Here are some of the milestones that this edition brought us:

• Global Representation: The program selected startups from six Latin American countries and one European country.
• Keynote Excellence: Juan Pablo Cappello, Co-Founder of PAG Law, delivered impactful words during the Happy Hour on Wednesday.
• First-time Speaker Spotlight: Wilmer Sarmiento, Founder & Vice President of Payment Systems at Open English, graced the stage as a first-time speaker, adding an impactful international founder perspective to the immersive experience.
• Karaoke Night Extravaganza: Our founders delivered stellar performances at our very own karaoke night.
• Demo Day Triumph: Educación Estrella became the first-ever company from Colombia to win Demo Day, celebrating the power of innovation and education.

A huge thank you to our sponsors Delta, LATAM Airlines, Marriott, Microsoft, and Microsoft for Startups for their invaluable support in fueling this program. A special shoutout goes to Digital House for their incredible sponsorship of our exceptional Demo Day.

We can’t wait to start our next cohort. Secure your spot on our waitlist and dive into the transformative experience of our Mana Tech Miami Immersion Program.

Join Waitlist

The post Mana Tech Hosts Final Miami Immersion Program of 2023 appeared first on Mana Tech.

Establish New Revenue Streams

New markets mean a new customer base, and with new customers come more revenue streams. Going global allows your business to cater to a different customer base with other wants and needs. If your analysis of the international market is accurate, you should be catering to an underserved demand that hasn’t been fully tapped into yet.

Access a Unique Talent Pool

Expanding to a new territory opens the door to accessing local, high-quality talent that your company may not have encountered yet. Embedding your business in a new culture means hiring local talent to help you navigate the challenges more smoothly.

Improve Market Perception

Few things are so important nowadays as establishing a substantial presence for your brand. Credibility is a crucial factor here, and going global helps you achieve that goal. Customers see that you really mean business and that you’re growing, thus increasing your brand’s credibility.

Stay Ahead of Local Competitors

When establishing your business in a country, gaining a competitive edge is vital, and expanding internationally is pivotal in achieving this. While you will encounter competition abroad, international expansion provides distinct advantages over local competitors by unlocking new markets, resources, and innovative prospects, fostering economies of scale, enhancing brand recognition, and diversifying risk, significantly amplifying the overall competitive position in the market.

Curious to learn more about the tech entrepreneurship scene in Miami? Explore our website to discover our different accelerator programs and how we help founders achieve their goals for international expansion.

Learn More

The post What Are The Advantages of International Expansion? appeared first on Mana Tech.

Germán López gazes into the computer’s camera, as he has countless times during the interview, with his charismatic smile punctuating each phrase. He comes to a realization that despite having a German passport, he has never truly felt like one.

It’s not uncommon for him to express his sense of foreignness about the land of beer and medieval castles. Despite emigrating from Guayaquil at the young age of 18, after graduating as an engineer and founding his first startup, Lopez lived a nomadic life during this stage of his life.

López, the globetrotter and natural entrepreneur, lived in Brazil, Spain, and Denmark, consistently involved in digital advertising businesses. He came of age and recognized the booming e-commerce scene in the Old Continent. He then specialized in affiliate marketing, involving the purchase of advertising space in various digital channels, including social networks, to resell to companies or brands.

Publifyer, became his post-pandemic platform, following three previous attempts. His latest venture, Contifico, was a tremendous success, providing him with the capital to seek this new venture that would impact society beyond just profits.

In Latin America, the influencer marketing industry saw significant growth during the COVID-19 crisis, leading López to create Publifyer. The platform empowers micro and nano influencers, professionalizing their role and transforming the lives of over 100 content creators associated with the platform.

B2C companies in Latin America allocate substantial budgets to influencer marketing, typically between 5% and 7% of their advertising budget. Publifyer serves as a bridge between brands and content creators, facilitating campaign uploads and fee payments based on content performance metrics.

