5 things to know in #MiamiTech: 8base wins big and opportunities abound — from Miami to Palm Beach

 
1 Go big or go home: 8base wins top prize at Startup Grind Global Conference in Valley
8base was named Startup of the Year at the Startup Grind Global Conference in Silicon Valley this week.   The Miami-based startup offers a developer acceleration platform that empowers web and mobile developers to create software applications on a serverless back-end. 
“We are incredibly humbled to be distinguished amongst this large cadre of great startups in the epicenter of the technology universe. I am incredibly proud of the 8base team for their dedication to building a Silicon Valley-style company in South Florida — winning this award helps demonstrate that we are doing it the right way,” said 8base founder and CEO Albert Santalo, who presented at the conference.
[Read more about 8base here]
We already told you that Miami-based DROPIT, creators of agamified shopping app, also competed at Startup Grind Global conference. It was featured as one of the TOP 10 Growth Startups. Also competing as part of the top 50 Grind category was bnotes of West Palm Beach. Bnotes, co-founded by Nicholas Mohnacky, improves the flow of intelligence across organizations by keeping communications organized, relevant, and actionable within a single system. DROPIT, bnotes and 8base are all part of Startup Grind’s 2019 startup program Accelerate.
Exhibiting at the conference were Miami-based Kiddie Kredit, a financial literacy app, and nXus Software, a travel-tech startup from Boca Raton.
2 An opportunity for female founders not to be missed
Babson WIN Lab Miami and Miami Angels are inviting female founders to come by for office hours to get support on their applications for the Rise Of The Rest Pitch Competition for $100K in May. Max Tuchman, CEO of Caribu and winner/finalist in over 20 pitch competitions, and Rebecca Danta, Managing Director of Miami Angels, will be hosting office hours to read through and give feedback on applications for the Rise Of The Rest competition due March 11. Office hours will be held on Thursday, February 21st during Venture Cafe from 5pm – 9pm. The ROTR application and should be filled out before coming in for office hours. To sign up for a 30 minute time slot, visit http://bit.ly/rotrvc.
Steve Case’s Revolution is bringing its Rise of the Rest Bus Tour to Florida. Each stop will offer a $100K pitch competition.
More information on entering the Rise of the Rest pitch competitions in Florida, including the Miami area, is here.  
3 ICYMI: Deadline is TODAY for eMerge Americas Startup Showcase
In case you missed the first deadline, eMerge Americas has extended the deadline to apply for the Startup Showcase until 11:59 pm tonight, Feb. 15.. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to showcase your innovative venture April 29-30 at eMerge Americas. Here’s where to apply.
4 New organization for Palm Beach County startups formed
The Palm Beach Tech Association today announced the launch of 1909, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting startup founders in Palm Beach County.
“Palm Beach County was founded in the year 1909, and we believe that right now everyone can be the founder of something great,” said Joseph Russo, Executive Director of Palm Beach Tech & 1909. “We seek to answer one simple question: Where do entrepreneurs in Palm Beach County go?”
1909 will focus on bridging four gaps to entrepreneurship in Palm Beach County, as identified by the Business Development Board’s Entrepreneur Taskforce; Affordable Workspace, Consistent Mentorship, Business Education, and Access to Capital.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is committing $250,000 to support the organization’s launch and first year operations to 1909 and the FAU Adams Center for Entrepreneurship. Also supporting the initiative are the City of West Palm Beach, City of Delray Beach, and Town of Lake Park. Each will fund 1909 programs and potentially workspace in their communities. Additional programs are also being proposed in other Palm Beach County cities.
The next FAU bootcamp will begin Feb. 20 at the Boca Raton campus; those interested in learning more can visit www.adamscenter.com/bootcamp. 1909 will host a series of Accelerator information sessions starting on February 15th.
More info on 1909: weare1909.org.
5 Tech Talent Fest Coming to Fort Lauderdale
The South Florida Technology Alliance and CareerSource Broward are hosting the 2nd annual Tech Talent Fest at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center on Feb. 28, bringing together hiring companies, recruiters, area universities and non-profits, entrepreneur support organizations and job seekers from throughout South Florida.  Participating companies include Citrix, Royal Caribbean, Consultis, Sherlock Talent, City Furniture, AppleOne, Career Source Broward, LaunchCode, The Academy of South Florida, Broward College, Momentum Consulting and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance among others.  
Tech Talent Fest will also feature several panels on career development, resumé writing, the use of social media in job searches and other topics designed to help job seekers.  The event runs from 1 pm to 7 pm on the 28th.  Additional information is available at www.southfloridatech.org.  
5.5 This just in: More ecosystem news!
Miami Dade College is the first institution in the Southeast, and one of just six nationwide, to partner with Tesla to offer a certificate training program for service technicians called Tesla START. Tesla will train students as technicians at a new facility at the College’s West Campus, MDC announced. The 12-week program, which will begin in the fall, will pay students while they are trained to become a full-time employee at a Tesla service center. … Deepwork Capital, an Orlando-based investment group, has been identified as the most-active venture capital firm for investments into Florida companies in 2018. The analysis was by CBInsights. Deepwork Capital is formerly known as FAN Fund. Insight Venture Partners was the most active in 2017… Magic Leap Studios, in partnership with Sigur Rós, received a top D.I.C.E. Award in Las Vegas, taking home the top honor for Best Immersive Reality Technical Achievement for its immersive musical innovation Tonandi. D.I.C.E. awards, by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, are the premier awards for the interactive entertainment community.
Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected]

Nancy Dahlberg