By Christine Johnson / @christinecelise
One of the factors used to measure a vibrant ecosystem is its surplus of events that foster the engagement and growth of its entrepreneurs. Miami is certainly not at a loss in this area and is on track to be one of the country’s most active entrepreneurial communities. However, because we are all creatures of habit, local startup circles eventually find their calendars to be mere duplications of weeks prior. They max-out within their comfort zones and begin to feel frustrated with the ecosystem as a whole. They find themselves kicking-it with the usual suspects versus growing their contact lists, and accessing new networks and knowledge.
While there are gaps to be filled concerning untapped markets and programmatic offerings in every ecosystem, it may serve local entrepreneurs well to also determine if they have leveraged the spectrum of available opportunities. For example: Are they intersecting with other stakeholders that play a larger role in shaping Miami’s entrepreneurial landscape (e.g. relevant organizations, associations and technology alliances, universities and government sector)?
Recently, Miami Finance Forum hosted, “Mapping Miami’s Financial Future: An Insight into South Florida’s Hottest Emerging Sectors”. The star studded panels included the region’s top industry leaders for media and technology -- from those newly migrated to Miami to staples of the growing scene. The room was packed to capacity with faces rarely, if at all, seen intersecting with the entrepreneurial community. Instead of a high concentration of wall-to-wall denim, there was a sea of men in tailored suits and women in stockings - typically triggering disdain for startup culture, when it should trigger potential OPPORTUNITY.
An evolving community, Miami still has deeply entrenched silos of all kinds. Many of those that are shaping the landscape; have investor dollars; clout and decision-making ability are not at the typical meetup or event. They are regulars at events hosted by organizations like the Forum and other affinity groups around town.
The Forum’s executive director, Elena Djakonova, sites the Forum’s events as having few entrepreneurs, which is understandable given their membership. “Mapping Miami’s Financial Future” attendee demographic included, “...10% -15% entrepreneurs and the rest of the audience fairly evenly split between bankers, wealth management professionals, Private Equity, VC, Accountants and Lawyers,” says Elena.
Being one of the 10% (opposed to 90%) in this room, or in others with a wide range of various industry professionals and key influencers with great depth of knowledge and resources, can provide the ability to: 1) gain valuable intel first that may not be made public in a room of entrepreneurial peers, 2) discretely secure handshakes with stakeholders without competition, 3) begin to expand the strength of networks to include ancillary resources that may not be as obvious, 4) land a future champion or mentor to support a company’s growth, and 5) enhance expertise in a beneficial field.
By the way, this piece is in no way encouraging an entrepreneurial flashmob of epic proportions. There are definitely events and programs that do not target entrepreneurs as attendees because it may change the intended climate, but for those with open access “it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” per popular business wisdom.
It also goes without saying that most events hosted by these groups have hefty price tags. In those instances, here a few ideas:
- * Leverage your present champions and mentors that have inroads or the means. Ask them to sponsor your attendance. Or, perhaps they have guest passes.
- * Contact the organizer to see if there is a discounted rate for entrepreneurs that may not be public.
- * Volunteer for the event in a capacity that doesn’t tie you down in one place the entire time.
Solutions abound when exploring ways to expand networks. Today’s entrepreneurs, particularly the startup culture, are the risk-takers and wild childs of the ecosystem, so put on your thinking caps and go!
Christine Johnson has dedicated 10+ years to developing educational programming for technology entrepreneurs. She is the CEO of The Founder Development Group, and recognized for her commitment the past 5 years to diversity in technology (women, ethnic minorities, LGBT and youth) through her organization, DiversiTech.