Angela Benton is founder and CEO of NewME Accelerator, which jump-starts promising tech businesses through hands-on classes and facilitating connections with venture capitalists and other advisers. Below, she writes about NewME’s return to Miami for its third local PopUp accelerator on Oct. 18-19, an initiative that Knight Foundation  supports.  

It seems like over the past several years there has been an overwhelming number of discussions on innovation, which is always heralded as the “next big thing.” I’ve seen a ton of startups and worked with a ton of companies who all claim to be innovating within their industries.  Let’s be honest: Most of them aren’t innovating. However, of the companies that are innovating there are common themes among them, one of which is the convergence of one or more industries. Related Link

“NewMe Accelerator partners with REVOLT TV to invite new ideas in music and technology from Miami entrepreneurs” – Press release (10/10/2014)

Seeing this convergence first hand makes me even more excited to partner with REVOLT TV and Knight Foundation to bring NewME’s annual PopUp in Miami to the Revolt Music Conference as an Idea Lab. It’s a two-day experience that converges music, technology and entrepreneurship.  We’ll be at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Oct. 18-19 discussing entrepreneurship and tech in a series of fireside chats with innovators.

This year we’re only working with 100 entrepreneurs so space is limited. Of the 100, we will select just 10 to pitch in front of a panel of investors that includes Anthony Saleh of Queensbridge Venture Partners. Winners of the pitch competition will travel to San Francisco next year to work with my team and me for a week, as well as receive a $45,000 product prize pack from some of our tech partners such as Google and Amazon. For the $199 price tag–oops–actually for the $99 price tag (if you use the NEWME100 promo code), it’s a steal to get this level of acceleration in your own backyard.

Visit our website for more details on Idea Lab.