Mayor Francis Suarez — Bringing Silicon Valley to Miami!
Listen On: Apple | Spotify | Soundcloud
In today’s episode, Miguel Armaza and I had the absolute pleasure of hosting tech’s most beloved mayor of 2020, Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami.
For those not familiar, last year numerous prominent VCs and founders began a great migration to Miami. Then on December 4th, Mayor Suarez responded to a tweet from Founders Fund’s Delian Asparouhov…
…And the rest is history. In the following months, Mayor Suarez went on a tweeting blitzkrieg (and is still going) fielding questions about the city, openly engaging with business leaders to see what they need, and sharing his vision with everyone he can. He’s also endeared himself to the crypto community, connected founders & investors, helped foster new communities, brought in serious VC muscle, and spoke with every major publication you can think of.
How does Mayor Suarez describe December for him?
“Like going up to a beehive, shaking it, then watching them all come out.”
See some quick highlights below of just the last few months:
- Softbank and Marcelo Claure dedicating $100M to Miami startups
- Blackstone announcing plans to hire 200 technology workers
- The launch of a Crypto Task Force, a potential crypto regulatory sandbox, and even a potential treasury allocation Bitcoin
- And an endless list of VCs and Founders committed to making the move (highlighted by Keith Rabois and David Blumberg)
In this 15 minute episode, we cover a great deal including the past, present, and future of Miami, his big ideas for crypto, how he’s been investing in tech long before 2020 (500 Startups, iTech), his commitment from Softbank, and more.
Miguel and I left the episode convinced — Miami is not having a moment, it’s starting a movement. Vamos!
Previous Stories You May Enjoy:
Laura González-Estéfani, Founder & CEO of TheVentureCity — From Miami to the World!
Jackie Reses — Leadership Lessons, Fintech Innovation, & Helping Small Businesses
Driving Innovation for Inclusion — Irene Arias Hofman, CEO of IDB Lab
Noah Kerner, CEO of Acorns — Leveling the Investment Playing Field
M&A Special — CB Insights buys Blockdata with Founders Anand Sanwal and Jonathan Knegtel
Anish Acharya, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz — Doubling Down on Fintech
Did Fintech Save Minority-Owned Businesses in the PPP? With NYU’s Dr. Sabrina Howell
Plaid’s John Pitts on the Current Regulatory Landscape, COVID FinTech Adoption, and More
Frank Rotman, Founding Partner at QED Investors — Past, Present, and Future of Fintech!
Entrepreneurship Lessons with Brian Requarth, Co-Founder of VivaReal & Latitud
For more Fintech insights, follow us below:
Wharton FinTech
Twitter | Medium | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram
Ryan Zauk
Miguel Armaza
—
Ryan Zauk is an MBA Candidate at The Wharton School, where he runs the Wharton FinTech Podcast. He currently works with the US International Development Finance Corp looking at technology impact investments in developing markets. After graduation, Ryan will join Morgan Stanley’s Menlo Park Office working with the world’s largest technology companies. He has a passion for music, media, and all things FinTech.
You can reach him at rzauk@wharton.upenn.edu or on Twitter.
