Mike Tomás kicks off Creative Mornings Miami; next up is Denise Jacobs

About 13 years ago when Mike Tomás decided to leave a highly successful 20-year career in telecom and turn his attention to life sciences, some people thought he was crazy. He believed the next phase of medicine will be regenerative, where stem cells from one place in your body will repair other places in your own body. It hasn’t been an easy fight for him or the company he leads, Bioheart, despite hundreds of success stories.

“The bottom line:   We’ve done over 1,000 patients already, 35 countries have already approved it -- one of the countries that haven’t approved it, the United States of America. … Other companies have given up on the USA, I have not. There is a pretty good argument to be made for leaving the country," the CEO of Bioheart said.

It would be much easier to move his company to Australia or any one of the other 34 other countries that has approved the procedure rather than continuing to fight for FDA approval.  “My parents and grandparents fought political unrest. … I’m fighting political unrest but a different kind,” Tomás said. 

There is much more to his story, including the inspiration of his parents and grandparents -- including how his father would spark creative discussion at the nightly dinner table -- and the role of Dr. William Murphy Jr., founder of Cordis and inventor of the pacemaker and other medical inventions, as well as the overhead projector and even a snowblower (at age 13). Today, Murphy, 90, is a business partner, mentor and his best friend and Tomás still speaks with him every morning, talking business or seeking guidance. Tomás’ advice: Everybody has a Dr. Murphy in their life, a coach, a mentor -- thank that person. 

Tomás said he tries to do well by doing good, and his focus locally is on economic development. “In the last 45 days, we have launched six new regenerative medicine companies. My intention is to create a regenerative medicine cluster in South Florida,” said Tomás, who is also the chair of FIU’s Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center board, on the board of advisors and an investor in Rokk3r Labs, and recently named chair of the eMerge Innovate advisory board of eMerge Americas.

Tomás  told his story at the Miami chapter kickoff of Creative Mornings, which brings in local speakers once a month to share their stories. Malik Benjamin, who started the chapter here, said the unique component of Creative Mornings, which has 60 chapters around the world, is that each month each chapter features a local speaker speaking on a particular global theme and the talks get posted for global viewing. Tomas’ theme was “Bravery.”

Each chapter posts a video of its local talk; Tomás’ talk is posted  here: http://creativemornings.com/talks/mike-tomas/1

On Friday, Denise Jacobs, writer, speaker and creativity evangelist,  is going to talk about White Space Creativity at the second Creative Mornings gathering. The global theme is “Make.” This Friday, Dec. 6, it will be by the pool of the Intercontinental Miami because “we want to make the winter chapters jealous.” Register here:  http://creativemornings.com/talks/denise-jacobs

Find more information about the global organization, see creativemornings.com

Posted Nov. 30, 2013

SIME MIA - day two: Expect to pull up your sleeves and get to work

By Demian Bellumio

When was the last time you sat around a campfire? Were you surrounded by like-minded people, looking into the flames of the fire while having an open discussion? If so, prepare to relive this moment, except the fire is digital and you are surrounded by international investors and entrepreneurs. This is a sneak peek of what you will experience on day two of SIME MIA.

This December 3-4^th, Sweden’s SIME, MIA Collective and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will bring a two-day digital conference to Miami, unique for the number of international investors and entrepreneurs and for it’s approach to engagement.

If SIME MIA’s day one wasn’t enough, get ready to be amazed on the day two. 

SIME MIA’S day two will be as exciting--and slightly unusual-- as day one. It will be a day where conversations will range from Artificial Intelligence, the future of media, to Miami’s growth as an entrepreneurial community. It will be a day of, “getting your hands dirty,” where audience participation through various collaborative activities will be the main force behind the conversation. The concept of campfire will allow attendees to engage with experts of different topics, such as Corporate Ventures lead by Gonzalo Martin of Wayra and Hottest Deals with investor Christian Hernandez.

A conference that takes place in Miami should focus on South Florida’s entrepreneurial growth. SIME MIA aims to highlight Miami’s potential, its industries and opportunity by including key stakeholders and by promoting an action plan built by attendees with a pledge to make Miami a home of the entrepreneurs.

