TheVentureCity Hosts International, Unconventional Summit to Empower its Global Network

Miami-based global VC fund TheVentureCity hosted its second international summit from February 13 to 15, to bring together its community at large. Attended by TheVentureCity's portfolio startups, team members, and ecosystem builders including LPs, co-investors and sponsors, the summit was held at the remarkable New World Center at Miami Beach, Florida. Named "Listen to the Music. Not the Noise," the summit took place during a period of flux and uncertainty for VC and startups. It addressed today's challenges head on by enabling participants to have frank conversations, learn from each other's experiences, and align themselves more closely with TheVentureCity's thriving and supportive community.

Sponsored by Dell For Startups, Mastercard, Delta Air Lines, the City of Miami Beach, Zendesk, SwagUp and more, the invite-only event boasted numerous panels, talks, and networking opportunities. The discussions created spaces for open, non-judgmental explorations of how to navigate being a founder, investor and innovator today. Panels included "Radical Transparency: Why investors and founders need it," on the importance of honest relationships between founders and investors. The summit's underlying theme was filtering through the "noise" of today's startup and VC challenges, to get to the truths that matter.

Groundbreaking founders from TheVentureCity's portfolio had their moment in the spotlight, including Del Afonso of Harmony, which is creating baby formula for humans using biotechnology, and Arjun Lall, co-founder of Rocket, which is deploying AI for targeted candidate recruitment. TheVentureCity founder and CEO Laura González-Estéfani hosted a reunion of early Facebook growth team members, who gathered from across the world for the final masterclass on scaling a company. To host their yearly event, TheVentureCity partnered with New World Center residents New World Symphony, who brought some musical interludes to the summit.

"TheVentureCity firmly believes in providing our founders with value beyond capital, and that means connecting them to our network of investors, entrepreneurs, and some of the leading minds in their industries," says founder and CEO Laura González-Estéfani. "In times of uncertainty, pessimism and noise, nothing beats a community of investors and founders helping and challenging each other."

Prominent speakers included PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman; Ana Maiques of digital brain health company Neuroelectrics; Reshma Sohoni, Founding Partner of European VC fund Seedcamp; Rodrigo Teijeiro, founder and CEO of Brazilian fintech giant RecargaPay; and Mayor of Miami Beach Dan Gelber. Also participating were Henry Crown Fellows Geoff Price, co-founder of Oak Street Health; Davyeon Ross, co-founder and president of ShotTracker; Adriana Cisneros, CEO of Cisneros; and Elias Torres, founder and CTO of Drift, who spoke about his company's journey to becoming a unicorn. All are peers of TheVentureCity founder and 2022 Henry Crown Fellow Laura.

"TheVentureCity has always believed that nurturing tight-knit startup communities is the best way to promote knowledge sharing and productive connections," says Marie Berry, CMO and Operating Partner. "We considered it essential for our portfolio founders to not only get support from our team and other VCs, but also meet and learn from one another's experiences - some unique, some shared."

The three-day, press-free summit offered plenty of opportunities for VCs, LPs and founders to mingle and network. On day three, TheVentureCity hosted a private event for portfolio founders at its Miami HQ. Startup teams were able to get one-on-one time with TheVentureCity's experienced operator investors - many of whom are former founders, and early team members at big tech companies. Founders also attended strategic workshops hosted by expert team and ecosystem members. True to TheVentureCity's keen focus on data-driven growth, its team spoke about how to best harness user data during investor pitches, and highlighted its free data analysis tool for founders: Growth Scanner.

About Us

TheVentureCity is a global, early-stage venture fund that refuses to follow the conventional crowd. We offer promising founders investment with bespoke data insights and operating expertise ? designed for product-led growth. With hubs in Miami, Madrid, San Francisco and Sao Paulo, we see beyond borders and create a steady current of resources for founders on the cutting edge of ventures. Expect more from your venture capital.