There might not be a more appropriate way to spend a weekend in Miami Beach than with a cocktail in your hand. Those of the rum persuasion, particularly in the form of a Mojito, pair well with a Cuban sandwich, a beach chair or even the tropical backdrop at The Broken Shaker. It’s very clichéd, I know. But, can you think of another way to celebrate a weekend in South Florida? I can’t.
What isn’t clichéd about Miami, however, is its rising status as a startup city. Just ask the Kauffman Foundation, who just ranked Magic City #2 for startup activity. Its international draw, diversity, community of passionate startup founders and business resources has poised Miami to become the place for entrepreneurs and startups.
It may seem like a tale of two cities, but Aleco Azqueta doesn’t think that both Miamis are mutually exclusive. As co-founder of Miami-based Atlantico Rum, he has been able to capitalize on the city’s strengths to grow his business, while simultaneously using his brand and social media to raise awareness about Miami’s startup scene. Azqueta’s goal is to make Miami the most recognizable domestic city for startup activity by 2016.
“Miami sometimes gets a bad reputation – that it’s just a tourist destination,” said Azqueta. “I think it’s the perfect entrepreneurial hub. As a city of immigrants creating their own opportunities, it really breeds itself to that culture. It’s important for us to support that through social media and events."
This past July, Azqueta - along with Atlantico Rum Co-Owner Enrique Iglesias; Adam Boalt, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Miami-based LiveAnswer; and Philippe Houdard of Pipeline Workspace – partnered with Social Media Day South Florida (SMDSF) and organizer Alex de Carvalho to begin the effort with a day-long event surrounding social media efforts and how entrepreneurs can best use these practices for business. At the event, Boalt’s keynote speech boasted Miami’s startup activity. A combined 1500 tweets, retweets and mentions using the hashtags #AtlanticoRum and #SMDaySFL together reached over 6.2 million impressions on Twitter, inspiring the partnership to make another push at Social Media Week, a three-day, international social media conference.
Social Media Week brought in new partners, including accelerator 500Startups, event organizer EventCrowd, and Spanish language broadcast station Univision, to the sold-out weekend event from September 16-18th, 2015.
“We are very excited to land in Miami and become an active player of the local tech scene,” said Juan Lopez Salaberry, Partner at 500Startups. “We find Miami to be a perfect bridge of culture and tech uniting our efforts in LatAm with our Silicon Valley DNA. It is time for Miami to combine the ‘playa’ and incredible quality of life with high impact tech startups than can transform the lives of millions of people.”
With the success of Social Media Week, organizers and partners aspired to bring international attention to Miami as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, in an organic and engaging way. They all agree that it is the city’s international roots and diversity of residents that makes it an ideal city for innovation.
“It’s a melting pot, bringing all kinds of people together,” said Enrique Iglesias, international pop star and Co-Owner of Atlantico Rum. “With Miami, you have a lot of people from Latin America. Hard working people coming over hungry to start a new life and prosper in America. And with that will comes creativity and innovation.”
Iglesias, a Miami resident himself, was drawn to Atlantico when a friend introduced him to the product. He enjoyed the quality beverage with friends and had even integrated it into his live shows and music videos, and decided to get involved with the startup that grew its roots in his own hometown. Since becoming a Co-Owner, Iglesias has also become ambassador of the brand, using social media and his large following on Twitter to promote the product.
“I try to keep promoted posts to a minimum on my socials unless it’s something I’m passionate about,” added Iglesias. “This opportunity just seemed right because Miami is my hometown and Atlantico is a Miami startup itself. It’s good to promote positive messages.”
Iglesias believes in the power of social media, a tool that has helped him with his own career. His music video for “Bailando” was the first Spanish video to hit one billion views on YouTube and is one of the top five most viewed videos in history. He is also leveraging what he’s learned and his influence to make Miami alluring to entrepreneurs – a mission that has gone viral among the startup heroes of Miami.