“Although Miami’s tech community is constantly talking about how our community is growing, what makes this conversation different is that all participants of the conversations-- from successful entrepreneurs like Andres Moreno of Open English to Mayor Carlos Gimenez—are accountable,” explains Ola Ahlvarsson, the founder of SIME and host for the event. “SIME MIA will change the typical conference format and instead of having our speakers, presenters and panelists on stage and out of reach, attendees will have a chance to personally interact and communicate with our guests.”

SIME MIA’s newly added list of speakers include: Caterina Fake, CEO of Findery, co-founder of Flickr and Hunch, and founding partner of Founder Collective; Navin Thukkaram, former founder and COO of Qwiki, which was sold to Yahoo! in July 2013; Andy Kleinman, chief business officer at Scopely; Francisco Alvarez, founder and partner of Riverwood Capital Partners; Adriana Cisneros, CEO and vice chairman of Cisneros; Seth Schachner, Managing Director of Strat Americas; and Juan Pablo Cappello, Principal Shareholder in the Latin American Group of Greenberg Traurig.

For more information and tickets for SIME MIA, visit www.simemia.co.

Demian Bellumio is founding partner of SIME MIA Collective, COO of Senzari, serial entrepreneur and angel investor.

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A global marketing challenge: Making the toilet an object of desire

By Robert S. Benchley

If social entrepreneur Jack Sim had asked students what they thought of his presentation, held at the School of Business November 20, many might have told him, with a smile, that they really enjoyed talking sh*t. And Sim probably would have smiled back, happy that they got the point.

That word appeared in various permutations throughout his presentation because Sim (pictured here), who many call “Mr. Toilet,” is founder of the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization. The message he delivers everywhere he travels is that 2.5 billion people worldwide — 40 percent of the global population — have no access to a toilet. Moreover, the situation is worst in many of the developing countries with the fastest-growing populations. The result is a world health crisis, because open defection spreads diseases and pollutes the water. “One fly,” Sim told his audience, “is more dangerous than 100 tigers.”

Sim, who was awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation of Switzerland and founded 16 companies, was in the U.S. to help the United Nations observe the previous day, November 19, as World Toilet Day. He stopped in Miami on his way home to Singapore to speak in UM Ethics Programs’ Ethics, Policy and Society program. The event was chaired by John Mezias, associate professor of management, who invited Sim, and Anita Cava, professor of business law and co-director of UM Ethics Programs.

And the 2013 Knight Foundation Entrepreneurial Fellowship winners are…

By Demian Bellumio

More than 30 startups posted videos to social media telling viewers why they deserved to be part of SIME MIA, a highly anticipated technology conference that will be held Dec. 3-4 at New World Center in Miami Beach, as part of a Knight Foundation Entrepreneurial Fellowship contest.

Participants had to create a video of 60 seconds or less to convince the judges that they deserved to attend SIME MIA more than anyone else. Winners were chosen based on social media engagement, and will be notified of their achievements. 

The chosen companies are:

• * JoinUpz (Guatemala): an engagement platform that matches initiatives with people who can make them happen.
• * LearnerNation (Miami): an innovative learning platform.
• * Mom&.CO (Miami): where moms can find tips, guides and training to organize and optimize their lives.
• * Peekadso (Miami): a resource for finding businesses and services near you.
• * RatioKontakt (Miami and Germany): an Internet service provider.
• * Sportsmania (Miami): a complete source of team news (Web and mobile).
• * SWIK (Miami): an app that connects people who want to make environmental changes.
• * SWOL (Miami): operates a fast-growing online soccer technology platform, uniting fans from around the world.
• * YourbizNinja (Miami): a collection of problem-solving experts across.
• * YellowPepper (Miami): a pioneer in mobile banking and payments in Latin America.

 These 10 Knight Entrepreneurial Fellows each will receive two tickets to attend SIME MIA and a one-on-one coaching session with an international investor.

 In the spirit of entrepreneurship — and because we believe that the only thing worse than starting something and failing is not starting something at all — those companies who submitted a video to SIME MIA by the deadline of midnight Nov.  20 each will receive one ticket to the event. They will also mingle closely with industry leaders, such as Fon’s Martin Varsavsky, Gigaom’s Paul Walborsky, and Caterina Fake, CEO of Findery, co-founder of Flickr and Hunch, and others. They will also be part of an exclusive list of people invited to the feature exhibit “Viewpoint of Billions” by David Datuna for Glass, which will be on display during the first day of the event.

