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6+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Miami welcomes Khosla Ventures, plus news from Endeavor Miami, Mindspace, Liliam, CentralReach, Pavilion Solar, Digibee and, ICYMI, a big funding run

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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Welcome to Miami, Khosla Ventures! We’re glad you’re here

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words …

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Endeavor Miami’s Claudia Durán to oversee North America, too

Claudia Durán, Managing Director of Endeavor Miami, is stepping into an expanded role within Endeavor. She will also serve as the Regional Managing Director for North America, overseeing the strategic direction and integration of Endeavor’s initiatives across the continent.

Claudia Durán

Durán has been at the helm of Endeavor Miami since 2019. Endeavor Miami, the global Endeavor nonprofit’s first affiliate in the US, recently celebrated its 10th year in the ecosystem. According to  Endeavor Miami’s 2023 Impact Report, the organization’s Endeavor Entrepreneurs created over 6,000 jobs, and generated more than $900 million in revenue. “Together with our Endeavor Entrepreneurs, partners, mentors, and our entire community, we’ve turned scalable visions into unbelievable successes, significantly impacting South Florida’s economy. I’m excited to extend this impact across North America, nurturing a culture of entrepreneurship that drives innovation, job creation, and economic development,” Durán said in a statement.

In her expanded role, Durán will focus on aligning strategies, sharing best practices, and amplifying the success of entrepreneurs across Endeavor’s North American offices in Atlanta, Canada, Colorado, Detroit, Louisville, Miami, Northwest Arkansas, Puerto Rico, and Buffalo. Prior to joining Endeavor Miami, Durán, a native of El Salvador, served as managing director of Ashoka Brazil and worked in private wealth management at Deutsche Bank in New York City, among other roles. In her new role as Regional Managing Director for North America,

READ MORE: Cheers to 10 years for Endeavor Miami: A look back and ahead

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Mindspace launches in Miami with 2 coworking spaces

Mindspace recently expanded into the South Florida market with two locations, in Downtown Miami at 100 Biscayne Blvd., and at The Gateway in Wynwood at 2916 N. Miami Ave., marking a significant milestone for the company as it continues to grow its presence in the United States.

Mindspace Downtown Miami, the newest location in the 100 Biscayne building in Miami’s Central Business District, offers Biscayne Bay views, amenities like conference rooms, privacy booths and member lounge areas, as well as easy access to the Metromover. With over 31,000 square feet on three floors, Mindspace Downtown Miami contains more than 400 workstations, with options of suites. Mindspace Wynwood also offers shared access to the outdoor and penthouse rooftop terraces.

Founded in 2014, the Israel-based Mindspace operates more than 45 locations comprising 20 cities and 7 countries globally. “Expanding to two distinct locations within the same city underscores the immense potential we see in Miami,” said Dan Zakai, CEO and Co Founder of Mindspace.

New Mindspace Downtown Miami location. Photo by Stacey Poterson

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eVTOL company moves closer to Florida launch

Lilium, the German company seeking to launch a high-speed electric air mobility maker in the US has officially chosen Orlando, partnering with Tavistock, as its hub and the site of its first US vertiport. This is a key development for South Florida because Liliam’s all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft can travel up to 186 miles within an hour on a single charge, the company says.

Orlando’s Lake Nona innovation district offers a central location to connect more than 20 million Floridians, including those in South Florida. The Lake Nona vertiport will create more than 100 jobs in the Orlando area, with hundreds more to follow across Florida, the company said. While the time frame for the Orlando project was not announced, Lilium hopes to launch its regional air mobility service in multiple regions around the world by 2025. The vertiport locations are subject to approval from the Federal Aviation Administration), Florida Department of Transportation  and other regulatory agencies.

READ MORE: Air taxi plans are taking off: Miami on Archer’s shortlist for 2025 launch and Venture Miami convenes summit

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Fort Lauderdale provider of autism software solutions makes key acquisition

CentralReach, a Fort Lauderdale -based provider of autism and IDD software, acquired Silas, a social and emotional learning  and solution for PreK-12 general, special and transition vocational education programs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

 With the acquisition, CentralReach will expand its offerings. Led by CEO Chris Sullens, CentralReach provides an end-to-end software and services platform that helps children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) – and those who serve them – develop their potential, achieve better outcomes, and live more independent lives. Its solutions are used by more than 175,000 professionals globally.

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More MiamiTech news to note

  • Miami’s crypto readiness: Despite touting itself as a cryptocurrency hub, a new study concluded that Miami is not one of the world’s best locations for the digital currency industry. Instead, New York City is the top crypto-ready location on the planet, followed by London, Los Angeles, Sydney, Australia and Singapore.  According to a report from Coinbase, a cryptocurrency news organization. While Miami did not appear on a ranking of 50 global cities that are most hospitable to the crypto industry, Miami did come in at No. 12 among the top crypto-ready locations in the United States. Read more in the South Florida Business Journal.
  • Startup rising:  Pavilion Solar, a Miami-based innovator in solar technology, has been named a semifinalist in Round 7 of the American-Made Solar Prize. This competition, backed by the U.S. Department of Energy and overseen by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, supports cutting-edge advancements in solar energy. Pavilion Solar is among 20 teams to progress, securing a $50,000 cash prize and the opportunity to compete in the subsequent phases of this multimillion-dollar challenge where teams will advance with the help of the American-Made network to develop their innovations. Pavilion Solar is developing a premium solar canopy structure for homes.
  • Executive move: Digibee, the serverless integration platform enabling seamless connection and business agility, announced that Pablo Luna will join the company as its Vice President of Product. Luna, MuleSoft’s former senior director of product management, will lead product strategy to create an enterprise-class serverless iPaaS product and a world-class product organization. Along with his deep industry experience in the integration, iPaaS, API management and business process management (BPM) domains, Luna will bring his understanding of customer needs and successful product delivery to further build upon Digibee’s momentum.

PLUS

Opportunity knocks

  • Applications are now open for the Built in Miami 2024 program, a collaboration between Venture Miami and The Shrimp Society. The free program is designed to guide you step-by-step on taking your business idea from an idea to a validated product or service prototype. Find out more and apply here.
  • Seaworthy Collective is accepting applications for its flagship Startup Studio and Incubator. The three-month program will support blue technology startups building solutions to address greenhouse gas reduction and removal, coastal resilience and adaption, and pollution. Apply here by Feb. 18. 
  • Retail tech company Shipt is opening applications for its small business accelerator LadderUp for retailers in 10 US metro areas, including Miami and Fort. Lauderdale. Selected retailers will receive a $5,000 investment from Shipt and will participate in an 8-week course. Find out more and apply here by Feb. 16.

ICYMI: A big funding run & more

February is off to an impressive start with five #MiamiTech fundings, ranging from fintech to sports to climatetech and crypto:

And that’s not all. Catch up on more ecosystem news:

Have #MiamiTech news to share? Email Nancy Dahlberg at [email protected] and follow her on X @ndahlberg. Keep up with Refresh Miami’s news and more by signing up for our free weekly newsletter here.

Nancy Dahlberg
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