We don’t play favorites here at Venture Café Miami. But if we did, we’d have to mention how much we love working with CIC’s International Soft Landing Program. This program helps international startups expand into the U.S. market using Miami as a gateway. It is spearheaded by the amazing Julia Lucidi, who has opened chapters of innovation networks, led international PR strategies and new business developments in multiple organizations in the US and Latin America, including Endeavor Brasil, The City of Rio de Janeiro, The Coca-Cola Company, and CIC Miami. If you were at our Thursday Gathering on March 31st, you definitely know who she is!

Our event united over one hundred innovators, visionaries, and change-makers from the Miami community. We closed out the month in a very Venture Café Miami way, hearing from experts in a variety of fields, meeting potential collaborators, and relaxing with a local beer and a good meal. The catering was provided by one of our favorite Miami staples, Naomi’s, serving up tastes of the Caribbean!

To start the night, we welcomed Enid Nolasco of the RAW Made, who has worked at award-winning branding agencies and as a solopreneur transforming businesses into thriving brands. She hosted an intimate session in a cozy conference room, sharing her branding expertise. In the digital age, branding has become an essential part of anyone’s marketing plan. Enid shed light on some of her best practices and strategies, which our community found incredibly valuable. 

Following this, we had another informative session about funding with Silicon Valley Bank. People were lined up to try and fit into the conference room to get their pressing questions answered. The overflow crowd made their way to the café to watch the session stream projected there. Participants asked nonstop questions about the particulars of funding and how to get connected with investors.

We closed out the night with a lively session that featured six of the startups who participated in the International Soft Landing program. It was like a real-life episode of Shark Tank as founders pitched their startups to experts in their fields. These experts followed up with insightful questions to help these founders practice thinking on their feet and understand the kinds of questions they’ll be asked by investors as they expand into the US. Hearing from these startups and their disruptive solutions left us all inspired to connect with them afterwards and start dreaming up our own next big idea.

March was a great month here at Venture Café Miami. We are looking ahead to more memorable nights to come!