Florida Startup Ecosystem Report, with Roxette Miranda & James Irvine (LIVE Q&A)

Welcome to this Startup Ecosystem Report livestream. My name is Dustin Betts, I'm a community manager at the Founder Institute, and I'm joined today by the co-directors of of the FI Florida Accelerator Program, Roxette Miranda and James Irvine. Roxette and James, thank you both for joining us today.

Thank you, Dustin. How are you all?

Great to be here.

Excited to have you both here, and we're going to talk all about the Miami and the state— Florida statewide startup ecosystem today. But sort of to kick off this conversation, I'd like to ask you briefly each in turn a little bit about yourselves. So, Roxette, first, you, you're the managing director of The Lab Miami, which is one of the city's premier startup hubs and physical coworking spaces for entrepreneurs. You've been an angel investor and an FI or a program manager for other accelerator programs in the past. And you've been leading the FI Florida chapter now for over 3 years. I know you're also each partners at 305 Works, an agency that supports startups and small business in Miami. And then you, James, you are the founder of Pitch Night, which is really in the greater New York City area, a monthly series of community pitch competitions. You've likewise been an angel investor as well as worked with other accelerator programs in the past. And I know earlier in your career you started off in commercial banking working at JP Morgan and Merrill. And like Roxette, you've also been working to co-lead the Florida chapter of the Founder Institute now for a little over 3 years. Given those two abbreviated bios by way of introduction, I want to ask you sort of each in turn, I guess, Roxette, you first, what has been your personal experience like at the Founder Institute over these past 3+ years now leading the program? Maybe what has surprised you most about working with these quite early-stage pre-seed companies?

I think, you know, over the last 3 years working the Miami ecosystem and now the Florida in general ecosystem, it's changed. I've seen the quality of the founders that we've worked with go from just these exponentially better founders that we've had over the last 3 years. So I think that's exciting. We've seen a lot more new industries, especially here in Miami, being that we're in the Web3 space. So that's something very exciting for me in Founder Institute, having the ability to help these like early stage founders. And now that we're in cohort, going on to cohort 3, cohort number 6, seeing a lot of the cohorts 1, 2, 3, and 4, a lot of our founders going from idea stage to MVP in the last 3 years, that's wonderful. I think that's truly exciting being part of that process.

Yeah, definitely. And we'll get to talking about, yeah, Miami and Florida ecosystem, I guess shortly, but sort of a similar question for you, James. I mean, how has it been for you leading the program these past 3+ years maybe? What experiences stand out or stick with you most? So far as being a program director?

Yeah, just it's been really great. We've definitely enjoyed the past couple of years running the program. It's a lot of work both for us and the founders, but we get to work with a lot of really passionate people and get to see their ideas come to life. And I think that's really why we do it at the end of the day. Yeah, it's been an interesting couple of years because we started in the pre-COVID times and then pivoted and, you know, made the move to virtual, became the Florida chapter. So we got to see a lot of different evolutions, not only within us running it and the founders, but just the program overall, how it was structured. So it's constantly growing and iterating and There's a lot that's been happening at the Founder Institute HQ level as well with a lot of growth. So we've really just enjoyed the whole journey and it just continues every semester. There's something new. We increase the value. Founder Institute increases the value. So yeah, it's been a really great journey overall.

Awesome. Yeah. So now let's pivot a little bit, sort of, Roxette, you kind of led in this direction and part of your opening answer there, a little bit more about Miami and the Florida statewide startup ecosystem. So it feels like, you know, from the outside looking in, I'm on the East Coast, but in Pennsylvania, Miami seems to be or becoming one of the most interesting places in the country for startups. And it's sort of, as you mentioned, like the place for Web3, and also really interestingly, a kind of like global capital city for almost like LATAM regionally, where companies like physically located throughout the Americas are sort of seeing Miami as a base for their US headquarters or their entity office. So that's a really interesting kind of regional trend. but happening like there in Miami. So this is really for either of you to take this in any direction you want. What, what are the latest things that you're seeing from early-stage founders there? What are the trends or developments that you are currently watching most closely?

I think now with a lot of the major capital groups that are moving in, we're seeing a lot of interest with our Latin founders, obviously based out of Miami. We have a lot of Latinx and, and Black Black founders in our cohorts. So there's groups like, you know, we have Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan who are putting that emphasis on minority founders. So I think it's a very, you know, there's a lot of growth in that space for us where as last 3 years there wasn't too much emphasis on it. So I think that's fantastic. And like I said, the Web3 space, Miami is really leading that space. So we're seeing a lot of founders and a lot of programs being initiated for that area where we're taking Web2 developers into that Web3 space. I think that's fantastic. I'll let James talk a little bit more about all the capital that's been coming in and all the fun stuff that's happening in that industry. But even our partners are changing in that aspect, which I think is fantastic.

