6+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Realfinity & BCP Global fundings, new Miami Tech Charter now accepting students; Bitcoin 2023 returning in May – and much more

 

1

Fintech startup Realfinity raises $2M

Realfinity, a Miami-based fintech for the real estate world, said it raised $2 million  in pre-seed funding. The startup said it intends to use the funds to continue the development and growth of its HomeDashboard product for the real estate finance technology market. “This pre-seed debt-based financing allows us to complete important product milestones and is the prelude to a forthcoming round of funding,” said Luca Dahlhausen, Co-Founder and GM of Realfinity. 

 The startup provides a platform connecting consumers to local real estate and lending experts through a digital concierge experience. HomeDashboard currently connects its consumer base of over 120,000 homeowners with financial data and services, cobranded with real estate professionals and loan officers, the company said.

Realfinity is a team of 14. Investors requested not be to disclosed because they are private industry investors, the company said.

READ MORE ON REFRESH: Miami metro area reeled in $2.8B in VC in first half, ahead of 2021’s record pace. We’ve got Q2’s top deals.

2

BCP Global funded by Bradesco Bank

To meet market demand for its digital platform ONE APP Solution for Latin Americans, Miami-based fintech BCP Global said it has closed a seed round fueled by an investment from Bradesco Bank, Brazil’s biggest bank. The amount of Bradesco’s funding was not disclosed.

BCP Global provides digital solutions for financial institutions and advisors. In addition to the current suite of products of investment portfolios and lending, the company plans to offer a trading app for stocks and crypto, a checking account with a debit card, credit cards, digital life insurance and portfolio lending at extremely competitive rates through Interactive Brokers, said Mauricio Armando CEO & Co-founder of BCP Global.

In October 2020, Bradesco landed in Miami, completing the acquisition of US-based BAC Florida bank.  “Partnering up with BCP Global will allow us to cater to the mass-affluent market, which represents a huge opportunity not only in Brazil but also the rest of Latam,” said Ricardo Lanfranchi, CEO & President of Bradesco Investments.

3

New Miami Tech Charter School at MDC now accepting students

Miami Tech Charter School, the first high school dedicated 100% to tech in the City of Miami, is already accepting students for its opening this August. The school, located on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus in Downtown Miami, will prepare students to complete an Associate degree in areas like Computer Programming and Cloud Computing while in high school. Upon graduation, students may go directly to the workforce or continue their college education with pathways to Bachelor’s degrees in Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, or Information Systems Technology. Find out more and apply here.

READ MORE ON REFRESH:  MDC, City of Miami team up to create Miami Tech Charter School

4

Bitcoin 2023 returning to Miami Beach in May

The “world’s largest Bitcoin conference” will return to Miami Beach next year. Bitcoin 2023 conference will convene at the Miami Beach Convention Center May 18-20, following on the success of this year’s event at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which featured more than 400 speakers and 26,000 attendees.

Bitcoin 2023 also announced the following speakers slated for launch day: Michael Saylor,
Zoltan Pozsar, Michelle Phan, Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, Lyn Alden, Alex Gladstein, Stacy
Herbert, Obi Nwosu, Fode Diop, and Vijay Boyapati.

“Bitcoin isn’t going anywhere,” said David Bailey, CEO of conference organizer Bitcoin
Magazine. “We’ve been through multiple market cycles. It’s clear that while the market may be
down right now, the movement is here to stay, and the community continues to grow.”

READ MORE ON REFRESH: Laser eyes on Miami as ‘world’s largest’ Bitcoinc Conference goes down

5

Comcast awards $100K to MDC to bridge digital divide

Comcast awarded a $100,000 grant to Miami Dade College as part of its Digital Adoption Initiative, aiming to bridge the digital divide and increase digital equity in South Florida communities. One in five households in Miami don’t have internet access at home.

The grant funding will be used to teach MDC students to become Digital Navigators, individuals affiliated with trusted community organizations who are trained to help people access the Internet, use devices, and build digital skills. Once their training is complete, the new MDC Digital Navigators will begin working in South Florida communities with a low digital adoption rate. Members of community-based organizations will also be trained to become digital instructors to provide digital literacy courses for their clients and communities. Set to launch this fall, the Digital Navigators program will provide participating students with instruction, free tuition, service-learning hours and a $250 stipend.