Participating in Mana Tech’s Miami Immersion Program in August expanded his international perspective, preparing Publifyer for a significant presence throughout Latin America. López credits Jeff Snider, Mana Tech Mentor, and Etienne Gillard, Head of Ventures at Mana Tech, for their insights into the American market and investor mentality, as this is his first experience with financial investment capital.

As his family expands with the arrival of his child, López envisions settling in Miami, providing accessibility to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he engaged in entrepreneurial ventures during his university days.

Maintaining humility despite his rapid journey is a testament to his commitment to improving the lives of young Latin Americans, a mission he holds dear.

Want to learn more about #ManaTechies? Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to keep up with everything our founders are doing.

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On the evening of November 5th, the journey began as Mana Tech hosted a welcome dinner, marking the inagural in-person gathering of founders, mentors, and the team. The Microsoft for Startups team offered inspiring words to these innovators, urging them to take advantage of their time in Miami and leverage the dedicated individuals here to support them.

Special thanks to our hosts from Microsoft for Startups, Wilson Pais and Mariano Amartino, for believing in Mana Tech and our mission to elevate Miami as the next global entrepreneurial tech hub, fostering connections across diverse countries and cultures.

Throughout the week, founders eagerly absorded knowledge to learn from each other and our guest speakers and mentors, such as Matt Haggman, Valérie Derome, Jeff Abbott, Fernando Cariello, Ariana Pareja, Lalo Steinmann, Bo Megginson, Francisco Guzmán, Craig O’Sullivan and, Toby Crabtree. They also had the privilege of attending online lectures from esteemed names in the tech industry, including Reid Hoffmann, Chris Yeh, and Ignacio López.

On Wednesday, founders had the honor of meeting with Moishe Mana, Founder and Chairman of Mana Common, and Francis X. Suarez, Mayor of Miami. Mayor Suarez shared invaluable insights with the entrepreneurs, highlighting the significance of their endeavors and acknowledging the immense value embedded within their hard work. Afterward, Mana Tech, in partnership with PAGLaw, hosted a happy hour where special guest Jose Gomez Cueto, General Manager at Microsoft, delivered some remarks underscoring the incredible progress made by the founders and Microsoft’s commitment to their ongoing growth.

On Thursday, the founders participated in a Wim Hof Method Breathwork session guided by Donato Helbling, Founder of Integrative Living. At Mana Tech, we understand that being an entrepreneur can be stressful and draining, so we prioritize a healthy, balanced life and invite entrepreneurs to practice turning off screens and being present with themselves and others. On Friday, the founders delivered lightning pitches in a speed-dating style session to the Demo Day judges, aiming to secure a chance to present a full pitch at Demo Day later that night.

From left to right: Mariano Amartino, Erika Quezada, and Wlson Pais

The program concluded with an exceptional, curated Demo Day, during which Erika Quezada, COO and Co-Founder of Finvero, was announced as the winner. Special recognition goes to the exceptional team at Codelex by Simplex, honored by their peers with the prestigious People’s Choice award.

As we draw the curtain on this program, celebrating innovation and collaboration, we look forward to what the future holds for these exceptional entrepreneurs. Check out the full recap video and gallery to experience firsthand the highlights of the Microsoft AI Latino Immersion Program.

View Gallery

The post Microsoft AI Latino Immersion Program Reaches Successful Ending appeared first on Mana Tech.

Mana Tech has partnered with Base to nurture their exclusive events and support the growth and development of their community. At Mana Tech, we take great pride in the success story of our fellow entrepreneurs who are playing a pivotal role in shaping Miami into the next tech hub for entrepreneurs.

Q: Can you provide a brief overview of your background and how it led to your current role as Co-founder and COO at Base?

A: Academically speaking, I am an organizational psychologist, which means that I have always been deeply interested in the study of groups and group dynamics. It’s been a lens through which I’ve built both my personal and my professional lives. My career has always focused on groups of people and community building… Base is all about that, creating interesting group dynamics, matching people into fascinating groups… it ends up being an interesting kind of communal experience, and developing the technology and the algorithm that does that.
On a personal level, hosting is something I am really passionate about… I am a big believer in the power of small convenings. To me, it creates purposeful and deeper connections and surprising experiences that we don’t normally get at networking events or when we meet people randomly. So, Base is the convergence of my professional career and my professional lens with my deeply personal passions.