 Demian Bellumio is founding partner of MIA Collective, COO of Senzari, a serial entrepreneur and an angel investor.

 

Silicon Valley travel startup chooses Miami for launch

By Andrew Sherry

When Triptrotting CEO Aigerim Shorman was looking for a place to launch her company’s new mobile recommendation app Wist, she didn’t choose San Francisco, where the travel startup is based. Instead, she chose Miami.

An unconventional choice for a startup backed by Google Ventures, Idealab and other California-based investors? Perhaps, but Shorman said she had three solid reasons to do it.

• * Miami has a vibrant tech community where you can find early adopters, yet they are not oversaturated with new offerings. “In San Francisco, developers download 20 apps a day, but they won’t become users,” she said.
• * Miami has an international population, which reflects the desired user base for Wist. Triptrotting, she said, is used in 175 countries.
• * Miami has the density and diversity of bars and restaurants that are the primary fodder of a recommendation app.

“We think Miami is a great launching ground that is overlooked by the Silicon Valley startups,” she said. “It has an incredible food and nightlife scene and diverse international population, making it perfect to launch global consumer-facing products. Plus, we can have a bit of a first-mover advantage, since all of our competitors are focused on launching in San Francisco and New York.”

Shorman unveiled Wist at a Refresh Miami meet-up last week where Facebook’s director of engineering, John Ciancutti, spoke about bridging the gap between engineers and entrepreneurs. More than 400 people showed up despite a torrential downpour, and Shorman said many downloaded the app on the spot.

Wist makes recommendations based on several dimensions: your location/time of day; what it knows of your interests; and the behavior of others in your social network. It gives just five recommendations at a time.

Shorman’s firm plans to refine Wist based on feedback from Miami then take it global, replacing Triptrotting’s website as the startup goes mobile-only.  Whether it succeeds will take time, but Shorman’s Miami launch was a success on at least one level, garnering a story from TechCrunch.

Wist is available for iOS from the AppStore.

Andrew Sherry is vice president of communications at Knight Foundation. This blog post was written for the Knight Foundation's blog and cross-posted with permission.

World's first Glass activated contemporary art to premier at SIME MIA

SIME MIA is a digital business conference supported by Knight Foundation. Below, Pabla Ayala, co-founder of pFunk Media and PR manager of SIME MIA, interviews artist David Datuna premiering the first Glass interactive Viewpoint of Billions series at the New World Center in Miami Beach on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd.

By Pabla Ayala

Q: Your art has been described as, “a melting pot made visual,” re-imagining powerful national symbols and artifacts. How do you select the subjects of your pieces, like Steve Jobs, Ayn Rand, Mick Jagger, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin or The Mona Lisa?

David Datuna: I've always been fascinated by historical figures that contribute to the shaping of national identity, and how they become symbols--whether positive or negative--that continue for generations to impact our world.

Q. Your piece, Steve Jobs/Ayn Rand (2011) for your Viewpoint of Millions series, used optical lenses superimposed over a collage of countless recurring shaded miniature portraits of portraits of Ayn Rand to create a large portrait of Steve Jobs. What led to the use of lenses in your work and what is intention behind their use?

Datuna: I really enjoyed working on the Steve Jobs/Ayn Rand project. Steve Jobs was a true visionary, and was a major force in changing the way we see and use technology. His eye for aesthetics influenced art and fashion on many levels. The lenses symbolically express individual identity, illusion, perception, fragmentation and unification. I've worked with optics in my art for several years as my medium, both in Viewpoint of Millions and now Viewpoint of Billions. The network of positive and negative lenses express the multiple points of view we all share from within. 

Q. How will Google Glass change the way the audience experiences your work in your Viewpoint of Billions, previewing December 3rd at SIME MIA prior to its debut in the Miami Design District?

