Invest: Miami speaks to local market experts
December 2017 – South Florida’s startup scene is exploding. From the healthcare sector to aviation to the banking industry, locals and newcomers alike are looking to the area to invest in startups.
The Kauffman Foundation’s 2017 Index of Startup Activity ranked Miami as the number one metro area in the U.S. for business creation. Many young and entrepreneurial minds are moving into the Magic City. A lot of activity is emerging, especially with the recent growth trends in the health tech sector and the popularity of co-working spaces. Specifically in the healthcare sector, institutions are heavily injecting money to invest in these innovative health tech startups. But that’s not the only sector with a lot of new activity heating up.
Invest: Miami spoke with a number of experts within the South Florida market to take the temperature of the region’s startup scene. Here’s what they said:
Humberto Alexander Lee
Humberto Alexander Lee, Managing Director, Tesser
“Large healthcare organizations, both providers and payers, are meeting the challenges of driving innovation by directly investing and acquiring healthcare startups. Healthcare IT startups, whose entire scope is to drive the development of new technology in the healthcare sector, understand that they must show a significantly higher ROI than the traditional leading solution providers. This creates a symbiotic relationship in which startups have access to distribution and strategic resources, while health organizations can focus on patient satisfaction and corporate mandates, resulting in a partnership that delivers results in terms of quality of service, patient satisfaction and costs”
Ian Herman
Ian Herman, Chairman & CEO, Ibis Airlines
“South Florida’s consistent economic growth and Governor Scott’s promotion of aviation as one of the state’s top priorities is encouraging a lot of new activity in the local aviation sector.”
Bob Zangrillo
Bob Zangrillo, Chairman & CEO, Dragon Global
“Magic City represents a project that will create and support new jobs for the area surrounding the development rather than just targeting tourists. We are currently going through a phase of adaptive reuse and moving in hundreds of technology employees, which will help create a tech hub. Together with attracting high-tech tenants, Magic City will also draw from Miami’s growing creative arts, culture and entertainment sphere.”
Israel Velasco
Israel Velasco, Florida Region Executive, Popular Community Bank
“There are organizations here designed specifically to support and aid startup activity. These incubators assist in the creation of startups in order to foster entrepreneurship in Miami, whether it’s tech driven or in another industry.”
Michael Finney
Michael Finney, CEO, Miami-Dade Beacon Council
“There is a young and thriving entrepreneurial culture in Miami-Dade. The county has great assets such as the University of Miami’s Life Science and Technology Park, which is also the home of the Cambridge Innovation Center. The Kauffman Foundation has recognized Miami as a major entrepreneurial hub in its Index of Entrepreneurship.”
George Cuesta
George Cuesta, CEO, Cuesta Construction
“The U.S. is missing out on a big opportunity to encourage new entrepreneurialism via the skilled trades. Construction is a great example of a rare industry configuration in which individuals very often begin as laborers and later move on to becoming entrepreneurs and creating their own businesses.”
To find out more about our interviewees above, visit their websites at:
Tesser: http://tesserhealth.com
Ibis Airlines: http://ibisairlines.com
Dragon Global: http://www.dragonglobal.com
Popular Community Bank: https://www.popularcommunitybank.com
Miami-Dade Beacon Council: http://www.beaconcouncil.com
Cuesta Construction: http://cuestaconstruction.com
