Resources for Entrepreneurs

GABLES-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP GET BUSINESSES OFF THE GROUND

In 2019, Coral Gables was ranked the third best small city in the U.S. for small businesses by Verizon’s partner company, Go.Verizon.com. They took cities with populations of between 50,000 and 75,000 people and looked at factors like higher education, income per capita and loans per business. What they didn’t take into account, however, were programs within those cities designed to support entrepreneurs.

MANNY MEDINA (RIGHT) FOUNDED EMERGE AMERICAS TO TRANSFORM MIAMI INTO THE HEART OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN THE AMERICAS.

Endeavor Miami

Endeavor is a nonprofit that helps startups grow in emerging markets. It started in Latin America over two decades ago and Endeavor Miami, the first U.S. affiliate, came to the Gables in 2013. “You’re not going to find us in Austin or New York or San Francisco Valley,” says Andrea Torres, head of strategic partnerships and marketing for Endeavor Miami. “We’re in the markets where we’re going to make the most impact.”

By focusing on emerging markets, the idea is to create a community of entrepreneurs so that others will want to start their own businesses in the same area. “Eighty percent of entrepreneurs [in Argentina] can be linked back to Endeavor … that’s exactly what we want to curate in Miami,” says Torres.

Endeavor also looks for high-impact companies, where founders can become future mentors and future funders. Another criterion is scalability; they want to support ongoing startups that can create the most jobs and generate the most revenue. Their ScaleUp Program is a four-month acceleration program for companies with at least two full-time employees (not including the founders) that make between $1 million and $3 million.

Currently, Endeavor Miami has a portfolio of 21 companies led by 37 high-impact entrepreneurs. According to Torres, those 21 companies have created 3,000 jobs and $250 million in revenue in South Florida. “For us, entrepreneurship is the cornerstone of economic development,” she says.

Endeavor Miami

ENDEAVORMIAMI.ORG

786.953.7541

MIAMI@ENDEAVOR.ORG

Emerge Americas

Founded by Manny Medina, eMerge Americas is focused on transforming Miami into the heart of technology and innovation in the Americas. “eMerge Americas is a platform that connects the dots between startups, investors, government officials, higher education institutions and corporate enterprises all for one objective: To spur investment in South Florida and Latin America and to help create a sustainable and thriving tech hub of the Americas in South Florida,” says eMerge Americas’ COO Diane Vidoni. They work with companies like Google, CNBC, Magic Leap and the Knight Foundation.

Coral Gables-based eMerge Americas hosts an annual tech conference in Miami Beach, which gathers over 16,000 attendees from over 40 different countries. Startups that are selected to compete at the showcase get to pitch their ideas in front of investors and corporate partners. There are three different categories to enter the competition: The university track, the early stage track and the later stage track. Key components that judges look for are if a clear problem/need is being served; if the team has the knowledge, skills and passion to implement their solution; and if financials are solid and show a strong return – except for the university track where they expect little or no revenue.

“Coral Gables was an easy choice [to locate eMerge], as it offers easy access to all of the Miami and South Florida market, in addition to great office space options, exceptional restaurants and an overall community feeling,” says Vidoni.

EMERGE AMERICAS

EMERGEAMERICAS.COM

305.407.8568

INFO@EMERGEAMERICAS.COM

University Of Miami

The University of Miami has a number of resources for entrepreneurs within the UM community.

The Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research supports transforming biomedical science and engineering research into products. A committee of executives, investors and entrepreneurs looks at the most promising projects and selects a few each year to receive funding and development support. “There’s been $4.6 million in project expenditures and those technologies have gotten over

$300 million in follow up funding over the years,” says Dr. Norma Kenyon, Vice Provost of Innovation for the University of Miami, and Chief Innovation Officer of the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

WALLACE H. COULTER CENTER FOR TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH INNOVATION.MIAMI.EDU

305.243.5689

Launch Pad is a free, on-campus service for students, alumni and faculty who want to start businesses. Since its inception in 2008, over 500 companies have been created through Launch Pad. “Sixty five percent of them that are still going made it past the five-year mark,” says Dr. Kenyon. Two of those companies are The Salty Donut, which has locations in Wynwood and South Miami, and House of Per’La, a coffee processor with a shop on Almeria Avenue. The only criteria for entrepreneurs is that they have to be affiliated with UM. “We get everything from people working with an idea on a napkin … to people who have 15 employees and are looking for advice on how to grow,” says Launch Pad Director Brian Breslin.

LAUNCH PAD

THELAUNCHPAD.ORG

305.284.2789

HELLO@THELAUNCHPAD.ORG

Another free service is Startup Practicum, which was started in 2016 by Dan Ravicher, a current law school professor. Each semester, Ravicher works with about a dozen law students who help startups with their legal needs. “They’re the only student-run organiza- tion in the country certified to present in front of the United States Patent and Trademark Organization,” says Dr. Kenyon. They work with around 50 clients a year, most of which are sourced through the students. However, Ravicher gets an additional 100 applicants every month. “In essence, we’re like a boutique law firm that represents entrepreneurs,” says Ravicher. “Entrepreneurs have lots of transactional corporate securities and intellectual property needs and we will do all of those.”

STARTUP PRACTICUM

UMSTARTUP.COM

305.284.8486

DRAVICHER@LAW.MIAMI.EDU

The ’Cane Angel Network was just launched in mid-March 2020. A team of graduate business, law and medical students work with a managing director to start initial reviews of company submissions. The due diligence reports of vetted companies will then be posted for angels (investors) to make their decisions. The ’Cane Angel Network extends farther than just UM students, alumni and faculty; it also includes direct family members of students and alumni. “It’s really meant to capture the broad UM community,” Dr. Kenyon says. “So if you are a member of that community, your startup can apply to the network for funding. If you are a member of that community and you qualify as an investor by IRS regulations, you can be an angel.”

’CANE ANGEL NETWORK

CANEANGELNETWORK.MIAMI.EDU

305.284.2211

CANEANGELINFO@MIAMI.EDU