Brian Breslin's Blog - Latest Comments in The Future of Tech in South Florida

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Irina Patterson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:16:05 -0000

What I would like to see more at our South Florida techie meet-ups is a serious talks about seriously profitable business ideas.

A good business ideas is solid and good when it can be validated using this or similar framework: http://bit.ly/2Vtm7z

My background is in corporate tech PR http://thepengroup.com and I talked to a number of business and academic leaders in this community about the future of tech in South Florida.

I don't think that an incubator would solve the problem. We need to be more serious about generating and validating our ideas.

Good ideas can be executed in a garage, at home, on the street. And angel support is always available for great ideas.

Validate your ideas using this frame work: http://bit.ly/2Vtm7z and I will personally help you to present them to Beacon Council http://www.beaconcouncil.com or at The Launch Pad of UM http://www.thelaunchpad.org/ or FIU Global Entrepreneurship Center http://www.entrepreneurship... and, most importantly, I will help you to seek mentors who succeeded in Silicon Valley at similar businesses.

Once you start validating your ideas using this framework: http://bit.ly/2Vtm7z you will, hopefully, be on the your way to a great idea. If you are serious, I am here to help.

Best way to reach me is at @mylifeandart or come and I am at the most meet-ups.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Andres Barreto — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:57:22 -0000

We should follow some of the initiatives done in several parts of Latin America like Palermo Valley in Argentina, Lima Valley in Perú, and Tequila Valley in México. Plus some extra features. Ill specify:

#1, Highlight/profile local startups in a centralized location (launch WP-blog) <- this will give us a tool from promotion of our talent, becoming the first platform for a local startup to receive press and recognition.
#2. Host startup specific events: Networking / DemoDay / 3-min pitch
#4. Work together with entrepreneurship centers from the universities. CEI from FIU for example.

I can help you with all 3, I know its easy to give ideas/criticism but harder to implement.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Ed Toro — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:33:21 -0000

Support from local schools. We can't always depend on out-of-state transplants and self-taught engineers to keep feeding the movement. We need to start growing our own techies. Where have UM, FIU, Nova, and MDC been during all this? Who's teaching the engineering and computer science courses around here?

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

claudio alegre — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:11:35 -0000

It's slowly growing Brian, and I agree that there needs to be a strong local push, at a steady pace.

Having new faces show up is critical, and that's up to us. Raising awareness is totally grassroots and it starts with the business community, our friends and clients.

Other cities have done it...we have the talent pool, no reason we can't!

Great piece, thanks :)

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Robert Hacker — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:55:04 -0000

Available capital particularly for seed stage deals is a critical need. Better quality university involvement in the tech seen here would also help. This post on the new Florida Growth Fund may be of interest http://bit.ly/zFzC9

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Irina Patterson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:52:27 -0000

To add to my previous comment, here is a primer on how to get ideas for a profitable star-up that everyone would want to support: http://paulgraham.com/ideas...

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Irina Patterson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:20:59 -0000

Thank you, Brian. I suggest we start with #3. Anyone got an idea for a profitable business? I'd be glad to set up a panel to validate your idea and help you along. Today, you don't need millions to launch a successful business, you need an idea, great mentors and hard work. If you got any ideas & desire to work hard, I will find you mentors. I already mentor a few people in Miami and they can tell you: I mean business and I am tough! (LOL)

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Claudio Luís Vera (@modulist) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:16:48 -0000

I've seen it done it Boston: they simply got a few interactive shops together and declared the Fort Point Channel area to be the "Cyberdistrict". They held monthly meetings and issued press releases.

With social media we can do so much more.

It's just a matter of planting a flag and saying "it's here", very loudly.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Brian Breslin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:55:36 -0000

@auston I disagree. There is talent, there are like 5 million people in greater south florida. Its a matter of making it easy for them to move from company to company and exposing them to the opportunities. In california thats how it works, there is always another company looking for talent, and they all know it. So ideas get spread from company to company easily.

I agree 100% with the small economy idea though. But that is a much tougher thing to accomplish. Though i disagree with pushing 1 single company, there are a few multi billion $ companies down here in tech (citrix for one), but they don't support the local community much.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

auston — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:51:54 -0000

Overall I think there is not enough talent to support this kind of growth - a bunch of "Business Guy"s hiring freelance from the rest of the country will never lead to that.

It's important that talent pools together to create & marketing one particular company / product that becomes so large that it becomes it's own small economy.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Brian Breslin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:44:34 -0000

@Tom, traditionally down here we've had a ton of support for biotech initiatives, but not the rest of tech (info, computer, robotics, web, etc.) Rich old people fuel the biotech industry in boca.

@maria i agree 100%, but the key to reaching those outside our community is to get support from groups that overlap our community and the rest (gov, media, etc.)

@christian I agree, but most of these company HQ are insular and not realizing who else is here and who they can do business with. This is due to lack of any simple way for them to discover each other.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Christian Lisogorsky — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:18:24 -0000

We have to leverage on existing companies based on SF. There are +1000 hq for Latam. Reach out to people outside of the tech and social media spectrum and invite them to join the community.
Social Media and tech are not a fad, more $ are generated every minute by technology and in 3 years Social Media ad investment will reach $3B

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Vicequeenmaria — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:09:55 -0000

We need to reach out to people who are *not* in our little tech community. Many out there are closed to social media, which of course I am always evangelizing about. I'm going to post this on the forums at Miami Beach 411.

We do have a vital, exciting seed community here. And you're right, it's time to take it to the next level.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Tom — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:58:22 -0000

A lot of enterprising people are already in South Florida. Boca Raton-based Vicor Technologies is commercializing a quick, highly-sensitive test to predict heart attacks, and their technology far outshines their competition.

Re: The Future of Tech in South Florida

Davide Di Cillo — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:45:30 -0000

A first step could be to help the Florida's tech scene being appreciated outside our little nook.

SXSW could be a big window for us, so please help South Florida panels to be pick voting for them
Here's a list with all the South Florida panels i could find: http://www.davidedicillo.co...