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Tom Brady will keynote at eMerge Americas, plus more updates on the homegrown Miami tech conference

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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By Nancy Dahlberg

How could eMerge Americas follow up Serena Williams?

Well … eMerge Americas announced today that Tom Brady will keynote the 2023 eMerge Americas global technology conference returning April 20-21 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Williams keynoted the homegrown conference last year that attracted more than 20,000 attendees.

On the main stage on the first day of the conference this year, the recently retired star NFL quarterback and 7-time Super Bowl champion and part-time Miami resident will be talking about his leadership experiences, including his extensive entrepreneurial career. In a moderated conversation, attendees will gain insights into how he drives innovation through multiple business ventures.

“Besides his incredible 23-year career in the NFL, he has a lot of leadership experience both on and off the field. He is an entrepreneur and investor himself. He has built his own brand, the Brady brand, which is extremely successful. And he’s also involved in other apparel, health and wellness companies, and co-founded Autograph, an NFT company. He’s a best-selling author. And the list goes on and on. He truly is the representation of solid leadership both on and off the field,” said Melissa Medina, co-founder and President of eMerge Americas, in an interview with Refresh Miami.

“We all know who Tom Brady is. We all know the qualities that he must possess to have the career that he’s had — resilience, dedication, grit, tenacity, and the list goes on and on,” she continued. “Those are all qualities you want as an entrepreneur to build your business. And with his background in building brands and being an investor and entrepreneur, I think it’s really a great representation of what we want to have at eMerge onstage.”

There will be more speaker announcements to come, Medina said. “We have some amazing female powerhouses that you’re going to see at eMerge from Pipeline to Micron Technology to Unity.” Speakers that have already been announced can be found here. Many interactive experiences are also planned for the annual conference first launched in 2014, and Medina said themes attendees will see explored include AI, Web3, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship and investment with a  focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

 Medina adds, “of course, there will be a lot of networking events and opportunities to connect with an incredible group of entrepreneurs that we have been scouting for throughout the entire year.”

Medina is speaking about the Startup Showcase, “the heart and soul of the work that we do.” Throughout the year eMerge selects 100 startups to exhibit for free at eMerge and participate in a six-week virtual mentorship program in the runup to eMerge. “I’m really excited for them to be able to connect with potential partners, potential talent and potential investors for their companies.”

Along with exhibiting, these 100 startups will participate in a shark tank style pitch competition that will end with five of them pitching on the main stage for an opportunity to win $420,000 for their company.

Last night, six Black-founded startups pitched to a standing-room pnly crowd at an eMerge Americas and Venture Miami event at Monty’s in which two startups, Pressy from Miami, and College Thriver Education from Orlando, were deemed the top two winners and will advance to the Startup Showcase. They won $15,000 and $10,000 respectively, from Silicon Valley Bank. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez made remarks before the pitches.

eMerge has also held other pitch competitions in Latin America and around South Florida. Medina says the Startup Showcase will truly be global though the majority will be from Florida and Latin America.

Miami-based startup Pressy was the big winner in a pitch competition for black founders hosted by Venture Miami and eMerge Americas.

Founded by Miami tech pioneer Manny Medina, eMerge Americas is a venture-backed platform focused on transforming Miami into the tech hub of the Americas. Last year’s conference attracted more than 20,000 attendees from 50 countries and over 4,000 participating organizations. eMerge also hosts year-round executive summits, startup pitch competitions, masterclasses and webinars, and publishes venture capital insights reports.

To learn more about eMerge and to register to attend, visit www.emergeamericas.com.

READ MORE ON REFRESH MIAMI

Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected]

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