MIAMI – (Oct. 2, 2013) – Tech Cocktail, a national media company and events organization for startups and entrepreneurs, will launch in Miami with $150,000 in support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The announcement was made last night at a Tech Cocktail Miami Mixer & Startup Showcase event sponsored by Refresh Miami, a Knight-supported local nonprofit that fosters Miami innovators.
Since its founding in 2006, Tech Cocktail has successfully built up local startup communities through regular networking events and online news coverage that highlights entrepreneurs and innovations in its cities of focus. Its model has proven successful in over 35 cities across the United States and the world.
With Knight funding, Tech Cocktail will organize regular networking events to bring the Miami startup community together and provide opportunities for learning and growth. This includes speaker forums and competitions where early-stage startups can practice their pitches and gain exposure. They will also connect with entrepreneurs, investors and tech innovators as a way to help scale and improve their work. Seven events are being planned for 2014.
Additionally, Tech Cocktail will leverage its national online and social reach of millions of readers, fans and followers to tell the Miami startup story. To this end, a Miami-based Tech Cocktail staff reporter/community manager will be hired to cover the region and highlight community ventures and activities.
“Miami is increasingly gaining traction as a place of innovation and enterprise,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director in Miami. “Tech Cocktail will help drive this momentum, by making it easier for doers and entrepreneurs to connect and build their ideas, while shining a national spotlight on the city’s many startup successes.”
“We are thrilled to see the burgeoning growth of the Miami startup community and to be working with the Knight Foundation to establish a Tech Cocktail hub to share Miami’s startup story both locally and nationally through ongoing online and offline events and content,” said Frank Gruber, CEO and co-founder of Tech Cocktail.
The launch of Tech Cocktail in Miami forms one part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to inform citizens and create new opportunities by strengthening the city’s startup community. In the past week alone, Knight hosted its second Miami event with NewME, an accelerator focused on women and minority-owned startups, and helped launch the Miami office of Endeavor, an international mentorship network designed to scale entrepreneurial businesses.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.KnightFoundation.org.
About Tech Cocktail
Tech Cocktail is a media company and events organization for startups, entrepreneurs, and technology enthusiasts. Since 2006, its goal has been to amplify local tech communities and give entrepreneurs a place to get informed, get connected, and get inspired. Tech Cocktail dedicates itself to covering news, how-to’s, up-and-coming startups, and industry trends online, and hosting events in over 35 cities in the US and abroad. For more, visit www.tech.co.
CONTACT:
Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305-908-2677, [email protected]