freelance, Internship, and Educational Partner Opportunities
  • LIVE “Job Fair”: There will be set times throughout the day to connect with tech talent and hiring managers LIVE through the platform to increase candidate interaction and submits to open positions.
  • Online Educational Sessions: 30 minute educational webinars that will cover a variety of topics such as ‘The Importance of Soft Skills’ and ‘A Multi-Generational Workforce.

It’s free for the job seeker. Find out more here.
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Nancy Dahlberg