Yeah, a lot of growth, a lot of change, like she said. When we started this, when we set out to start this a little more than 3 years ago, we really looked at it and said, there's a strong need for this. The startup tech ecosystem was very small. There's only a handful of us. When we shared this with the people who were in the space, it was very well received. And everybody kind of agreed that having a program like this to help boost entrepreneurship, launch more companies, support more founders, was something that was lacking in the Miami and South Florida region. And there was, I think, two other accelerators in South Florida who were kind of active. There was like one or two on in like the Tampa area. And then there was probably only, I want to say maybe 3, 4 early stage venture groups that were actually deploying capital regularly throughout the whole state. So a lot of founders were going out of state to get their money And that was kind of a big problem. And nowadays it's just, you know, there's no shortage here. There is so many funds, there are so many programs, there's just every vertical supported. And yeah, it's really just great to see the whole ecosystem mature.

Yeah, absolutely. Big changes definitely over the past 3+ years. Yeah, since you guys have been in tenure as the Florida directors for the Founder Institute down there. And I guess like this might be just asking a similar question again. Feel free to rehash. But I was kind of going to ask like the what, where, when. So that was sort of the what you're seeing down there in Florida. But the where, like, again, just it does seem to be one of the most up-and-coming exciting places. And you mentioned that there's just a lot more capital and early-stage support resources there. But I guess, you know, so to ask it again, why is Florida such a great place to build, and specifically a technology company? And so maybe feel free to talk more to the Web3 trend. Like, why is Florida this kind of magnet location for so many entrepreneurs right now?

I think it has to do with Florida's flexibility. They're very pro-business in their laws and their taxes. You know, it's one of those things where it's easier to launch a business here in Florida and a viable business at that, you know, whereas other states, you know, are limited with their legal laws and their taxes. So that's the main reason. The second thing obviously is the weather. It's fantastic here. But on top of that, it's the dynamic people. There's, there's a lot of culture here. And like you mentioned earlier, Dustin, with that connection to Latinam, there's tons of programs that are here in Miami that focuses on bringing companies from Chile, Argentina, Colombia into the Miami and US market. So I think that's very attractive, not only for the talent here, but for investors as well. And then obviously the reason why I think Web3 is a big focus is our mayor Suarez has been a very good PR spokesperson for it, and he's very involved with bringing in the cities and colleges together to create programs that are free for young entrepreneurs exploring that space.

Yeah, that's true. I had not even thought about Suarez recently, but I know he first tweeted the how can I help sort of VC thing, and it kind of kicked off and went on a roll. And that was, I guess, more towards the beginning of the pandemic. But yeah, it was super interesting, everything that you highlighted and definitely the LATAM kind of regional headquarters in South Florida. I don't know, that's like a super interesting trend in and of itself, separate from the Web3 stuff. So super interesting. And I guess to like to get even more granular and specific about like a lot of these resources that are available now and some of them might be very new for founders, do you want to give kind of —some shoutouts maybe to some of the partners who— there's some terrific program partners for the upcoming 2022 cohort that you are working closely with who founders might benefit from in the region.

Yeah, definitely the Venture Mentoring Team. They're based out of Broward County, but they cover all sorts of regions in Florida. They have regionalized mentorships where they don't take equity pretty much, which is kind of nice. And a lot of those mentors, you know, they have joined advisory boards for a lot of our founders as well. They are pretty much these altruistic C-level suite guys and gals who have been fantastic in supporting the program. Another person as well who's like a, I guess we would want to call him a super mentor, is Aaron Chavez from Argent Strategies. He's been fantastic. He really, really, really is. I definitely, definitely think he's one of our biggest supporters from day one with this program. James, I don't know if we're missing anyone else, but I know you probably have some.

No, I mean, you know, everybody in the ecosystem, all the organizations, TechHub South Florida, The Florida Funders. Who's the one up in Orlando? The name's escaping me. Is it Las Olas VC? Las Olas. Yep. Mark and those guys have been a great supporter as well. So yeah, we've just received a ton of community support and it's really, really just a great thing to see that everybody gets behind the mission that we have.

