Miami may not seem like the most obvious place to launch a startup. Yet, this oceanside city is quickly becoming one of the nation’s hottest tech hubs. According to Forbes, the Miami tech scene has garnered massive support from major investors, including musical artist Pitbull and baseball star Alex Rodriguez. Naturally, this surge in investor interest has been accompanied by a rise in tech employment across the area. The Miami Business Journal reported that South Florida saw a three percent increase in net tech employment in 2018, which amounts to an increase of 4,262 jobs year-over-year.
While it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly why Miami has become a favorite among startup founders, it might have something to do with the city’s immigrant history, according to eMerge Americas CEO Felice Gorordo. In an interview with Forbes, Gorordo described the city as “a startup in and of itsself,” rooted in “the grit and resiliency” of its immigrant people.
There's no doubt that Miami’s startup community is bursting with ambition, boasting game-changing players from a wide range of sectors. While one has created technology to make businesses and schools safer, another has developed a way for senior citizens to get the care they need on-demand.
Check out these Miami startups shaping South Florida’s growing tech ecosystem.
Miami Startups You Should Know
- Taxfyle
- SmartBarrel
- Cargobot
- Carepass
- aXpire
- EPICA
- CONCIERGEpad
- Papa
- TravelPerk
Founded: 2015
Focus: Real estate
What they do: Crexi develops commercial real estate software. Its platform features a suite of workflow management tools and customizable data analytics designed to streamline the commercial real estate process from listing to closing.
Founded: 2012
Focus: Productivity
What they do: Leveraging its suite of products for managing projects and streamlining internal business processes, monday.com gives companies of varying sizes software tools that support their marketing, IT, sales, product development and HR teams. The company serves more than 186,000 customers, including notable names like Canva and Nissan.
Founded: 2012
Focus: Biotech
What they do: Click Therapeutics’ software products rely on “cognitive and neurobehavioral mechanisms” to treat medical conditions. The company says its Digital Therapeutics first introduce patients to their treatment program and then deliver therapies through daily and weekly missions, progressing through treatment steps in a way that is unique to each patient and their medical needs.
Founded: 2015
Focus: Travel
What they do: Corporate travel is often a burden for many professionals, so TravelPerk has developed a seamless customer experience. An all-around platform allows businesses to establish travel policies, monitor travel data, and receive a single invoice for each booking. If any issues arise, TravelPerk’s customer service team is known to respond in under a minute to promptly resolve any concerns.
Founded: 2017
Focus: Senior Citizen Care
What they do: Papa offers an on-demand assistance service for senior citizens. The company pairs seniors with “Papa Pals” who help them with transportation, household tasks, running errands and even technology lessons. Seniors can use the app to request a volunteer, select a time and date and track their experience.
Founded: 2015
Focus: Tax Filing
What they do: Taxfyle’s tax software allows individuals and businesses to connect with professionals who can file their taxes on demand. The company boasts a network of U.S.-based CPAs and EAs ready to complete tax returns, ensuring each one undergoes a background check. CPAs wishing to earn extra income can become a “Taxfyle Pro,” while CPA and accounting firms looking to grow their businesses can send the company their compliance work.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Construction Management
What they do: SmartBarrel offers an IoT-connected construction device designed to automate the timekeeping process and eliminate labor fraud. The device allows contractors and managers to monitor projects and employees, archive daily reports, designate tasks and receive instant notifications on weather conditions. SmartBarrel’s devices are solar-powered and include theft protection systems and secure data encryption.
Founded: 2017
Focus: Fintech
What they do: aXpire develops SaaS fintech products that help businesses increase productivity and profits. The company’s end-to-end spend management and expense allocation software, Resolvr, is designed for hedge funds and private equity, allowing users to increase revenue, streamline communications, optimize operations and reduce the need for manual tasks. On the other hand, aXpire’s time-tracking and dictation software, Billr, helps law firms and attorneys record and bill for their work while automating tasks.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Logistics
What they do: Cargobot’s digital platform connects shippers and carriers in an effort to “change the way the world moves freight.” Shippers can use the platform to create a tailored network of carriers, receive rate confirmations directly and stay updated with real-time notifications regarding carrier incidents. On the other hand, carriers can use Cargobot to reduce deadhead miles, filter out loads that don’t apply to them and gain full insight into loads.
Founded: 2018
Focus: E-learning
What they do: BetaBlocks wants to make emerging technologies education accessible to everyone. The company’s platform offers courses related to topics such as AI, blockchain for business, cloud infrastructure, IoT and cybersecurity. Each course is self-paced and composed of practical applications and real-world use cases.
Founded: 2017
Focus: Child Care
What they do: Carepass gives families access to both short-term and long-term childcare options. The company helps parents find preschools and daycares in their area. Through their app, parents can search for local childcare centers and learn about each one’s educational style and even schedule tours, ask questions, and book care appointments.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Big Data + AI
What they do: EPICA enables companies to predict business outcomes by capturing, processing and activating both online and offline data using AI. The company’s AI algorithms help e-commerce and CPG businesses understand their users, identify common opportunities and risks and ultimately monetize their data assets. EPICA integrates with a wide range of technologies including BigCommerce, Segment and Shopify.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Portable Charging Devices
What they do: Chargello gives businesses access to portable phone chargers for customer use. The company’s battery devices are designed to charge smartphones almost three times faster than a regular outlet charger and are capable of charging six mobile phones simultaneously. Chargello’s advertising channel also allows brands to place ads where they want to, thus providing a long-lasting interaction between them and their customers.
Founded: 2015
Focus: Security Management
What they do: CONCIERGEpad was created as a way to help businesses keep their facilities safe by checking in visitors, sending community alerts and running sex offender background checks. The company’s facial recognition technology helps businesses detect fraud, identify problematic individuals and speed up the visitor sign-in process. CONCIERGEpad also serves as a COVID-19 solution, allowing organizations to improve social distancing and offer touchless sign-in processes.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Sports Streaming
What they do: Fanatiz has created a sports streaming platform that broadcasts sporting events and channels online, live and on demand. Sports fans can choose from a variety of subscription packages to watch their favorite soccer leagues and gain access to interviews, documentaries and more. Fanatiz’s platform works with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google Chromecast in addition to iPhone and Android devices.
Founded: 2017
Focus: Consumer Goods
What they do: Vendy helps Uber and Lyft drivers earn extra money by giving their passengers the chance to buy snacks and essentials. Drivers can sign up to receive a box, giving them the chance to receive 50 percent of each item sold in addition to weekly cash incentives. The Vendy box gives brands the opportunity to distribute their products and connect with consumers.
Founded: 2018
Focus: Hospitality
What they do: Dinely allows diners to eat out at local restaurants at a discounted price. The company’s app automatically applies a discount to participating restaurants during low-traffic times of the day, so diners can make free reservations and enjoy their meals at a lower price. In doing so, Dinely aims to help restaurants pay for their fixed overhead costs during less busy hours and give their customers a positive experience.
Founded: 2015
Focus: Personal Wellness
What they do: Sensie helps people take control of their personal wellness by identifying sources of stress. Using machine learning and smartphone sensors, the company’s app can measure the fluidity of a person’s movement in order to gauge if stress is present. If stress is detected, the app then guides the individual through a mindfulness technique in order to help them achieve peace and calm.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Fintech
What they do: FinConecta is on a mission to “bring together digital solutions and businesses in the financial world and beyond.” Their platform connects the core systems of financial institutions with fintechs around the world in a secure and scalable way. FinConecta aims to help organizations accelerate the digitization process, unlock additional revenue and gain greater insight into their data.
