Contact:
Maria Dominguez
General Manager, CIC Miami
Why.Miami platform tells the tale of a new Magic City
The platform launched out of CIC Miami is a “one-stop shop” featuring stakeholders, resources, investors, and information to firmly place Miami on the regional map
MIAMI, November 19, 2019 – Building communities, bridging innovation gaps, and maturing an ecosystem is about breaking silos and ensuring stakeholders, residents and entrepreneurs are working together and sharing information capital. As such, Why Miami was launched as an inclusive, digital platform that convenes content and resources from local people, organizations and public and private institutions that have a direct impact in Miami. The goal: gather pertinent data, contacts, and capture innovative content that presents a more complete and complex narrative of Miami’s rise as one of the most promising hubs in the U.S.
By convening, cataloging and combining resources, Why Miami hopes to encourage academics, entrepreneurs, innovators, business owners, investors and governments from across the globe to see Miami as part of their launch and growth plans—powering the city’s evolution.
Why Miami is more than a boring resource map or a simple catalogue. Born out of CIC Miami and built with the support of many partners, the campaign includes a “how-to” podcast series with some of the leaders of the city’s most successful startups as well as a documentary on why the city should be considered a destination for business expansion, growth, and investment. The site also aggregates existing resources in Miami, such as community breakfasts with like-minded individuals, intimate founder dinners, neighborhood guides and a Slack Channel to learn about jobs, events, and more. Our hope is to be a one-stop-shop aggregating the many resources that stakeholders across the city have generated and will generate considering Miami as a place to grow or expand their work.
Cities around the country are facing the same challenges around housing, scalability, sustainability and progress. Why Miami shows how and why Miami is becoming a world class hub of research, development, innovation and social progress. But it’s also an invitation and a call to action, come join us in this process.
“Miami thought intentionally about who it wanted to be as an entrepreneurial ecosystem before it began building that. In many other cities, it just happened, and there’s a beauty in that too, but because we planned for that, you have the resources and a network of people who have thought through how to make this entrepreneurial ecosystem really inclusive to all. And so entrepreneurs that want to come to Miami should know that those resources are there for them.” Michelle Abbs, Babson College WIN Lab
“There are many advantages to being in Miami for business and I’ll point out many of those: It’s talent, it’s climate, it’s quality of living, it’s schools… we really have some incredible advantages.” Michael Finney, Miami Dade Beacon Council
The platform is live as of today. In Miami, a screening of the documentary was held to an audience of several thousand viewers on Saturday, November 16 at the New World Symphony, renowned as an institution changing the role of community building and access within the arts. Additional screenings and activations will follow in collaboration with our partners across Latin America.
Production partners for this project include The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, En el Ojo Films, and The Thumb Fighter.
Those interested in learning more about Why Miami and sharing it with stakeholders who could use this content are invited to visit why.miami
About Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC):
CIC is a global leader in building and operating innovation communities. Founded in 1999 in Cambridge, MA, CIC is one of the first companies to offer flexible office space and coworking options for innovators and entrepreneurs with the mission to find solutions that fix the world’s problems. As of 2019, CIC has approximately 1.2M square feet (110K m2) open and in development. The company has supported over 6,000 startup and technology companies, and over $8 billion has been invested in companies that began within CIC spaces. CIC currently maintains innovation campuses in Boston, Cambridge, Miami, Philadelphia, Rotterdam, St. Louis, and Providence and has communities under development in additional cities including Tokyo, and Warsaw. The company is privately held and originated a number of affiliated partnerships including Venture Café, CIC’s rapidly growing global network of non-profit innovation ecosystem-building organizations, as well as District Hall, Impact Hub Boston, LabCentral and MassRobotics. Over the next 10 years, CIC plans to grow its network of innovation hubs to create positive impact in 50 leading cities around the world. More info at cic.com.
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