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We are #MiamiTech |
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Miami has always been a haven for innovators, for builders, for disrupters and for those wielding the power of technology as a tool of change.
Now, at a time when physical anchors to place are a movable constant, the spotlight is on our community.
We’re taking advantage of this unique moment to articulate the values, opportunities, and principles that guide our vision -- both for ourselves and for those who wish to join us.
This Manifesto is of, by, and for, the people behind the #miamitech movement.
We have grit, ingenuity, and as one of most entrepreneurial metro regions in the country, we innovate by necessity and for purpose beyond profit. What you build in Miami will work anywhere.
We are a testing ground for novel ideas and experimentation. Our leaders are eager to build with and for all. We’re not only after the next unicorn, but also the business models that elevate technology as a centrifuge to a thriving community.
But we recognize that opportunity is not. We are cultivating experiential and educational environments that address the human capital needs of 21st century companies. Investing in an inclusive technology and entrepreneurial pipeline requires everyone do their part.
Over half of our population is foreign-born and we have one of the largest concentrations of immigrant entrepreneurs per capita. We value relationships and strive to welcome newcomers with open arms. We make it our business to break down opportunity silos and concentrated power structures. We do so to make it easier for all to integrate, connect and navigate this ecosystem.
We are the gateway city, not only to LATAM and the Caribbean, but to the world. Our unique geographic position makes us an ideal landing pad for capital and ventures seeking to expand internationally or enter the US market.
Our community is multilingual, multi-cultural and though we struggle with meaningful integration, we are a true representation of the future of American cities: a majority-minority demographic. We are uniquely diverse but we are not yet a model for inclusion. Though, with such a large Hispanic and Caribbean population, it would be easy for us to make this claim.
We aspire to be an ecosystem designed for and embodied by inclusion, access, racial equity, diversity, upward economic mobility and seamless connectivity. We are on the way, but have such great lengths to go to ensure our Black, Indigenous, other Peoples of Color and LGBTQ+ people are fully represented by all measures of opportunity.
We will never be the new Silicon Valley, Silicon Beach or anything but what makes our community unique. We are not a barren wasteland for startups. We rank high on startup activity and like most emerging markets are building the infrastructure necessary to increase the rate of scale. Miami has earned a reputation as a global hub for technology and entrepreneurship because we have intentionally laid the groundwork over many years.
We know that innovation is not a zero sum game. It’s in our best interest to work together. Let’s collectively seek first to understand our existing ecosystem and aim to be additive, not duplicative. But, please, get in where you best fit in and always endeavor to amplify the work of others.
We are the only major US city founded by a woman. In fact, we’re proud that so many of the resources for founders -- from the accelerators, incubators, angel groups, coworking spaces, programs and conferences -- are women led.This doesn’t mean we’re free from the inequities in representative board leadership, access to capital, or the endemic bro-culture that plagues other tech communities. We all remain vigilant to avoid gender exclusive panels, committees or advisory groups.
Which is really hard to do. We still struggle with calling out the outliers whose actions erode public trust and confidence. Let’s be honest: we have a storied history of racial inequality, striking disparities, affordability, homelessness, financial insecurity, gentrification and cultural fragmentation. Yet, we are constantly learning from our mistakes and from lessons of failures in other communities.
We are building with intention, not perfection. We welcome challenges, constructive critique, but most importantly, folks who want to make Miami better.
As we evolve, so will this #MiamiTech Manifesto. It is a living statement of purpose and accountability. It is a representation of our commitment to who we are as an ecosystem and where we strive to be. It is a declaration of the principles we aim to uphold and the values we endeavor to embody.
Don’t just observe, become an active participant in our experiment. Take the pledge, add these principles to your website or favorite online platform, and contribute in a way that adds value to our community.
The following members of the #MiamiTech community have committed to upholding these values, staying accountable to each other and the community at-large, and building a more prosperous and equitable tech community together.
Michelle Abbs, Managing Director Mana Tech
Chris Adamo, CBO/Investor at WhereBy.Us/Letterhead
Maritza T. Adonis, MTA Visions Global CSR & Gov’t Relations
Liz Rebecca Alarcón, Founder & Executive Director, Pulso
Jonatan Alava
Kimberly Aldunate
JC Alvarez, Clarify and Built In Miami
Andres Arias / Clarity
Prem Balwani - Founder & CEO iGrabit
Matthew Beatty, The Carrie Meek Foundation
Demian Bellumio
Kiel Berry
Marie Berry, Founder and Angel
Mario Betancourt
Johnny Betancourt - Co-Founder @ Clutch Prep
Gean Biffulco
Laura Bries Biseo
Brian Breslin - Refresh Miami + The Launch Pad
Stephanie Brito, Software Engineer at Google + Master’s Student at Stanford
Leigh-Ann Buchanan, President & Executive Director, Venture Cafe Miami
Maria Budet, Beacon Council
Alex Cantwell, Founder/Inventor at FitFones, Inc.