Datuna: The 12 foot American flag I created for this project (shown below) is a traditional work. It's designed in a way that an audience wearing Glass, and an audience without can both have unique experiences. For those wearing Glass, it will act as an extension of my original concept. Glass will unlock a narrative beneath the lenses through video and a variety of immersive experiences. The audience will be able to interact with and respond to the work in a totally different way. The flag will also communicate directly with its audience prompting questions through the viewfinder of Glass. If you opt in, the total experience is recorded though the built-in camera in Glass, and cameras in the artwork. The see-you see-me outcome is archived and sent out via social media to share with the world. You could almost say it has a mind of its own. As it evolves with each interaction, the work will grow far beyond my original concept. Ten flags for various countries will be created in the initial Viewpoints of Billions series, and each will be networked. For an artist to be able to communicate with the viewer in this way, is a dream. My hope is that one day the viewpoint of million will be shared, liked or otherwise, and reach the viewpoint of billion. 

I'm very excited the first people in the world to see the first Glass activated contemporary art in the world, will be at SIME MIA. It's a creative and inspirational event, with an amazing group of individuals involved from every part of the technology and art communities, all assembled during an incredible time in Miami--it's a perfect combination. The team at KIWI Arts Group, with the support of Gallery Shchukin have curated an unbelievable program. The public launch will be in Miami's Design District from December 4-8. There will multiple Glass devices on location for the public to try first-hand, so we invite everyone to visit us and become part of the experience. If you go to datuna.com you can register for updates on how to participate. 

Q. What role has technology played in your personal, as well as professional life?

Datuna: Like most people technology plays some part in almost every area of our day-to-day, on a personal and professional level. Not so many years ago it played a different role, and is evolving faster than ever. We can look back 20 years ago and remember a time without much involvement with devices in our daily lives. I can only imagine 20 years from now. 

It's an exciting time for an artist in the culturally diverse and innovative world we share today.

Q. Will technology continue to influence your work (if so, how)?

Datuna: It's hard to imagine that technology will not continue to influence my art, everyone and everything. We cannot avoid it, I don't think we should be worried or afraid of it, I think we should embrace it and see how we can all utilize it to make the world better for all of us. Google is an example of a company that embraces this philosophy. They are really trying to make a difference in everything from alternative energy, to assisting in building a truly global internet, to creating devices like Glass that will open the creative minds of artists, inventors, educators, doctors, youth and so much more. I hope to continue to be inspired by technology and create art with a deeper message that I can communicate beyond the surface, one that in some small or hopefully large way will have some meaningful impact.   

Q. In your opinion, what is it about Miami that has made Art Basel Miami Beach one of the most heralded art exhibitions in the world?

Datuna: Art Basel Miami Beach has been very successful in attracting an exciting overall program that includes a top roster of galleries, artists, collectors and art professionals from around the world. Miami, as a place, becomes magical for one week in December, and everyone knows they will have the rare opportunity to see, buy and enjoy the some of the most creative and inspirational work--both modern and contemporary--from all corners of the globe. The energy is totally unbelievable, and Miamian's know how to welcome the world, opening up their homes, collections, and hosting some the best parties on the planet…there's no other place like it.

THE DETAILS

David Datuna for Glass, 'Viewpoint of Billions'

December 3, SIME MIA, New World Symphony, Private Event.

December 4-8, 11am - 11pm, Miami Design District, 97 NE 40th Street, Open to the Public

For updates and how to participate: datuna.com

Produced by KIWI Arts Group with the support of Gallery Shchukin

             

 

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Good World Games launches music trivia game app

Good World Games, a Miami Beach mobile game development company, announced the launch of an interactive music trivia game developed for iOS. The app, dubbed Musingo, is part of an effort to promote marine conservation efforts in partnership with the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program.

“Our goal is to bring marine conservation to the masses,” said Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, RJD director. “People are going to play Musingo because it’s fun. The conservation messaging is subtle.”
 
Immediately following its launch, Musingo surged to the Top of the App Store Music Game Charts, ranking Top 4 in the U.S. and Top 3 in Canada, Good World Games said.
 
“Good World Games is all about gaming for good. We are excited about this opportunity to help protect our oceans,” said Gregory Sukornyk, CEO and founder of Good World Games, which allows people to make an impact in the real world when they play games in the virtual world through Good World Games’ select partnerships with charities and fundraising platforms.