Q: What motivated you to become actively involved in the Miami Tech community, and what are some of the initiatives or projects you’ve been a part of?

A: When I first moved to Miami, I got extremely involved (in the community). I started several organizations, joined boards; I started to enter my foray into the tech community. The beginning of how dense my first year was set the stage for living here for over a decade. In a way, it has been deeply entrenched in the community because I started off on that foot. The tech world and the entrepreneurial world were not something that I was actively seeking out or coming from. It was in 2012 when I moved here, and Miami was going through that moment of starting to build an ecosystem. It felt like this really wonderful moment where I had no idea what was going on, but neither did other people. So, we could learn together. Nobody knew what impact investing was or how to scale companies, but we could all be in this space of learning from each other, of learning together, and it wasn’t something shameful.

Q: Could you share any specific experiences of challenges you’ve encountered as a woman in the tech community, and how you’ve navigated them?

A: I’m very fortunate in my career, and currently in the present day as well, to have been surrounded by and had visibility into really incredible female mentors,colleagues, and friends, which has had a significant personal impact on how I have learned. A lot of how I’ve assessed my failures and big mistakes, the women in my life have really helped me improve and held a lot of space for me to figure out how I wanted to show up. The community around women in technology and entrepreneurship, not only in Miami, has been an incredible asset to me.
In terms of challenges, the funding environment is definitely something noticeable. I’ve seen many female founders who have built incredible companies with traction, revenue, data and solid metrics, and still struggle to raise a round of funding. The funding that goes to women, to minority women, is still dismal, especially from venture capital. I have seen half-baked ideas from men being funded, but ideas that are robust and actually have metrics, revenue, and data, and are led by women, struggle to get it. There are still some asymmetries and biases today in Miami and elsewhere.

Q: Have you noticed any unique opportunities or perspectives that being a woman in the tech industry has afforded you?

A: Each of us, as individuals, is a cocktail of perspectives. For me, part of that perspective is being a woman, but part of that perspective is also being an immigrant, a third culture kid, and a physiologist. My perspective comes more from being a woman or from being some of these other identities. I don’t think women, as I have observed them, have a different leadership style in some contexts. I do think we show up with a different set of questions and a different set of skills, not in a better way, just different… I’m personally really excited to have two male co-founders. Ultimately, we’re stronger as a unit; not because we have different genders, but because we have three different perspectives at the table.

Q: As someone deeply involved in community building, what are some of the key factors to consider when developing and building a community?

A: Community building is vital, but very easy to do just for the sake of doing it- you tend to lose steam quickly. Whenever you gather people, whether it’s for a dinner series or a larger organization, the purpose has to be very clear. We tend to think that it will come along the way, but to me that comes first. The second factor is to be able to address gaps in community building or create gaps around something where others agree there is a need, and that this need would be served in that way. Often, we try to create a “community” in which the stakeholders haven’t been bought into that need. Thirdly, culture. Establishing the ground rules and guard rails of a particular community is also something that we come to too late. I often joke about it, saying that it’s how we want our kids to behave, but adults don’t often do it. Showing up to places of differences of opinion with curiosity instead of judgment or being willing to help before you receive is crucial. There are things that are common sense principles as values, but we don’t always build our communities starting with that assumption. You have to be very purposeful about what values you try to build a community with.

Q: How do you see the Miami Tech ecosystem evolving in the next few years, and what opportunities do you foresee for startups and entrepreneurs?

