Silicon Valley exiles are seizing on Miami with Suarez’s viral recruiting making it tech hot
Miami has seen a flurry of newfound interest among Silicon Valley exiles as the next global tech hub. At the center of the effort has been Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Greater Miami leaders have spent the past decade making the case that the region could become a global tech hub.
As COVID-19 hit, a handful of technology professionals looking to exit Silicon Valley and other traditional tech centers began choosing the Magic City as their remote-work destination of choice.
Now, many have begun talking about — and in some cases, making — the move permanently. Suddenly, the area’s longstanding goal of transformation seems much closer to reality.
This new migration is different from the influx of corporations — largely finance groups — that announced relocation plans earlier this year. Most now are individual tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who are coming without readymade businesses — though all say they plan to create ones.
Naturally, these digital nomads “found” the Miami opportunity online, thanks in part to a series of viral social media posts by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
From the outset of his tenure, Suarez has worked to attract innovative companies. His highest profile success came in October, when global finance giant Blackstone announced it would open a tech office here.
But a recent series of Tweets from Suarez seem to be kicking the movement into high gear. On Dec. 4, in response to a Tweet from Delian Zebulgar, a principal at venture capital firm Founders Fund, saying Silicon Valley should “move” to Miami, Suarez replied, “How can I
help?”
Suarez’s reply went viral, with more than 500 quotes or retweets, 5,700 likes, and millions of views. A separate video Tweeted Tuesday by the mayor discussing Miami with
Lucy Guo, a tech investor, has already been seen more than 55,000 times.
And Founders Fund, one of the most influential groups in tech, now says it is moving many of its executives here.
“People want to be in a place where government is receptive and supportive of them,” Suarez said in an interview this week. “They want people to feel grateful for what they do in the community and in creating high-paying jobs, and they may not be getting that in the places where they’ve traditionally been.”
Guo, a self-described itinerant, said she booked a flight to Miami from Los Angeles based largely on the Tweets she was seeing.
“Suddenly it seemed like all of my friends went to Miami, so I said, ‘I guess I’ll just go too,’ ” she said. “The mayor was so proactively promoting tech, and I just appreciated that sentiment.”
The recent flurry of online activity has landed Miami a company called Pipe Technologies, which lets companies sell access to recurring revenue streams, like subscriptions. The fast-growing company was highlighted in October by the Wall Street Journal.
Previously based in Los Angeles, Pipe executives credited Suarez for helping decide to relocate their headquarters, though, for now, this simply means a handful of employees will relocate here.
“It is a huge change to be welcomed — for job creators to be welcomed,” said Pipe founder and co-CEO Harry Hurst.
Shutterstock founder and executive chairman
Jon Oringer, who moved to Miami six weeks ago, said he plans to launch a new group, Pareto Holdings, that will incubate businesses in Miami.
“It’s an up-and-coming tech scene,” Oringer said. “Our sweet spot is starting companies from absolutely nothing, and Miami has exactly that — it’s having a ‘zero to one’ moment. And along with the mayor’s support, it’s a perfect time to start businesses here.”
Of course, Miami’s tech scene isn’t exact at zero. For years, entities including the Knight Foundation, the eMerge Americas conference, Refresh Miami, Black Tech Week and every local college and university have been nurturing local startups. Those in this longstanding tech community say the new opportunity is enormous — but want to make sure the recent arrivals are aware of the lifelong efforts that natives have made to boost the city.
“It’s exciting to see folks recognize Miami as a great place to live and do business, especially as it relates to venture and tech,” said Raul Moas, Miami program director at the Knight
Foundation, via text. “A lot of people have been building up this community — the tech community and Miami as a whole — for years, and today we’re seeing the fruits of that labor manifest. Much remains to be done and this is a long journey, but it’s important that others see the same potential and promise in Miami which we have for years and take up the flag to build alongside us.”
Melissa Medina, president of eMerge Americas, expressed a similar sentiment.
“Many of us have been working very hard for years to help build a thriving tech ecosystem in South Florida,” she said via text. At the same time, “we also have to be thoughtful on how we bridge all of these new connections with the local network. Most importantly, we have to lead with our greatest asset: a diverse, inclusive and vibrant community.”
Among those seeking to welcome the new arrivals is Refresh Miami, the city’s longest-running tech booster organization. Refresh Executive Director Maria Derchi said many — though not all — of the émigrés are interested in learning how they can collaborate with forerunner groups like hers.
“We want to make sure they are aware of the ethos of this community, and that they realize and see how they can fit into what we’ve been building,” she said.
Suarez remains the center of new arrivals’ attention, and is working feverishly to maintain the momentum. He now plans to create a technology working group including the Beacon Council, the county’s economic development agency, and the city’s Downtown Development Authority; he also is reaching out to local universities to join the effort.
He said he intends to name a chief technology consultant and to ask Miami commissioners to form a separate technology council that would provide broader recommendations to city administrators.
Philippe Houdard, cofounder and CEO of coworking firm Pipeline Workspaces and a DDA board member, said this is the moment the city has long been waiting for.
“All of these companies converging on Miami simultaneously has the potential to disrupt the city’s existing tech ecosystem, and that’s something we should embrace,” he said in an email. “The great influx of talent is how huge leaps are made.”
It’s still early in this wave, and uncertainty abounds. Evan Leaphart, co-founder of Black Men Talk Tech, founder of mobile app Kiddie Kredit, and a 16-year Miami resident, said he welcomes the new interest in the city — as long as it comes with sensitivity.
“If they do it in a way that’s collaborative with the people who have already been here, versus people just trying to take over, then I’m all for it,” Leaphart said. “Paying respect to what’s already here. As long as they’re bringing in insight and capital and solutions, in this newfound interest in Miami, to people who have been here for awhile and care about the city itself, not just opportunity of the city, then yeah, I welcome it.”