Above: Tech Cocktail event in Miami. Credit: (cc) Jeff Sass on Flickr.

Frank Gruber is CEO of Tech Cocktail and the author of “Startup Mixology: Tech Cocktail’s Guide to Building, Growing, and Celebrating Startup Success.” Tech Cocktail recently launched in Miami with Knight Foundation support to connect entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship starts with an idea and a dream: a dream of a better world for others, and a life less ordinary for yourself. These days, more people than ever are full of world-changing ideas and, thanks to technology, have the means to bring them to life. But many ideas remain just ideas, and many dreams just dreams.

Frank Gruber

I wanted to write a book about turning ideas into action, no abstract theories, but a guide to tackle everything from idea generation to funding. “Startup Mixology” covers the basic “ingredients” of winning entrepreneurship. I am not one to sugarcoat anything, and in this book I talk about the harsh reality of starting up: what happens when you offend your customers, get no attention or run out of money. These are the stories you don’t always hear in the media.

Some of the startups stories come from South Florida entrepreneurs, who share with me words on how they survived the startup phase to how they celebrate the positive. To me, Miami has an incredible ecosystem because it is highly entrepreneurial and uniquely international. Miami is also a city where ideas are formed, collisions are made and entrepreneurs thrive. 

That is why I am excited to be part of the city’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and why Miami is one of my first stops on the “Startup Mixology” book tour. This will be a unique event where I will discuss some of the lessons learned with guests featured in the book including: Matt Haggman of Knight Foundation, Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void and Lori Anne Wardi of .CO. I hope you’ll join me for an exciting night that may include a couple other fun surprises.

Join Tech Cocktail July 9 at The Stage. RSVP here.

In 2006, Frank Gruber co-founded Tech Cocktail, which has grown into a hub for the creative class, offering tech-startup-focused news, events and resources. He has built and launched products at AOL, Tribune and Classified Ventures.