Yeah, if folks go over to the website down at fi.co/florida, all of the like local partners who you guys then are working with or that are, you know, on our website are there and they can link over and check them out. And yeah, there's just a lot of different funds as we've been talking about that you guys are partnering with and are giving feedback to founders at the earliest stages. And so that's super exciting. I guess I would be, we would be remiss too to not give some local Founder Institute grads a shout out. So feel free to shout out any grads you want, but I think especially for perspective, prospective Florida Founders who might be watching, you know, who are some of the FI alumni portfolio companies that they could, um, go and check out to see just an example of somebody who's come through the program?

Yeah, so we'll give a, give a big shout out to Jim Trice. He is launching— I think he launched this week or last week— and he's focusing on bringing mobile phlebotomy, so mobile blood testing, to you where you need it, as opposed to having to go to a clinic or a lab core and, you know, spend 30 minutes getting there, sit around for an hour, hour and a half, spend another 30 minutes coming back. And then another big shout out to Rosanna and Alfredo, the Redress team. They have built a very innovative model for clothing swap similar to like a Rent the Runway meets a Poshmark almost, uh, whether it's a C2B2C model where you can send in your clothes, get credits, they take care of all of the logistics in the middle, and they're launching soon as well. Uh, so those are two to keep your eye on in, uh, in South Florida.

Very cool. Yeah. Um, awesome. Uh, and, uh, we're getting, I guess, closer to, to the end here, uh, now. Um, but yeah, Redress and the mobile phlebotomy, Jim's Rice, are to folks that they can go and check out. But other parting thoughts, I guess, other kind of final advice specifically for prospective founders or pre-seed stage founders who might be watching. Yeah. Any kind of parting thoughts for folks who might be watching?

Go ahead, Roxy. No, you go ahead.

I was just going to say, Focus on your customers, focus on the problem, do lots and lots of interviews, speak with them, uh, really understand them. We see this all the time where people get an idea, they think it's great, they fall in love with it, and the market has no real use for it, and they don't know how to sell it or, uh, position it properly. So that's one of the most important things, and we spend a lot of time on that in the first couple weeks of the program.

Yeah, that's definitely great advice for any founder. I do want to actually put this audience question just because I feel like Roxette definitely will have a good answer for it. So Cindy is asking on LinkedIn, um, what support does Florida have for female founders? Are there any of the organizations we've already talked about or other support for female founders out there that you want to highlight in South Florida, Roxette?

Oh, there is a ton. We've been so blessed in Florida, at least, that a lot of the community leaders are women and they're very, very strong here. I love it. Like James earlier mentioned, Tech Cup South Florida, that's ran by women. There's like happy hours and tech groups that are also ran by fantastic women. Obviously, you know, I'm a Latina female here in Miami and I direct this program, so it's very important when I'm partnering with our community to kind of give resources to women. So it's nice because we are a launch accelerator. We've had a lot of our female founders go on to other supporting accelerators. So just another shout out, we had one that's Ready Set Dinner. She's from our West Palm area, and after she went through our cohort, she actually joined 1909's cohort, which is another accelerator, you know, that she was a part of and she had a lot of support there and she was part of that coworking space. So it's, it's really nice to see that we're, even though we're across different counties as a state, you know, we're, we're always supporting each other. There's obviously accelerators, you know, James mentioned Rosanna, she went through another one called the WinLab, which is just a woman-focused accelerator right after she, she graduated FI. So fantastic, there's just tons, tons of resources.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. That's, uh, there's a— it seems like it's a very interconnected ecosystem, and I think it's because it is one of these places that comes to mind as one of the sort of up-and-coming spots, uh, that there's like extra amounts of dynamism, I would say, even more so than other startup ecosystems. And it just sounds like from what you're describing that that is true, or, you know, what feels true from the outside is in fact, um, actually true. So Yeah, it has been such a pleasure kind of learning from, from both of you here a bit more about the statewide as well as the Miami startup ecosystem. We want to, you know, last but not least, remind any Florida-based founders, you can see the program schedule and learn more at fi.co/florida, or you can apply to the upcoming program at fi.co/join. And we're really looking forward to helping more local founders launching and building exciting new businesses. So if you're a founder listening, yeah, come out and join the community. I know you guys are hosting in-person events there in Miami as well as have some different online events coming up that folks can come out and join. So yeah, please do come out. We can't wait to meet you. But Rexette Miranda and James Irvine, co-directors of the FI Florida upcoming 2022 accelerator program, thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you, guys. Thanks, Dustin.

Thanks, everybody, for joining. And feel free to reach out and I'm happy to discuss anything, uh, Founder Institute, Florida, early stage related with you.

So thanks for joining us. Sounds amazing. Yeah, thanks everybody for watching. Take care. Bye.