INVESTING IN THE FUTURE: Thesis Ventures is a new venture funder. Some of the companies it has invested in are represented here. From lower left: Nestor Villalobos, Tudor Ice; Umut Tekin, Park Jockey; from upper left: Cindy Diffenderfer, Smart Wine; Nathan Heber, Boat Yard; and Nicholas Bowers, Klink. Thesis also provides residency for its portfolio companies in its studio in Fort Lauderdale, shown here.CHARLES TRAINOR JR/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
INVESTING TOGETHER: From left: Melissa Krinzman of Krillion Ventures; Leo Armas and Fernando Cuscuela of Everypost; Nico Berardi of AGP; Mark Kingdon, angel investor, gather at Everypost’s location in Burö Miami. | WALTER MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
By Nancy Dahlberg / ndahlberg@MiamiHerald.com
It took New York venture capitalist Brad Harrison only two days in South Florida to validate his belief Miami was the right place to open his fund’s first office outside of the Big Apple. Scout Ventures, which invests in early stage companies and has a track record of success, is already beginning to look at local companies.
“All the elements are here,” said Harrison, citing Miami’s creative culture, its position as the gateway to Latin America, and a growing ecosystem of entrepreneurs. “There’s energy here, and we want to be a part of it.”
That’s what the South Florida’s tech-entrepreneurship community wants to hear as efforts to try to establish the area as a technology hub develop. The past year has brought some major milestones — eMerge Americas’ first conference in May, the nonprofit Endeavor opening its Miami office one year ago, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation surpassing 90 investments in the entrepreneurial community and university programs growing and expanding are just a few of them. Arguably, the biggest missing element has been a strong funding network for entrepreneurs, particularly startups.
That may be starting to change. Scout’s announcement last week marks the most recent of a string of developments in the early-stage investment arena. New funds and investment networks are launching, angel organizations are regrouping and becoming more active, and serial entrepreneurs here are jumping into the investing arena. Some local startups are already beginning to reap the benefits.
“I can name at least five new early-stage investment funds that have launched within the last six months and are actively making local investments. A stronger investor network is already happening — the money is here and growing,” said Melissa Krinzman, managing partner of Krillion Ventures, one of the new funding organizations.