Seth Cassel
Luc Castera - Founder, Octopi
Floris Chabert
Silvia Clarke, eMerge Americas
Tina Cornely, Founder of Bridging Humanity
Gabriela Costales
Mark Crofton
Mario Cruz, Watsco Ventures / Miami Maker Faire
Juan Pablo D’Alessandro, Endeavor
Nancy Dahlberg, Refresh Miami
Rod Danan, Founder & CEO at Prentus
Rebecca Danta, Miami Angels
Federico Decia, Co-Founder Nub8
Antonio Delgado, Dean of Engineering and Technology at Miami Dade College
Maria Derchi Russo, Refresh Miami
Arjun Desai, Insightec
Jason Devlin, Watsco Ventures
Eileen Devline-Ward
Brent R. Dixon
Vanessa Duran, Principal at DCC Accounting
Joshua Eisenberg, PhD, Lead Scientist NLU @ Artie inc.
Cesar Fernandez - Converge Government Affairs, ex-Uber
Wifredo “Wifi” Fernández - Scout, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Maurice R. Ferre, Insightec Chairman & CEO
Michael A. Finney, President & CEO, Miami-Dade Beacon Council
Cheriene Floyd
Ibis Fonte, Software Factory
Krystina François, Executive Director, Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade
Michael Friedberg, Founder/President of SEO Nerd
Maurice Gabriel, Your Strategic Partner
Jane Gilbert, High Impact Integrated Solutions
Ana Paula González, 500 Startups
Laura González-Estéfani
Claudia Gorham
Olga Granda
Elliot Grossbard - Head of Growth at ElevateU (HigherEd EdTech)
Flavio Nicolay Guimaraes
Patricio Guitart
Matt Haggman, Beacon Council
Michael Hall, Founder, Digital Grass
José G. Hernández — HRNANDEZ
Rosa Jiménez Cano
Christine Johnson, VP Innovation, Miami Dade Beacon Council
Ja'dan Johnson, Center for Black Innovation
Pablo Junco
Tamour Khan
James Kohnstamm, EVP, Miami-Dade Beacon Council
Herwig Konings
Melissa Krinzman, Krillion Ventures
Angel Lacret. Founder of Cobuild Lab
Alyssa Landry
Travis Laurendine
Evan Leaphart - Founder, Kiddie Kredit
Sergio Leon, Co-Founder 1Nation Digital
Moishe mana .mana common
Nacho Marcotegui - NEORIS USA, INC
Natalia Martinez-Kalinina
Laura I Maydón
Michael R. McCord - AOA Ventures (Healthcare / RE Focus)
Kerry McLaney, 305 Creative & Art Vault
Melissa Medina, eMerge Americas
Kevin V. Michael, Co-Founder & CEO, Invizio
Johanna Mikkola, CEO & Co-Founder, Wyncode Academy
Juha Mikkola, Co-Founder of Wyncode Academy
Brandon Mitchell, Venture for America
Lynn Miteva
Rebekah Monson, WhereBy.Us
Katrina Morris
Courtney Murtha
Marcia Narine Weldon, Illuminating Wisdom, LLC
Lisa Nuessle, General Manager, Ironhack
Francisco Opazo, Entrepreneur
Michael Ortali
Anabel Perez, NovoPayment
Alex Perez
Cari Pérez, General Assembly
Oscar Perez
Michael J. Pichardo
Justin Pinn, Board Member, Miami EdTech
Joanna Popper, HP, Global Head of VR Go-To-Market
Emmanuela Prevolis
Gio Punzo, Streann Media
Ivan Rapin-Smith, Watsco Ventures
Ryan Rea @Volvoshine
Arnoldo J. Reyes
Lynare Robbins, Executive Director, Global Chamber- Miami Chapter
Johnny JR Rodrigues, emb3Ded
Alex Rodriguez - Azulle
Gabriel Roizner, Co-founder & CEO Mozper
Jorge Ruiz, CEO, Finconecta
Marcelo Russo, Co-founder and COO, QRoom
Mike Sarasti, CIO City of Miami
Bernardo Scheinkman, Smart Cities Americas
Michael Schofield
Marte Siebenhar
Gigi Silver
Franklin Sirmans, Pérez Art Museum Miami
Veronica Socarras
Cristina Solana, MiamiJS and Code for Miami
Felipe Solano, Google Cloud
Rodrigo Teijeiro, Founder & CEO of RecargaPay
Roger E. Teran
Gessica Tortolano Wyncode Academy
