Issue link: http://endeavor.uberflip.com/i/1062008
During the past five years, the convergence of efforts from business and philanthropic leaders, investors, policy makers and support organizations have shifted Miami's image towards an emerging smart city with socially impactful technology and diverse, entrepreneurial, talent while still maintaining a reigning global brand. A smart city mindset with entrepreneurship as its core engine is not only natural, but imperative, to remain competitive in this increasingly digital world. While the conversation around its use is still contentious, sensor-infused infrastructure will be a gateway for environmental, social and economic data- collection and will create opportunities for entrepreneurial solutions to public needs. As evidence of both the opportunity for social impact innovation and the talent to deliver, the City of Miami was named a Champion City of the 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge for the use of technology to predict and respond to rising sea levels. As the dedication to investing in that talent increases, South Florida natives especially are finding more practical reasons beyond their nostalgia for the "305" to plant professional roots in their MAXIMIZING THE ROI IN SMART CITIES THROUGH ENDEAVOR ENTREPRENEURS hometown and it's clear that Miami is investing in essential indicators to become a fixture in the smart cities conversation alongside Atlanta, Detroit, Austin, Toronto, Oakland, and other tech hubs to watch. Over the past five years, with a portfolio of companies representing all industries, Endeavor Miami has had a front row seat at the evolution of these indicators in South Florida. In order to plan strategically for the next five years, Endeavor Insight, the research division of Endeavor, in partnership with Knight Foundation, surveyed the Miami area and analyzed more than 10,000 local companies to address the questions: What are the greatest opportunities for supporting the growth of local scale-up entrepreneurs? What can policymakers, philanthropic leaders, investors, support organizations and other stakeholders do to empower more entrepreneurs to scale? THOUGHT PIECE F I F T H A N N I V E R S A R Y E D I T I O N P A G E 4 4