A: The tactical system of the Miami tech ecosystem has evolved so much over the 10 years I’ve been here. I am excited to see what the next chapter holds… I have been critical of Miami, but also very bullish… What I would love to see is deepening around certain verticals. We are at a moment in time where we don’t have to do everything all at once, and we can really start to build clusters of deep expertise and deep investment. Whether it’s climate and resilience, or health tech, medial devices, and bio research… Whatever the topics are, it’s to our benefit to really start to become experts on a national and global level around the verticals that most make sense in Miami. I also think we are over the hump of the hype of COVID and crypto, which became a very hyped moment in Miami. Now that those things are a little bit behind us, we have the chance to build with the benefit of having come through that. The folks who are here are people who want to be here and are here to stay. We’re attracting different types of talent and companies. Not just because of the global pandemic, but because people actually want to be in Miami and see a benefit to being in Miami. Overall, I am excited for the upleveling that is to come and the deepening of our focus in more areas.

Q: Can you talk about the partnership with Mana Tech? How do you see this partnership helping achieve your mission with Base?

A: We have been very fortunate to be able to host some Base dinners at Loft 10 with Mana Common. It has been one of the most amazing experiences for us. We host dozens of dinners every month, and we’re constantly trying to figure out what it is that leads to the environment and connection and delight for our members, which is what Base is all about. Doing the dinners here at Mana continues to allow us to test various concepts that we can’t easily do at other venues. It’s given us a set of data points that we want to incorporate into all our dinners and scale up, redesigning them accordingly. The benefit to us as a company is the experience that our members are having.

Learn more about Natalia’s endeavors at Base and become a part of Mana Tech‘s ever-growing community. We’re thrilled to engage with and showcase all the exceptional founders in our city!

Who should be our next interviewee? Feel free to share your suggestions with us at community@manatech.com!

The post An Exclusive Interview with the Co-founder and COO of Base appeared first on Mana Tech.

We can’t wait for these founders to experience what is becoming the next entrepreneurial tech hub. Mana Tech takes pride in being the ultimate tool and guide for these innovators, helping them navigate not only Miami’s beautiful beaches and weather, but more importantly how to successfully scale in the ever-growing tech ecosystem.

A special thanks to our invaluable sponsors who have made our mission possible: Delta Air Lines, Latam Airlines, Marriott Hotels, and Microsoft for Startups.

Without further ado, here is a roaster of the companies that will be joining us for the third edition of Miami Immersion Week.

• APRAMI
• Argus Analytics
• Balay
• Doare
• Doctor7
• Ecobuildtec
• Educación Estrella
• Equilibria Agro
• EYWA
• Fraktal Software Technologies
• Impakt Sales
• Pricode
• Rocketbot
• Sabroso
• Sumo App
• Suplymos

Secure your seat for our highly demanded Demo Day, where you will witness breakthrough pitches for the coveted title of the third cohort’s champion.

RSVP

The post Meet The Third Cohort of Miami Immersion Week appeared first on Mana Tech.

Mana Tech was chosen by Microsoft to host this program after leading countless initiatives to foster collaboration in the Miami tech ecosystem and enabling hundreds of Latin American startups to expand their operations into the United States. The Miami-based tech innovation hub is honored to be entrusted with the leadership of this program, and the team is excited about the endless possibilities it brings.

Through a unique combination of five immersion days in Miami and four weeks of online training, this program equips businesses with the tools they need to compete in the US market – from pitching to investors and targeting US buyer personas to fine-tuning their sales pipeline. Participants will embark on an intensive journey filled with group workshops, virtual pre-immersion training sessions, and one-on-one mentoring sessions with industry experts.

While the virtual component of the program undeniably offers a wealth of knowledge and skills, we believe in the power of in-person experiences, especially, when teaching business practices in the US market. For the final leg of this immersive journey, participants will enjoy a week in the beautiful city of Miami. Here, they will delve deep into the exclusive content we have developed on generative AI and cultivate essential connections with potential investors and industry partners who can help propel their success.

Mana Tech welcomed 21 ambitious startups hailing from countries such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Colombia. They represent some of the most promising companies in the region, all of which have created products, services, or business models utilizing AI across various tech verticals.

