Miami 'is going through a renaissance' as a tech hub, eMerge Americas CEO says

eMerge Americas CEO Felice Gorordo joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the future of tech in Miami as the city looks to become the next tech hub.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: America, today kicks off the eMerge Americas Conference, where hundreds of CEOs and entrepreneurs of the tech industry meet and chat about the future of all things tech. The conference will also see some special guests speakers, such as Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams, and Mr. 305 himself, Pit Bull.

Joining us now from Miami is the man behind the conference, eMerge Americas CEO Felice Gorordo, as well as Yahoo Finance's tech editor, Dan Howley. Good morning to you both. Felicia, I'll start with you here. In terms of Miami being this next tech incubator, what type of companies are you seeing being started up there?

FELICE GORORDO: So we're here live at the Miami Beach Convention Center. This is our seventh annual conference, the first one after COVID. And it's absolutely incredible. The energy is palpable. Miami is going through a renaissance at all levels, but especially in terms of technology. We're number one in job-- tech job growth in the nation. We're number one in tech job migration. And we're number one in the Southeast US in terms of venture capital dollars invested, number ninth overall in the nation, with more than $5 billion that were invested just last year in Miami startups. And it's at all levels.

Trending right now, it's basically fintechs and all things blockchain, technology, as well as crypto, but also health tech companies. And what we're trying to do here is shine a light on the amazing homegrown talent that we have to offer, as well as attracting innovators and entrepreneurs and investors from around the world to come here and open up shop.

DAN HOWLEY: Felice, this is Dan. We obviously saw-- you mentioned the billions that have been invested so far. I think you said 500-- 5.33 billion in 2021. And then, obviously, we had, a few weeks back, the Bitcoin conference there in Miami. So are we really seeing it turn into kind of a hub? Is it kind of people jumping on to bandwagons? What are we seeing here?

FELICE GORORDO: No, this is not a bandwagon. This is real. And this is not just in blockchain and crypto. This is at all levels. And it's actually probably one of the most amazing things for someone like myself. I was born and raised here, went away for college, and with his first startup, was told to go to San Francisco or New York, and then chose to come back here, because this is home. And we want to do everything that we can to help foster this innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

I think there is no question that over the course of the last 18 months, COVID has accelerated its growth. But this has been almost two decades in the making. It's taken the blood, sweat, and tears of many in this ecosystem, who've put their money where their mouth is and also invested their time, talent, and treasure in realizing this very moment.

JULIE HYMAN: Hey, Felice, it's Julie here. I was recently in Austin for South by Southwest and spoke to the mayor there. And he talked about the challenge of growing a city rapidly with this kind of investment. And of course, Miami is another example of that from an infrastructure perspective. I was also just down in Miami last week. Is it there yet in terms of infrastructure? It doesn't feel like it. You've got flooding. You've got traffic. What does Miami need to do to prepare for this influx?

FELICE GORORDO: Well, that's a great question. There's no doubt we've got some growing pains, just like everybody does. But we're in-- within eMerge, we're actually going to have Mayor Adler from Austin here. And we're going to have almost 50 mayors from across the country in a partnership with the US Conference of Mayors for what we're calling eGov Summit, the eMerge Americas Government Summit presented by Galaxy Digital.

And we're going to be talking about best practices, comparative experiences, and lessons learned from other cities that have gone through similar types of transformations, and how we can leverage those experiences to be able to help take Miami to the next level, and also take these lessons learned all across the country.

DAN HOWLEY: So Felice, I just want to kind of go to another example of-- we saw Las Vegas try to turn itself into a tech hub. And it got some, I guess, investment there. Miami, obviously, seeing more interest as a result of the pandemic. People started saying, well, let's just go down to Florida, South Florida. Really kind of bring some money down there and bring some people into the sunshine, I guess. How do you ensure, or how does Miami ensure that when these companies do come in, that they stick around and that they have what they need to continue to grow and continue to see greater investments down the line?

FELICE GORORDO: It's a great question. I think there's no doubt that during COVID, there were some of the leading tech company executives and investors who came to South Florida and realized that sometimes you can have your cake and eat it, too. You can live in paradise, which is Miami in the winter, but still work like you're on Wall Street or Sand Hill Road. I think what is both a challenge and an opportunity is to ensure that they are making it their own, and that they are not just relocating here temporarily, but truly investing themselves in our ecosystem. And that's exactly what eMerge Americas is all about.

DAN HOWLEY: And I guess, you guys have a number of high profile names there-- obviously, Serena Williams, Kevin O'Leary, and then you have Mayor Suarez from Miami itself. What did they kind of bring to the table to draw people in and kind of help push that investment forward?

FELICE GORORDO: Well, yeah, no, we've got an incredible lineup, as you just noted, including Serena Williams, her husband, Alexis Ohanian, Mr. Wonderful himself, Kevin O'Leary from "Shark Tank," and of course, Mr. 305 turned Worldwide. But we also have some of the leading investors and evangelists of emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems like ours, including Steve Case, the AOL co-founder and leader of the Rise of the Rest and Revolution CEO and chairman and many more. And I think what the big names are doing is definitely drawing a lot of folks here, but I think once they get here, they'll realize there's a lot more to it.

And then in addition to that, the real stars of this show are the startups. As part of our programming since the very beginning, we've had a startup showcase where thousands of startups compete to get selected. Only 100 are selected into the showcase. And we have representation from all across the country and all across the Americas. And they will be pitching on our stage in a "Shark Tank" finale with the chance to win up to half a million dollars in investments and thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes.

JULIE HYMAN: Felice Gorordo, thank you so much for being here. When I was down there, the water was 77 degrees. It was lovely. Wouldn't want to live there myself, but I appreciate the allure. Thanks so much, and thanks to our Dan Howley. Appreciate it.