Digital Navigators is a part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive, one-billion-dollar initiative to advance digital equity over the next ten years.

6

But wait, there’s MORE news to note

• SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT: The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University  and Centre for Public Impact  announced that Miami-Dade will join The Opportunity Project for Cities. During the program, Miami-Dade will participate in a 20-week design sprint that partners government practitioners and community organizations with pro bono support from Google whose employees will help to research, design and create digital tools that support local entrepreneurs and small business owners by lowering the barriers to starting a business. “Through collaboration and innovation, we aim to cut red tape and create an even more supportive environment for residents and entrepreneurs who are eager to invest in our local economy,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Axis Helps will connect entrepreneurs with the resources.
• MAGIC LEAP: Magic Leap 2 will officially go on sale Sept 30., Magic Leap announced this week. Prices for the headset will start at $3,299, with the most expensive version intended for enterprise clients “that require flexible, large scale IT deployments” starting at $4,999. Magic Leap also announced this week that it is opening up sales of Magic Leap 2 with Developer Pro  with pre-release (beta) software. 
• LA CASA: The second annual La Casa conference will take place on Nov. 30, during Art Basel Week in Miami. La Casa,  an invite-only event dedicated to conversation, collaboration and celebration of the tech & innovation ecosystem in South Florida, is produced by  Florida Funders, eMerge Americas and Carve Communications. In 2021, the first La Casa drew more than 500 attendees and hosted more than 50 speakers including Grammy award-winning artist, investor & entrepreneur Armando Christian “Pitbull” Perez, Co-Founder & CEO of Cameo Steven Galanis, Co-Founder & CEO of Blockchain.com Peter Smith, and Founder & GP of Arrington Capital Michael Arrington. [READ MORE]
• INSIGHTEC:  The medical technology company based in Israel and Miami and led by Maurice Ferre received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to study the effectiveness of its Exablate Prostate System,  a medical device that uses ultrasound technology to treat prostate cancer. The single session treatment is noninvasive and does not require incisions, enabling patients to recover quickly with fewer complications, Insightec says.

PLUS

Opportunity Knocks

• The FIU-Venture Miami Opportunity Program is recruiting for its second cohort of female founders of color to scale in the #MiamiTech ecosystem. With support from JPMorgan Chase, and in partnership with the City of Miami’s Venture Miami team, the FIU-Venture Miami Opportunity Program is a 14-week training program that focuses on talent, technology, social network, and access to capital. Cohort participants will get exclusive access to venture capitalist mentors, #MiamiTech conferences and events, and workshops that will help them prepare their businesses for venture-level funding. The deadline to apply is Aug, 1, 2022. Find out about eligibility requirements, application details and more here.
• Founder Institute (FI.co) is accepting applications for their upcoming cohort launching on Sept 28. The deadline to apply is Sept 18th. The Fall 2022 cohort will be held virtually online allowing anyone to build a business alongside some of Florida’s top entrepreneurs and investors from the comfort of home. Apply here.
• Endeavor Miami’s six-month ScaleUP Program is taking applications for its Fall Cohort. Applying companies must be tech-enabled, have a minimum of two employees in addition to co-founders, must be based in Florida, have product-market fit, and be generating $800,000 to 2.5 million in annual revenues; the four-month program costs $6,000 (tax deductible). The deadline is Aug. 17.  Find out more and apply here.
• Black Founder’s Demo Day, Aug. 20: Pitch for up to $1M. Each of the 16 selected companies will receive $3,000 for travel, planning, and accommodations. All startups will be provided a demo booth to display their products or services, as well as a stage to pitch to nationally recognized brands and a panel of active venture capital investors. Learn more here.
• NSU Levan Center of Innovation Accelerate Program is a 12-week program to increase your company’s funding, customers, and revenue streams. You will build upon your brand recognition and engage with a network of experts and stakeholders to support further innovation. Applications open July 6. Find out more here.

ICYMI:

Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected]