Miami a hot spot for VCs

Miami: A hot spot for venture capitalists | The Starting Gate: "A few weeks ago, I had my first-ever opportunity to visit the Miami startup ecosystem. I was visiting as part of Terrapinn Private Equity World, a leading private equity conference for the Latin American technology community. You might assume the event took place in Sao Paolo or Mexico City, but no, it was in Miami, and will be again in 2014. The decision to host the conference in Miami is hardly unfounded. Miami is one of the fastest growing new startup hubs in the US. As a VC, Miami is exactly the sort of place I love to invest in: a city filled with entrepreneurs who not only want to be successful in their own endeavors, but also strive to create a sustainable infrastructure for others to succeed after they do. Miami has many of the assets of an entrepreneurial hub, notably a flourishing creative community, and a strong public university system. . . . " (read more at link above)

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/the-starting-gate/2013/08/miami-a-hot-spot-for-venture-capitalists.html#storylink=cpy

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VC funding soars in Florida led by two Miami companies

VC funding soars in Florida, powered by Open English’s results - Business - MiamiHerald.com: Venture capital funding in Florida soared in the second quarter of 2013, thanks to large investments in two Miami-based companies. According to findings of the MoneyTree Report  . . . investment in the state totaled $155.8 million, up from just $11.29 million in the first quarter and the highest amount recorded in the survey since the third quarter of 2007. Florida’s total was powered by the $65 million Series D round in Open English — the 7th largest investment in the country — and the $20 million round in CareCloud, the top two investments in the state. . . . According to the survey, 14 Florida companies received venture capital in the second quarter, up from six in the first quarter and the highest number in more than two years. . . ." MoneyTree Report results are available on www.pwcmoneytree.com and www.nvca.org

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Feds say high-flying Miami millionaire was a fraud

High-flying Miami millionaire was a fraud, feds say - Broward - MiamiHerald.com: “ . . . No shareholder was invited into InnoVida on the prospect of making a quick buck,’’ he said, adding that he was more than two years away from going public. At the time, however, his empire was already crumbling. A judge had stripped him of the authority to run the company, whose headquarters were on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Chris Korge, a shrewd Miami developer and lawyer, said Osorio assured him that his company had about $40 million in cash and a lucrative deal with Middle Eastern investors to purchase $500 million in company stock. Korge invested $4 million before he began to suspect that something didn’t add up. “Jeb Bush was on the board, there were a lot of successful people convincing me. We went out and we met and I just began to realize that the cost-effectiveness of building with the materials would never work,’’ Korge said. By that time, however, it was too late. Creditors were already knocking on Osorio’s door, including the Swiss government, which claimed he owed $220 million in loans from Swiss banks that he obtained by lying about the soundness of his previous business venture, Miami-based CHS Electronics. That company went bankrupt in 2000. Korge’s attorney, Kendall Coffey, said Osorio had a knack for exploiting South Floridians’ quest for wealth and success. “Miami is a city of newcomers and opportunity. And the combination creates a perfect landscape for fraud,’’ said Coffey, a former Miami U.S. attorney. . . ."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/07/v-fullstory/3131806/high-flying-miami-businessman.html#storylink=cpy


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Miami Health Care and Technology Accelerator

Project Lift Miami - Miami Health Care and Technology Accelerator:

The Starting Gate: " . . . The accelerator is a partnership between Lift1428, an innovation design, strategy and communications firm, the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park and its developer, Wexford Science + Technology, and the UM Miller School of Medicine, said Robert Chavez, executive director of Project Lift Miami. The for-profit accelerator will offer up to 15 selected entrepreneurial teams a structured 100-day program of training by a large network of local and national experts as well as mentoring, warm introductions and strategic support that will continue well beyond the program, said David McDonald, CEO of Lift1428, co-founder of Project Lift Miami and creator of the programming. The class of startups will get funding and services valued at more than $100K in exchange for 7% equity, he said. Chavez and McDonald said they have already fielded lots of interest from within the state and nationally. The goal is that the companies will want to stay and grow their businesses in Miami, said Chavez, pointing out that South Florida is rich in healthcare resources and almost any idea can be tested and validated here. "When they are ready to run, we don't want them to run away." Applications will be accepted through March 14 at www.lift1428.com/projectlift.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/the-starting-gate/#storylink=cpy

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Investors and entrepreneurs at AVCC Miami

Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events - Business - MiamiHerald.com: "Entrepreneurs and investors shared advice, made connections and talked about deals at the Americas Venture Capital Conference and other Innovate MIA events."Entrepreneurs from around the world took the stage during this packed week of entrepreneurship events in Miami: Florida International University’s Americas Venture Capital Conference (known as AVCC), HackDay, Wayra’s Global DemoDay and Endeavor’s International Selection Panel. The events, all part of the first Innovate MIA week, also put the spotlight on Miami as it continues to try to develop into a technology hub for the Americas. “While I like art, I absolutely love what is happening today... The time has come to become a tech hub in Miami,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, who kicked off the venture capital conference on Thursday. He told the audience of 450 investors and entrepreneurs about the county’s $1 million investment in the Launch Pad Tech Accelerator in downtown Miami. “I have no doubt that this gathering today will produce new ideas and new business ventures that will put our community on a fast track to becoming a center for innovative, tech-driven entrepreneurship,” Gimenez said. . . ." read more here

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/14/3142734/miami-in-spotlight-at-vc-confab.html#storylink=cpy

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