Not only is Miami magnetic to people who want to call the U.S. home, but it is has also become irresistible to entrepreneurs.
According to the Ewing Marion Kaufmann Foundation, which studies and supports the startup community, Miami is now the second most entrepreneurial city in the US, and can boast the nation’s highest startup density.
Last year’s Kaufmann Index found that Miami led the country with 247.6 startups per 100,000 people.
Miami is borrowing from other cities – such as Austin and Boulder – which don’t seek to become a carbon copy of Silicon Valley. Instead, Miami chooses to play on its many strengths.
According to published reports, Miami has attracted the attention of entrepreneurs from around the world for better than two decades. More recently, new clusters of energetic visionaries have come together to groom a new playing field. This includes neighboring universities, where many startup cultures find like-minded individuals, and cred from the local media. Specifically mentioned is Susan Amat, a founder of The Launch Pad at University of Miami, who also launched Miami’s go-to business incubator, Venture Hive.
Speaking of the media elite, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which grew out of media conglomerate in Ohio, threw its financial support and reputation behind the brewing startup scene in Miami. The foundation began accelerating and funding Miami-based initiatives, and inviting others to join the party.
And it’s not just the smaller companies that choose to get close to the cutting-edge vibe: giants such as Google, Twitter, Facebook, Uber, Lyft and Vice have operations in Miami. They’re lured by the vibe, bright people and international connection and sensibility. And, not to mention Miami’s tax perks: no local or state income taxes, and a corporate tax rate of 5.5 percent.
And it’s working: Miami is now home to 139 startups and companies on the Inc. 5000 list, specializing in a wide variety of sectors.
As was reported by Tech Crunch, angel investors are mobilizing in Miami, to provide home-grown cash and support, but the missing link to sustaining an entrepreneurial ecosystem is still not fully closed.
Universities are now teaching entrepreneurship, and some venture capital funds are flowing into Miami. But what needs to happen next is the arrival and work of business accelerators to help Miami make the next leap to sustainability. And make the entrepreneurial ecosystem a closed loop that sustains itself.
But with billions sloshing around California and New York, Miami still has some catching up to do. Clearly, it’s headed in the right direction, and has a lot of help to get there.
