Local delegation’s presence at European tech convention highlights the parallels – and opportunities – between our tech ecosystems
By Riley Kaminer
Miami was in the spotlight at this year’s South Summit: a tech conference attracting over 20,000 global attendees that has been running in Madrid for more than a decade.
A wide range of entrepreneurs, investors, and community builders from Miami made the trek across the Atlantic to build bridges with our Spanish sister city. Refresh Miami was on the ground in Madrid for all three days of the conference to connect the dots between these two rapidly-growing innovation ecosystems (and enjoy some jamón along the way).
The event’s focus, much like local initiatives such as Opportunity Miami, was to paint a picture of what the future of the innovation landscape will look like – concretely, in 2030. Climate tech, an area in which Miami excels, was the number one focus of the event, with additional concentrations on sportstech, fintech, social impact, and various flavors of B2B products. Founders shared the stage with investors while also displaying their wares on a buzzing expo floor teeming with entrepreneurs and corporate executives alike.
Perspectives on the Madrid-Miami nexus
South Summit organized an entire talk on the connections between Madrid and Miami’s tech ecosystems, moderated by the conference’s founder, María Benjumea.
“We’ve all always wanted to go to Miami,” acknowledged Benjumea. “But things really changed when the Miami mayor wrote a tweet welcoming entrepreneurs to Miami.”
“That was an absolutely amazing moment,” she added.
Argentine entrepreneur Alec Oxenford, who has deep routes in both Miami and Madrid, outlined many parallels between the two cities’ innovation ecosystems:
- Both cities thrived in a context where remote work became the norm in tech circles.
- Both cities have several startup unicorns.
- There are vibrant cultural scenes in both places.
- The weather attracts lots of tourists who often end up moving there.
- Their local airports are great regional hubs. This is especially advantageous, in his opinion, since New York and Latin America are very accessible from Miami – while all the European hubs are easy to visit from Madrid.
Oxenford also noted some differences. Namely, that Europe more broadly is home to just three out of the world’s top 50 startups. “There is a lot of inflexibility here,” he said, especially in terms of managing workforces.
“Getting a startup to go from 0 to 1 is essential – and we have that in Europe,” Oxenford asserted. “But the whole continent now needs to think about how to get companies from 1 to 100.”
Martín Varsavsky, a serial founder and investor from Argentina who spent years in Miami, echoed many of Oxenford’s points – asserting that “both places are rising like stars in unexpected ways.”
Varsavsky added that, compared to their national peers, Madrid and Miami’s governments had a more relaxed attitude towards Covid restrictions. This led to an influx of freedom-seeking citizens from other places.
When Varsavsky landed in Madrid in the 1990s, he said that there were very few entrepreneurs. However, that changed significantly in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which led many unemployed Spaniards to launch businesses. “This crisis was the best thing that happened to our tech ecosystem,” he said.
Miami-based Moishe Mana, a real estate investor and leader of ecosystem builder Mana Tech, compared Miami’s tech scene pre- and post-pandemic. “It used to be like pushing a stone uphill,” he said, recalling a moment during a meeting with Alibaba executives where they asked him to point out Miami on a map.
Mana expressed excitement about the possibility of Miami becoming the lynchpin between North and South America, creating prosperity throughout the region: “We can save so many peoples’ lives who truly need it.”
Through Mana Tech, he also hopes to offer foreign founders from Europe and Israel enter the US market. “My dream of having Madrid and Miami work together would be perfect,” said Mana.
Miami Tech Life descends upon the Spanish capital
A veritable delegation of major players in the Miami tech ecosystem were present in Madrid – to such an extent that it was difficult to walk around the event without bumping into someone you had met at, say, eMerge Americas or a Miami Tech happy hour.
Demian Bellumio, co-founder of mental health startup Nue Life and #MiamiTech OG who has been building bridges between Miami and Madrid for the last two decades, informally led the charge. On top of being a fixture at all social events (representing the true essence of Miami through his ever-changing, vibrant headwear), Bellumio was featured on a panel discussing mental health in the context of startups.
“The traditional mental health paradigm is broken,” asserted Bellumio. He advocates for mental health to be seen more in the context of whole-body wellbeing: “We need a more holistic approach.” Nue Life’s platform provides ketamine treatment alongside an interactive companion app and virtual aftercare programs to help patients struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more.
The Mana Tech team was out in full force. Etienne Gillard, the organization’s Head of Ventures who lived in Madrid for 18 years before moving to Miami, spoke during a standing-room only conversation about “how to hack your first round of funding.” Mana Tech’s Managing Director Charly Esnal was also on hand to spread the word about the opportunities present in Miami’s tech ecosystem.
We also saw appearances from Miami-connected tech leaders including Boopos’ Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi, Nowports co-founder Alfonso De los Rios, Web3 Equity founder Michelle Abbs, top startup lawyer Pedro Menocal, and former LAB Miami CEO Ricardo Mesquita.
Investors didn’t miss out on making connections either. IDC Ventures and TheVentureCity, both of whom have major presences in both Madrid and Miami, were active in South Summit – meeting with founders and investors also building bridges between our two ecosystems.
“As Miami is the landing pad for Latin American entrepreneurs to enter the US market, so is Madrid the bridge between Latin America and the EU,” IDC Ventures’ Managing Director Bobby Aitkenhead told Refresh Miami.
COMING SOON: Stay tuned to Refresh Miami for more about the Miami-Madrid connection.
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
- South Florida is a hotbed for climate tech innovation. Here are 5 reasons why
- Mental wellness startup Nue Life secures $23M funding round for its national expansion
- Mana Tech is connecting the Americas, with Downtown Miami as the hub. Here’s how
- Mexican unicorn Nowports makes Miami home for U.S. expansion
- Boopos ramps up, firmly on the path to become the investment bank for SMBs
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