By Krysten Brenlla
As the fall 2023 season unwinds with football, Taylor Swift appearances, and spooky pumpkins, Venture Miami is also keeping busy with events and workshops geared toward our Miami Tech community.
Venture Miami, an economic development office focused on improving Miami’s standard of living, came to life in 2021 after Mayor Francis Suarez’s famous “How Can I Help” tweet went viral almost three years ago, attracting new tech firms and companies to the 305. This year, Venture Miami is ready to tackle (no pun intended) all Miami has to offer with new workshops, resources, and events geared toward the local community of tech talent and innovators.
“Initially, when we first launched Venture Miami, we started as a concierge service for those relocating to Miami,” said Erick Gavin, Venture Miami’s Executive Director. “But since then, we’ve been looking at what we can do long-term. We’re looking at different ways we can improve and make the economy more accessible.”
For years, Venture Miami has focused on building Miami into a global tech hub by facilitating opportunities for newcomers and locals. This year, however, Venture Miami is taking it a step further by providing even more resources and opportunities for locals to grow and thrive right at home.
“One of our latest ventures is the Venture Miami Scholarship Fund, which focuses on closing the gap for locals looking for a STEM education,” Gavin said.
Formed in partnership with The Miami Foundation, the Venture Miami Scholarship Fund aims to provide tuition support through gap funding for at-need residents who have been accepted into STEM or in-demand occupation programs at local universities and colleges, emphasizing a Miami for Everyone.
“We’re refining the scholarship to make sure that as many residents as possible have access to funds,” Gavin continued. “We don’t want finances to be a burden for locals looking for a career in STEM.”
Additionally, Gavin also emphasized the office’s focus on collaborating with local organizations, such as The Shrimp Society, to build fully flushed out resource programs for entrepreneurs going to market. Built In Miami, a year-long initiative that supports early-stage founders in Miami, focuses on connecting founders with a technologist or engineer so that the founder can develop their product, and then take their product to market through Built in Miami’s accelerator program.
When asked how Venture Miami is rebutting the statement we hear all the time – “Miami doesn’t have enough tech talent,” Gavin says that the main problem is talented individuals not finding the local opportunities that exist right at home.
“The Miami Tech ecosystem is full of talent, which is why we want to amplify the opportunities that already exist for talent and companies to engage with each other and fill in that gap,” Gavin said. One of the main ways they’re doing this is through collaborations with new organizations like The Miami Tech Talent Coalition, ShellHacks, and more.
“It is imperative that we build out the infrastructure for accessibility and tech talent, or support the organizations that are building out that infrastructure,” Gavin continued. “We want to play a direct role in providing resources for founders and removing barriers to education by continuing to support the organizations that are doing the great work – that’s how we support the ecosystem.”
If you are looking to get involved with Venture Miami this fall, here are some key events and workshops to look out for:
- Venture Miami x citizenM Tech Mixers
Venture Miami and citizenM have teamed up to launch a series of events to teach, inspire, and connect South Florida tech entrepreneurs. These events include networking opportunities, panel discussions, and workshops aimed at promoting the growth and development of the tech ecosystem while activating citizenM hotels to increase visibility within South Florida.
- Rise and Grind
The Venture Miami Rise and Grind Morning Series connects a small group of Miami-based founders with investors for an opportunity to ask questions that will help them continue to grow and thrive in South Florida. The questions guiding the Q&A session will be known going into the session to encourage preparation on the founder’s part, and deeper conversation within the allotted time. Each group is curated to ensure there is no competitive overlap.
- Venture Miami Pitch Competitions
Each year, Venture Miami partners with community organizations to host a series of pitch competitions for Miami-based startups. Stay tuned to the Venture Miami website and their Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages for their new partners and grand prizes!
- Venture Miami Tech Summit + Hiring Fair
Every fall and spring, Venture Miami hosts The Venture Miami Hiring Fair to bring together Miami’s top academic institutions, community partners, and tech organizations to connect local talent to existing and new-to-Miami tech firms. This year, there are more than 2,000 open roles in technology, more than 70 employers looking to hire, and more than 1,500 local job-seekers. A date for the fall fair has not yet been set.
- Tech Tuesdays
Located at The Builder’s Collective (215 NW 24 ST, Miami, FL.), Venture Miami’s Tech Tuesdays provides founders, funders, coders, creatives, and community builders with free space to work and host events every Tuesday. From 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., community members are welcome to use the space for hot desk coworking, private meetings, bootcamps, and mentor programming. Additionally, from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., the space is available to host dinners, happy hours, and pitch events.
For more information on Venture Miami’s initiatives this fall and early next year, visit their website at https://venturemia.org/.
READ MORE ECOSYSTEM NEWS IN REFRESH MIAMI:
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