Musingo, developed at Rokk3r Labs, is available in the App Store: http://bit.ly/18ILTnF

Venture Hive announces next accelerator class

Venture Hive's Living Room is a hub of activity for the 35,000 square foot space that houses an accelerator, incubator and soon a high school program. Photo by Peter Andrew Bosch/Miami Herald.  

 

By Nancy Dahlberg / [email protected] / @ndahlberg

A big data company focused on the cruise industry. An online food delivery service that includes a search feature based on the consumer’s mood. A virtual check casher targeting unbanked and underbanked U.S. Hispanic consumers.

These companies and seven others are part of Venture Hive’s second accelerator class, and they hail hailing from seven countries including Romania and India. The 10 technology companies announced Monday were selected from a pool of more than 150 applications from 23 countries. Each focuses on one of four industry areas that Miami-Dade County is strong in: tourism/hospitality, healthcare, the creative industries, and a new category this year — trade/logistics. As Like in the inaugural class, half of the companies are from Latin America.

Venture Hive offers a 12-week accelerator program, free office space for a year, and $25,000 grants to the companies it selects. The program, located in a 35,000-square-foot building in downtown Miami, is supported by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s office and the Miami Downtown Development Authority. Venture Hive also runs an incubator and other programs.

The 10 tech startups in the new accelerator class will join 21 young technology companies already operating at Venture Hive, some that are part of its incubator and others from the first accelerator class, said Susan Amat, founder of Venture Hive. “The second class will also have the benefit of an incredible international network because of our partnerships with the State Department, World Bank and other international entrepreneurship organizations. Another fun twist is Venture Hive’s new high school program. High school students will be working alongside the startups.”

One of the many success stories from the first class is Everypost.  “Everypost is redefining the way social marketers and content professionals manage their content on social media,” said co-founder and CEO Fernando Cuscuela (pictured at right), speaking last week from San Francisco, where he was close to wrapping up a significant fund-raising round.

 In the past year through mentoring at the Hive and listening to its users, Everypost has refocused its core business and attracted local investors, including Carlos Garcia of Nobox and Alexandre Hohagen of Facebook. Most of Everypost’s team of eight is in Argentina now, but the company will be expanding in Miami with the new funding, Cuscuela said.

Cuscuela said he will also be spending about a week a month in Silicon Valley for the brand exposure but that Venture Hive is home: “We were a team from another country with a different culture, but Venture Hive welcomed us into their community. They believed in us.”

 The next Venture Hive accelerator class starts in January. The 10 startups selected are:

APREFIS: Aprefis, of Romania, helps companies increase margin by 10 to 15 percent through big-data pricing algorithms. Currently the company found traction in the cruising industry and has an office in Washington, D.C. Founding team: Adrian Salceanu; Bogdan Stroe; Catalin Boruga; Lavinius Marcu.

CHANCE: Hailing from Bangalore, India, Chance is a mobile application that allows fans and followers to have short video interactions with their influencers. These interactions are captured and shared across social media. Founding team: Abhijit Gupta, Sandeep Mederametla.

MICARGA: This company from Medellin, Colombia, focuses on applied technology for logistics. Founding team: Manuel Vélez, Federico Builes.

mSO (MOBILESTORE OPERATIONS): Madrid-based MobileStore Operations’ business app manages in-store processes. mSO solves the challenges retailers face in their transition to more complex distribution models. Founding team: Joaquín Villalba, Cristina Segad.

PICK-EAT: Pick-eat is an online food delivery service based in Buenos Aires that includes Foodpad, a new way to search for food based on the consumer’s mood. Founding team: Giuliana Alpern, Daniel Appel, Naor Korona.

PREDICTVIA: Predictvia, from Caracas, is a predictive analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence techniques to determine with a high degree of confidence future actions of customers, allowing companies to improve their sales and business metrics. Founding team: Jorge Andrés Padua, Frank Fernow, Ernesto Olivo, Giselle Acedo.

PROPERATI: Properati, from Buenos Aires, is a marketplace for real estate in Latin America using a performance-based business model for realtors. Founding team: Gabriel Gruber, Martín Sarsale, Lorenzo Raggio.

