Today I visited Miami for some meetings. I hadn’t been there in a few years, so I made a point of paying attention to the start-up ecosystem—the parts of it I saw, anyway. A few quick thoughts:

• Energy –There’s a different energy in Miami. It’s hard to explain, but there’s a buzz in the air. Proximity to the ocean’s probably part of it.
• Diversity – The start-up ecosystem has more international diversity than other cities I’ve visited. Miami is more of an international city, so that makes sense.
• Density – The WeWork space I visited was full of people and activity. I spoke with the community manager, and she said all their Miami locations have 95% or greater occupancy. A few are at 100%. As of today, WeWork’s website lists seven locations.
• Passing through – I visited a few places to meet with founders and investors. I got the feeling that, like me, most people were just passing through. I assume this was more a function of where I visited than a representation of the entire ecosystem. I’d like to validate this with more visits.
• Serendipity – Lots of chance encounters are happening in Miami. Lots of people with connections to various start-up ecosystems are moving around the city. It looks like a great place to build relationships with people who have ties to other cities and countries.

I was in town for only a few hours, so these are just flyby observations. I’m looking forward to going back and learning more about the ecosystem.

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