The selected companies include:

• 42x
• Agrotools
• Beeok
• Codelex by Simplex
• DeepAgro
• Dondoctor
• finvero
• Flipando.ai
• CodeGPT (By Judini)
• Innuvo
• Liva
• Mediastream
• Mofiler.io
• Nutrix
• PBSF
• PervasiveMind
• Pignus
• tet4D
• Theodora
• TowerTech
• Ventiapp

The Microsoft AI Latino Immersion Program aims to catalyze the future of AI and tech collaboration across the Americas. For tech entrepreneurs and visionaries, this is an opportunity to elevate their startups, drive AI innovation, and tap into the immense potential of Miami’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Sign up today for free to participate in Demo Day and witness firsthand the progress these entrepreneurs have achieved!
RSVP

The post Microsoft AI Latino Immersion Program Brings Latin American Innovation to Miami’s Thriving Tech Scene appeared first on Mana Tech.

Here’s a concise overview of Mana Tech’s global ventures and the milestones they’ve achieved abroad.

Miami, U.S.A.

In August, the majority of the team gathered in Miami for the second edition of the Miami Immersion Week program. Sixteen founders from Latin America flew in to meet the team and immerse themselves in the Magic City and soak in everything it has to offer.

Santiago, Chile

Etienne Gillard, Mana Tech’s Head of Ventures, received an invitation to enter some of the most impressive facilities at AgroUrbana. Here, he exchanged ideas and learned more about the innovations in the AgriFood sector. Gillard gained insights into AgroUrbana’s mission to provide sustainable farming by leveraging cutting-edge technologies, paving the way for a greener future powered by tech.

Bogota, Colombia

Matias Barbero, Head of Partnerships at Mana Tech, flew to the Colombian capital to participate in the GoFest event. Barbero took center stage to share the inspiring mission and vision of Mana Common, along with Mana Tech’s initiatives. Bogotá has built a robust tech ecosystem in the region, and it’s poised to continuously grow.

Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

Barbero continued his journey by flying to Mexico to join fellow members of the tech community at the Startups Latam Week, a vibrant space for discussions on business, deal-making, and immersive experiences in Mexican culture. Mexico has emerged as one of the pivotal technological hubs in Latin America, and Mana Tech has already started building the bridge all the way from Miami.

San Francisco, U.S.A.

Fernando Cariello, one of Mana Tech’s dearest mentors, attended the ninth edition of SaaStr event. Over three enlightening days, he connected with fellow visionaries , eager to discover and develop synergies.

Medellin, Colombia

Moishe Mana, CEO and Chairman of Mana Common, joined the Mana Tech team in Medellin for Expo AgroFuturo. Mana capitalized on the moment to discuss Miami’s potential as the prospective “Silicon Beach” and detail Mana Tech’s strategy to connect Miami to Latin America.

Cuenca, Ecuador

Gillard journeyed to the center of the world to participate in a panel on tech-driven environmental innovation at the CLINIQ NEXUS event. He was struck by the city’s impressive technological advancement and envisioned significant room for future progress.

Antigua, Guatemala

Barbero teamed up with Anita Poletti, Head of Growth and Brand Strategy at Mana Tech, to lead the Volcano Innovation Summit. Together, they shared the stage with like-minded peers, emphasizing the power of community in driving innovation and collaboration.

Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to learn more about where #ManaTechTravels.

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“With a client and without a name.”

That was the title of Codiversity’s inaugural presentation. Victoria Suárez Araújo, a 31-year-old from Montevideo, linked her ongoing discussions with her co-founders, even before she officially became one, to a need voiced by a potential first client.

In Araújo’s mind, the problem was very clear, as evident in the entire tech ecosystem: there was a high demand for talent, yet a high barrier for newcomers entering the job market. This was a direct consequence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution surge and subsequent education programs that often fell short of meeting market demands.