Max Tuchman, CEO + Co-Founder of Caribu
Cristina Urdaneta
Carlos Vazquez
David Villegas, Kuyayky Foundation
Charles Walter, community advocate and product manager
Will Weinraub, The Local Leaders Collective
Livio A. Zanardo
David Zinn
Brian Zisk
Jimena Zubiria
Nelly M. Farra, Co-Founder + COO of Perchance
Albert Paredes, SoftwareCraft
Mark Scharnitz
Jared Husch
Janet Kyle Altman
Alejandro Mainetto
Gita Shonek
Mike Teichberg, SHRM-CP
Mauricio Villaescusa
Roberto Interiano
Alvaro Melendez, CRANT
Traci Levine
Phillippe Saint-Just, Co-Founder
Ignacio Paricio, UX advocate
Maria Beckles
Kimberly T. Henderson, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida
Yasiel Segui, Miami Tech Advocate
Michael Coronado
Marcelo C. Freire, Sr. Director Global Exp. & Innovation
Amy Knox,
LaToya Stirrup, Kazmaleje
Bonnie Lee,
Haley Kirk,
Ken Finneran, VP Global HR
Erick Gavin, Center for Black Innovation
Juan Pablo Degiovanni, Crystalzoom
Beto Garza
Andy Weiss
Randy Carballo, Blanca CRE
Max Ringelheim, When Going Viral
Jose Vargas - PeopleFund.com
Natalie Ton
Isa Bolivar, Uber
Kelsey E. Rumburg, Author of Trash to Treasure
Markus Straarup, Founder of Friendspire
Kyle Maharlika, Associate @ VCM
Julia Marina
Charles D. Villard
Aileen Alon
Joseph Russo
Kevin Amézaga
Miles J. Varghese
Sara Rosenthal
Sam Blatt, Miami-Dade Beacon Council
Yendi, Doxie Digital Media
Nemanja Stojanovic, Head of Engineering @ Enki.com
Mariana Rego, Senior Product Manager
Jake Wells
Leo Correa
Diana Londono, International Economic Development
Brenda Matos, Product Designer
Andrea Torres, Head of Partnerships at Endeavor
Rachel Lipoff
Valerie Lopez, CEO & Co-founder at Shoot My Travel
Rebecca Negro Rocha, Endeavor
Earle Acosta
Tarkan Kocoglu
Antoine Forest, Co Founder - Stargazer.co - Followpass.app
Joe Chin
Lucas Rosa, Founder Pedra CRM
Ailyn Guerra
Alicia Pierre, Legally Techie™
Matias Beeck
Stan COIGNARD, French Tech Miami - Community Lead
Laurent GALLISSOT, Consul General of France in Miami
Greg Horowitz, Consulate General of Israel in Miami
Champ Bennett
Xavier Gonzalez, Cyxtera
David Barkoe, Carve Communications
Sarah Nohe
Leon Gomez
Doug Skoke, Benjamin Douglas
Michael Wise, Director of Data Science @ CRANT
Sean Daly, Founder, Expetitle
Stephen Weaver, Venture for America
Jairo Cano, Caiman Immunizer Antimalware
Sebastian Gomez Puerto
MARIA CLARA MEJIA
Ricardo Teran, Co-founder - FOLIO
Darrin Scorpio Campbell, StartUPs United
Jorge Valens
Mellanie Malik
Adrienne C. McWilliams, Co-Founder & CEO of BRIDGE Networks
Amy Austin Renshaw
Suzanne Salas
David Bisset
Nicki Tessler
Juan Sebastian Arrubla
Rebecca Willett, software developer
Rodrigo Vogeler
Matti Marshak LAB Ventures, Studio CEO
Gladys Downs
Esteban Reyes
Alejandro Rodriguez
Alex Tellez, Ocean Azul Partners
Gabriela Sabate
Annette Green Tellez, Code/Art
Gabriela Sabate, Health Semantics
Jose Fermin, CEO @ What a TV
Enrique Garza
Kaitlyn Elphinstone, Cayman Enterprise City
Christian Schweizer, President HBS Alumni Angels South Florida
Gavin Heale
Mark Osterman
Ricardo Sangion, TheVentureCity
Ariel Quiñones, Ironhack
Temante Leary
Nate Causey
Eddie Garcia
Edgard D. Duque, TheVentureCity
William Herrera, IT System Engineer
David Jessup Jr.
Camilo Crespo
Emily J Gleason
Gustavo Grande, The Idea Center at MDC
Romi Bhatia
Andrea Vigil, Cushman & Wakefield
Jonathan Fichman, Kabot Advisors