By Nicole Vasquez
Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen of a16z, and Adam Neumann, founder of WeWork and now Flow, all together on the same stage for 25 minutes talking about the future of living and how it relates to their investments and entrepreneurial ventures. Those three tech celebrities were just one panel out of a star-studded two day FII Priority Summit that took place in Miami on March 30 and 31, 2023.
For anyone in tech and startups, seeing Ben, Marc and Adam in person felt otherworldly. However, FII Priority brought one globally recognized name after another and gathered titans of industry, technology trailblazers, activists and change makers, leaders in government, education, aerospace, energy, sports, arts, and more.
For many of us in Miami, FII Priority came up fast, with multiple Miami speakers saying they got the call to participate only a few weeks prior. Yet the summit felt and looked like an event that was years in the making: flawless execution, organization, intention, and a highly curated guest list.
Who hosted it? The FII Institute, “a global nonprofit with a single pressing agenda, Impact on Humanity,” with FII standing for Future Investment Initiative.
Why did FII host Priority summit? To have “A disruptive global conversation with far-reaching impact bringing together the world’s leaders from business, government, academia, civil society, technology, and the media to engage in game-changing discussions that shape the global agenda.”
Why was FII Priority hosted in Miami? According to the FII website, FII Priority “could only take place in a city that shares the FII Institute’s DNA of optimism and passion for global positive impact on humanity: Miami.”
Indeed, Miami shone bright throughout the summit.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was a keynote speaker and almost immediately was asked what the ‘secret sauce’ is to Miami in regards to why everyone wants to move here. Mayor Suarez answered: low taxes, safety, and leaning into innovation. Our challenges? Making sure our education and climate initiatives are keeping up with the massive growth. Also, Mayor Suarez warmly expressed that Miami is for ‘everyone.’
Miami’s own Laura Gaviria Halaby, a moderator and startup operating advisor and investor, commented “The FII Institute Priority Miami Summit was a game-changer for our region. The caliber of speakers and depth of conversations were unmatched, and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it, leading the discussion on entrepreneurial ecosystems in Miami, Latin America, Saudi Arabia and the world.”
Another Miami moderator Saif Ishoof, Founder of Lab22c, called the conference “unprecedented” in regards to the caliber of leaders and visionaries who attended and the types of conversations being held.
While FII Priority happened fast and left quite an impression on those that were able to attend, participants walked away feeling like we had taken a trip around the world and learned what was top of mind of leaders across the globe:
The power and path forward with AI, concerns over climate change and the transition to sustainable energy, the importance of investing in quality of life and addressing food security, pushing the boundaries of innovation and space as an ongoing next frontier, breakthroughs in healthcare, disruptions in sports and gaming, youth empowerment and activism, digital currencies and the crypto revolution, and so on.
To close out the 2 day extravaganza, a parting gift was bestowed upon Miami: FII Institute’s commitment to host their FII Priority 2024 summit in Miami.
See the full agenda from FII Priority Miami 2023 here.
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In addition to a human-first approach to scaling business operations, Nicole is an expert community builder and author, having sold 2 coworking spaces with online communities and publishing an eBook titled 'How to Plan and Launch an Online Community.'
With over 50 media interviews including Barron's Penta, Cheddar News, and Thrillist, Nicole enjoys discussing her experiences with the goal of being a helpful resource to others in their development journey. Nicole has held various advisory and volunteer positions, and was a Professional Fellow through the U.S. Department of State traveling to Europe to speak about how to build and maintain collaborative communities.