In this context, Victoria, not yet 30 and already a mother to Benjamin, whom she welcomed into the world at 17, decided to confront the entrepreneurial challenge once again. Alongside Diego Raffo, Enrique Mejía, and Sebastián López, they recognized that their Wolox experience, where they shaped and oversaw the technology education sector for the company later acquired by Accenture, provided them with the necessary edge to seize this opportunity. They understood the need to marry technology with education while remaining committed to making a social impact, a principle the group consistently prioritized.

From left to right: Sebastián López: Angel Investor/Strategy Advisor & Co Founder, Enrique Mejia: Chief Product Officer & Co Founder, Victoria Suárez: Chief Executive Officer & Co Founder, Diego Raffo: Chief Learning Officer & Co Founder

And thus, Codiversity emerged; with a mission to bridge the digital divide, to grasp the future world, and to champion technological inclusivity. They recognized the incongruity where many companies competed for talent with existing experience, while, simultaneously, numerous individuals aspired to enter the technological job market, patiently awaiting their turn.

Version 1.0 of Codiversity introduced a service-oriented approach: utilizing an Artificial Intelligence system to assess the skills of new hires, thereby creating their skills profiles. Subsequently, they operated as a software factory. In other words, the initial endeavor of this third venture, marked by true determination, provided IT solutions with the unique feature of providing opportunities to well-trained but inexperienced individuals. However, they were self-sufficient and understood that securing capital without acquiring clients was akin to putting the cart before the horse.

The change in direction and a profound comprehension of the educational technology market were catalyzed initially by the COVID-19 crisis and were further solidified when Mana Tech entered their path. The program was Building the Bridge, developed in collaboration with the Uruguayan incubator Ingenio, in March of this year.

“We were fortunate to have John Fischman as a mentor, and I recall his invaluable guidance on how to present our proposition to the market. Our initial intention in joining the program wasn’t secure funding, but rather to explore how we would establish ourselves in the US. We already had in mind the transition from a service-based model to a product-based model for companies.” by=”Victoria Suárez Araújo” from=”CEO & Co-Founder, Codiversity”

This pivot was, once again, a testament to the team’s acute understanding of the evolving circumstances. While some clients initially engaged Codiversity for technological solution development, upon discovering that the company provided training and certification for inexperienced staff, they urged Araújo and her team to extend this approach to their own employees.

In the midst of a pandemic, Codiversity possessed both the technical and pedagogical resources necessary for the sudden onset of digital transformation. They shifted towards a B2B model and successfully secured capital in their first round of funding, all the while maintaining a grounded approach.

Today, Victoria spearheads her third startup without losing sight of their most vital societal contribution: the pilot program they’ve instituted in the Unit No. 5 of the women’s prison in Uruguay. Here, personnel from the correctional institutions select suitable candidates for acquiring tech-related knowledge.

In this regard, Codiversity collaborates closely with the Uruguayan Ministry of the Interior, Globant, the University of Montevideo, and the Non-Governmental Organization Creemos. Araújo is cognizant that those who haven’t followed traditional educational paths often encounter greater hurdles in acquiring technological skills. Nevertheless, she champions the measurement of the recidivism rate among these women, who receive a year of training before reintegrating into society.

Because the concept of opportunity admits multiple interpretations: it may be that, from the right moment, an inclusive startup emerges. Yet, even more valuable is that this project never ceases in its pursuit of inclusion, providing opportunities to those who genuinely need them.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to keep tabs on all things Mana Tech!

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Everything that is happening in Miami is hard to understand by yourself. With this Immersion Week program, in just one week, you have the knowledge just like that!” by=”Felipe Acevedo” from=”Co-Founder & COO, Goohaus

This program has been carefully designed to help entrepreneurs propel their startups to the next level, offering a wide range of resources and support, including:

• Personalized mentorship sessions with local market experts.
• Activities to refine your sales pitch and effectively secure capital.
• Networking opportunities with potential clients, investors, and partners.
• Workshops focused on marketing and sales strategies.

If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur aiming to establish your business in the US, sign up today and let this proven tech acceleration program guide you into one of the world’s largest markets.

Apply here

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