Here’s a peek inside invitation-only Miami Tech Summit. We’ll give you the details
Public and private sector leaders converged Wednesday at the Miami Tech Summit.
Held at Miami’s Perez Art Museum, the invitation-only event featured billionaire venture capital investor and Founders Fund general partner Keith Rabois and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
The summit, which started last year and is among a full menu of events during Miami tech month in April, connects private- and public-sector leaders interested in making sure Miami’s burgeoning tech sector serves as a community resource.
With stints at PayPal, LinkedIn and Square, Rabois has extensive experience as a tech entrepreneur and investor. He had pivoted from a career in law into the technology field in February 2000, and saw the dot-com bubble burst that year.
As Miami’s tech ecosystem still recovers from the shockwaves of the November 2022 implosion of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had its name on the Miami Heat arena under a naming-rights deal that was recently nullified, Rabois thinks now is as good a time as any to enter the tech industry.
“It’s always a good time to start a company, if you have an original idea that’s differentiated from what’s already there,” he said. “Be realistic about how much capital you need to receive the inflection milestones” that create value for investors.
Justin Sayfie and Jose Felix Diaz launched the local tech summit last year with the help of eMerge Americas President Melissa Medina. To each summit attendee’s surprise Wednesday, it came with free admission to eMerge Americas annual tech-networking conference Thursday and Friday in Miami Beach.
“From last year to this year we’re looking at a totally different tech ecosystem,” Diaz said. “Last year, this room [for the summit] was full of crypto and Bitcoin people. Silicon Valley Bank was in attendance. FTX had just named the stadium. ... Even though tech is here to stay, it’s an ever-evolving market.”
Of course, California-based Silicon Valley Bank experienced a run on its deposits in early March, causing its failure and takeover by federal banking regulators. For four decades, the bank catered to startup tech firms, and since late 2021 it operated a branch in Miami’s Brickell financial district.
Santiago Leon, owner of Fort Lauderdale-based web development firm Sleon Productions, has seen the growth of Miami’s tech scene over time. He recalled there being only one Miami tech meetup group in 2008. He came to this year’s tech summit with high hopes.
“There’s been a big shift in technology with ChatGPT and AI,” Leon said. “I want to hear some new stuff and hopefully learn ways we can implement these new tools in a positive way.”
Meanwhile, on the hot topic of social media giants, Rabois and Bush on Wednesday expressed divergent thoughts. As a friend of entrepreneur and Twitter owner Elon Musk, Rabois thinks Musk — who also operates Tesla — has succeeded in “making all the right enemies.”
When considering Facebook’s part in shaping its users’ political viewpoints, Bush was more critical of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“I do think creating suggestions on how Facebook should be governed should be one of Zuckerberg’s priorities,” the ex-governor and Miami resident said.
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