THE FAN MACHINE: The Fan Machine, from Buenos Aires, offers a social marketing platform that helps brands and agencies save time and money on their marketing and advertising efforts. Founding team: Antón Chalbaud, Matías Paterlini, Claudio Cohen.

WALETEROS: Waleteros is a Miami-based virtual check casher targeting unbanked and underbanked U.S. Hispanic consumers. Waleteros’ mobile wallet allows check deposit, bill payment, money transfer, ATM withdrawals and merchant payments. Founding team: Etienne Gillard.

ZAZOM: This Miami company provides renters a new and efficient way to find rental places by having available and matching properties find them. No more wasting time on bad listings and bad matching. Founding team: Joe Lau, Sidarta Tanu. Zazom.com, which relocated in September from Richmond, Va., is currently a Venture Hive incubator company.

Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and keep up with entrepreneurship news on the Starting Gate blog on MiamiHerald.com business.

Entrepreneurship Datebook

In light of the holiday week, we look ahead to some big events coming up:

Dec. 3-4: SIME MIA, one of the marquee events of the year. Info: simemia.co

Dec. 6: Our City Thoughts launch. Info: ourcitythoughts.org

Dec. 11-12: weXchange (see below). Info: wexchange.co

Dec. 12: IT Palooza. Info: itpalooza.e2mktg.com

Dec. 14:  Refresh Miami Holiday Bash. Info: refreshmiami.com

MORE ON STARTING GATE:

The Multilateral Investment Fund has joined forces with NXTP Labs and Ellas2 to organize WeXchange 2013, Latin America’s first pitch conference focused on women entrepreneurs. This event will take place in Miami Dec. 11-12. For more information and tickets: http://www.wexchange.co. Read a guest post by Susana Garcia-Robles who will be speaking at weXchange.

Building on the success of Start-Up City: Miami, The Atlantic and the Knight Foundation will host a special “pop-up pitch session” Dec. 9 in Miami. Apply to pitch by Nov. 27 by emailing [email protected].

Find a  wrapup on Global Entrepreneurship Week, which included speakers, panel discussions, a daylong conference and an elevator pitch contest on the Starting Gate blog on MiamiHerald.com/business.

Nancy Dahlberg @ndahlberg

GEW: Launching, running and scaling a family business

From the University of Miami School of Business

It takes individual talent, an entrepreneurial attitude and mutual respect for a family business to succeed, according to three panelists at a Nov. 19 School of Business event as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

"Both my sons have expressed interest in getting involved with our business, but I tell them there's no free ride, because I want the best people to come to the top," said Sandy Goldstein, president and founder of Capsicum Group, a legal and regulatory technology consulting company.

Goldstein was one of three Miami business owners who participated in "Keeping It in the Family - Family Business Night," an interactive panel discussion on starting, running and scaling a family-owned business. Susy Alvarez-Diaz, director of the School’s entrepreneurship programs, moderated the interactive session..

"Family-owned businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy," she said. "They account for about 50 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and 78 percent of all new job creation."  Alvarez-Diaz noted that the three panelists were at different stages in the family business trajectory, providing a variety of insights to students, alumni and other attendees.

For example, Katie Kessler, president and CEO of HSA Enterprises, runs a family-owned promotional products company with her husband Mark. "My husband and I live and breathe promotional products, but we have very different personalities and roles in the office," she said. "That's very helpful on the personal side. We also try very hard not to bring our work home with us so we can enjoy family time with our two children."

Vanessa Valera-Nolte grew up in an entrepreneurial household in Venezuela with her brother Diego Valera.  They co-founded Holstein Housewares in 2007 and now sell their innovative products throughout the U.S. and in 16 countries.  "I'm involved in marketing, public relations and design," she said. "My brother oversees sales and operations. We don't always agree, but we really respect each other. We both believe that success comes down to the talent you have in your company regardless of age or background."

Responding to a student's question about how to be successful as an entrepreneur, Goldstein said, "If you have a passion for running your own business, every day will be a pleasure."  Noting that his own career has included consulting and working for a large company as well as launching entrepreneurial ventures, Goldstein said, "It took me some time to realize I have the most fun running a smaller business.  If that's what you think you'll enjoy after you graduate, then go for it!"