Opportunity Miami

L’ATTITUDE Ventures is changing the Latino narrative by investing in early-stage businesses led by Latinos. Its mission is to transform the VC ecosystem for Latinos. Laura Moreno Lucas, a partner at the firm, explained how LAT VC started in 2019 with a smaller fund that invested in five entrepreneurs. It now has over 30 companies in its portfolio and closed a $100 million investment in August 2022. Meanwhile, Moreno is spearheading the next L’ATTITUDE conference, which will be in Miami September 27-30, aimed at creating a forum for founders to compete for up to $20 million of capital. “We want to be at the forefront of the big thriving community that’s growing in Miami and brings all of our talent and all of our resources to partner with Miami and in the local community,” Moreno Lucas said.

From climate change to rising housing costs, how can Miami-Dade County be ready – today – for the future? Mayor Daniella Levin Cava has called on public and partner sectors to team up to create an economic future that is focused on local talent, small businesses, and innovation. Elected in 2020, Mayor Cava is the first female to lead the county, and her focus – as she said – is on getting us future-ready, with climate a top concern. She joins us to discuss her economic plan for 2023 – and well beyond.

There are huge inequities in how companies of the future are being built and huge gaps in the opportunities for people to develop talent. On top of that, access to capital is especially unequal: Black founders received not even one percent of venture capital funding nationwide in the third quarter of this year. Black startup founders accounted for just over one percent of funding in the year's first half. But the Miami of 2040 can and will look different. For more on how Miami can be the leader in writing a different future for Black Tech, we are joined by Chandler Malone, CEO of the educational labor marketplace Bootup that helps individuals get their first jobs in tech; he's also Managing Partner of Underground Ventures - a global venture studio based in Miami that supports promising underrepresented founders. 

How can augmented reality impact the future of work and education? The technology offers an opportunity to serve as “the beginning of a new medium,” said Peggy Johnson, CEO of the augmented-reality venture Magic Leap. She explains AR’s true potential when it comes to how we interact with technology in our latest podcast. “Right here, right now, we can make South Florida a center for mixed reality: augmented reality, virtual reality. We need more people content builders. We need more people to work on the next-generation products,” Johnson said at our second Opportunity Miami Live event with the Academic Leaders Council. The group consists of all six presidents of our colleges and universities across Miami-Dade County, along with the Superintendent of Schools. It is focused on the future of work and education, which Johnson also addressed. 

Restoring our oceans goes beyond philanthropy. Companies that address environmental issues such as coastal resilience, plastic removal, or limiting greenhouse gas emissions can be viable enterprises. “It is creating jobs. It’s driving economic growth. It’s expanding opportunity. It’s sort of the confluence of both sustainability and economic growth,” said Daniel Kleinman, CEO of Seaworthy Collective, a startup community and venture studio that works to connect and empower entrepreneurs and investors at all levels in ocean and climate impact. Kleinman spoke with us about Miami becoming the next ocean technology hub – or blue tech hub – with scalable economic development because “oceans should be the greatest driver of climate.” Seaworthy connects and supports sea change makers through its cohorts and other initiatives in Miami and beyond.

Miami is leaning into a net zero future as part of a national green energy transition. The Inflation Reduction Act is paving the way to transform America, injecting hundreds of billions of dollars into climate solutions on the pathway for a 40% carbon reduction by 2030. Investing in our climate is already a boom for the future, a transition described as the “mega-trend of the century” by Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor for The Economist. He joins us on the podcast to give us a global perspective on sustainability, EVs, climate tech innovation, net-zero emissions, the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, decarbonizing the world’s energy, and more. 

Reducing our carbon footprint is essential to tackling global warming, but doing so is going to take a lot of money and energy. Enter the carbon-credit market, which is becoming a big business worldwide, including here in Miami which is ground zero for climate change. Many of our top leaders are betting on a combination of public and private partnerships to help get Miami-Dade County to net-zero emissions by 2050. Miami-based ClimateTrade makes it easier – and more transparent – for companies to fiscally manage carbon offsets through a virtual marketplace. “Our mission is to help the companies in Miami (and the United States) to understand why this is important for them and the path they have to do it to decarbonize,” co-founder and CEO Francisco “Fran” Benedito told us during our studio interview. ClimateTrade recently relocated its headquarters from Spain to Miami, which is “a great place to experiment” and “bring our company to help evangelize about this,” Benedito explained about their efforts to help companies decarbonize by using climate tech and blockchain.

Miami is in a unique position to help build Miami’s future workforce by meeting the needs of a changing student body and bringing them off the sidelines, said Jamie Merisotis, CEO of Lumina Foundation. He spoke at our first Opportunity Miami Live event with the Academic Leaders Council, crediting the educational institutions with size and reach across our community. But he also touched on the need to solve a critical problem for our economic future: addressing the rapid decline in college enrollment. In this podcast, we bring Jamie’s discussion and briefly introduce you to the ALC, which includes all six presidents of Miami area colleges and universities and the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Tech is about creating big companies, solving problems at scale and building the next billion-dollar company. But what about using technology to propel small companies like micro businesses and freelancers? Launched in 2018, Miami-based Novo has raced to a valuation of $700 million and named to Forbes’ Fintech 50 this year. Novo may well be Miami’s next unicorn by serving businesses that range from one employee to about ten. And there is no telling how far this can go. Indeed, forty percent of the private sector are small businesses, but they’ve traditionally been underserved by banks. Co-founder and CEO Michael Rangel joined us to explain.

Turning buildings into Telsas: that’s the goal of one climate tech, Brooklyn-based company that is rapidly making American cities green. BlocPower makes it faster and cheaper to decarbonize buildings, all while increasing jobs and improving social mobility. How? BlocPower’s Ian Harris joins us on the podcast to explain how they are a “one-stop shop,” analyzing the buildings and neighborhoods and assisting building owners in improving the efficiency of their buildings overall. BlocPower was ranked by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies in the world this year, and TIME magazine added it to its 100 most influential companies. How to decarbonize buildings is a question critical to Miami’s future as our built environment ranks second for climate-warming emissions after transportation. With recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes legislation aimed at accelerating electrification and energy-efficient retrofitting of buildings, BlocPower’s work is poised to increase. We spoke with Ian before the legislation was proposed.