Miami Tech Week is just the beginning for Florida Tech

If you thought last week's Miami Tech Week was amazing and infectious, you're not alone, but the city and state are just heating up. I moved down here in June and have been integrating myself into the community to meet with more founders and tell their stories. There's so much being built down here it's incredible and you know what? There's not nearly enough press to cover it. That's why I'm stoked about what we're building right here at BestTechie.

There's a unique opportunity happening right here in Florida – that's right, not just in Miami but across the entire state. Cities like Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Gainesville, Jacksonville, and others are all building too. How do I know this? I've talked to founders from all of those places.

I'm thrilled to see Mayor Suarez leading the charge down in Miami, but we need more leaders like him around the other major tech cities in the state. I encourage local mayors and leaders to reach out and make your cities attractive to top tech talent. If you need ideas, I'm happy to help. We have the opportunity here to turn much (or all) of Florida into a tech hub! What's happening right now is essentially equivalent to catching lightning in a bottle – and we've already caught the lightning though, now we just need to execute on it.

Here's how we move Florida tech forward

The first thing we need to do is keep the energy high. Its skyrocketing right now with everyone's interest in Miami, which means it's absolutely the time to do the right things since everyone is paying attention. We need to lead by example – this is a time for the locals, who have been building the foundation for Florida/Miami tech for years, people like Chris Adamo, Maria Derchi, Nancy Dalhberg, Nicholas Mohnacky, and many of the people in this Twitter thread, to get together with new players such as Delian, Keith Rabois, and the OnDeck Miami Tech cohort to propel this community into the stratosphere. The last thing we want to do here is repeat the same mistakes that occurred in Silicon Valley.

I can't stress how important building a widespread tight-knit community is to building a successful tech hub. We're living in a new post-pandemic world, the world is changing, the way we do business is changing, our values are changing, we are changing. I'd encourage everyone to lend a hand to your fellow founders. Building together and in public will ultimately benefit all of us in the long-term. This is not a zero-sum game.

Last week when the impromptu Miami Tech Week kicked off, many locals were caught off guard, but in true Miami form, adapted and embraced the excitement and community atmosphere. It was incredible to see the community come together, as it should be, with my friend Chris Johnston quickly putting together a Google Doc with a list of the events (shout out the Shrimp Society's Happy Hour!) making them more easily accessible to everyone. This is the stuff I love to see!

We need to keep the spotlight on what's being built here. So far we've really hyped up the city, but now it's time to deliver on the promise. To do that, we need to keep making noise. Not just about who's moving here – honestly, that's old news now, the focus now needs to shift to companies and products/services being built here. How are we adding value to the world?

And you know what? We already are. I've covered a few of the startups doing just that already.  

Even though Delian tweeted that the next Miami Tech Week is April 17-24th 2022 don't let that stop you from coming on down. Down here, Miami Tech Week is a state of mind, not an actual date. PS: I totally dig the 90s vibes with the logo!

That being said, I want to welcome everyone to Florida tech! Don't forget to enjoy the weather while you're down here too! And of course, if you're building down here, please get in touch with me. Also be sure to check out the Product Hunt Blitz we're hosting currently. We want to hunt your product on Product Hunt for the entire community to get behind!

If you like the work we're doing here, take a look at our BestTechie Plus membership options to show your support and get even more value (including gaining access to the BestTechie Discord)!