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5 things to know in #MiamiTech: WhereBy.Us unveils Letterhead, heaping helpings of Mayor Suarez & more

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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The Holiday Edition

1

For the Twitterverse and beyond, Mayor Suarez keeps on giving

Unless you live under a rock, you all know by now that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s ‘How can I help?’ tweet three weeks ago has sparked a viral buzz around the world not only on social channels, but on CNBC, Fox Business, podcasts and other media — and every day @francissuarez and #MiamiTech at-large are welcoming more founders, investors and tech professionals to our city by the bay. This week, Miami’s bitcoin community seems to have grown exponentially, including Anthony Pompliano. Investors continue to make tracks here; someone even created a Miami VC Starter Kit for them (it’s hilarious). Spotted recently: Peter Thiel. Keep up to date with Auston Bunsen’s  Que Bola rundown every Sunday evening @bunsen on Twitter and read his recent Refresh guest post here.
For our Holiday Edition of 5 things to know, we thought we’d offer up a couple of recent questions the mayor has answered – or asked!
Kara Swisher asks the mayor if there is anyone he doesn’t want to move to Miami? 


The mayor’s answer: “I wouldn’t want anyone that is intolerant to the goals we want to achieve as a city: inclusivity, equity, upward mobility, resiliency … to name a few.”
(and of course he encouraged Swisher to join the Miami fam) 
And from the man himself at 1:07 AM Dec. 24, the mayor asks if anyone cares to design a “How Can I Help?” t-shirt?


Within an hour he got a slew of responses, and judging by the designs, we now expect a whole line of them. There are some that got more “likes”, but we are kind of partial to the guayabera by @litcapital, what’s your favorite?
 Mayor, we hope you get to relax a bit and enjoy the holidays!
READ RELATED POSTS ON REFRESH: 
Let’s use this moment to benefit ALL of Miami
The rocket is on the launchpad: 2021 will be #MiamiTech’s breakout year
Following founder’s move to Miami, Pipe opens the startup’s 1st ‘Microhub’ in Miami
Miami newbies get mayoral welcome – and it’s gone viral
Way early, not there yet, just right? Why this time this VC made the Miami move

2

WhereBy.Us introduces Letterhead to the world

This week, Miami’s WhereBy.Us founders unveiled their new venture, Letterhead, to the world, via TechCrunch. Letterhead is a platform for managing ad sales, paid subscriptions, newsletter content and more into one product. Betting big on the future of newsletters (even this longtime journalist gets most of my news and information delivered by newsletters these days), Chris Sopher, Rebekah Monson, Bruce Pinchbeck, Chris Adamo and the rest of the team soft-launched the product earlier this year and response has been strong. The team, of course, is also behind our beloved home-grown newsletter, The New Tropic, among others around the country, providing the where they learned a great deal about what works and what doesn’t in email and is backed by more than $5 million in venture capital that includes local funders like Krillion Ventures, Miami Angels and Knight Foundation. WhereBy.Us is “an extraordinary team with an extraordinary new product focused on helping email newsletter publishers capture revenue and improve collaboration to save time and money, “ Melissa Krinzman of Krillion Ventures said on LinkedIn. Read more in TechCrunch here — and we’ll be catching up with this team in the new year!

3

Papa rolls out Papa Health

Papa, the fast-growing Miami-based startup ounded by Andrew Parker and venture backed, has been on an expansion tear this year, partnering with health insurers and health systems that will be offering Paps’s service that connects its Papa Pals with older adults to help with life’s challenges. Now Papa has recently announced it is rolling out Papa Health.
The new Papa Health services are building on and enhancing the company’s current capabilities and now Papa will be a mix of social and clinical services for its members, Parker told Home Health Care News.  Through Papa Health, members will be able to connect virtually with “Papa Docs” – a network of board-certified and licensed clinicians that include MDs, nurse practitioners and behavioral health providers – for appointments.  “Our platform, which has always been HIPAA-compliant and secure, can effectively provide virtual and in-person services, whether it be companionship or Papa Docs,” he said. Read more here.

4

VC David Blumberg shares his thoughts 

Among the new arrivals to #MiamiTech is David Blumberg, founder and managing partner of early-stage VC firm Blumberg Capital, who recently relocated to Hallandale Beach. Emon Reiser of the South Florida Business Journal (recently promoted to managing editor) posted an interesting Q&A with him, in which he said he is open to investing locally and shared his thoughts on the Bay Area exodus, why Miami and more. “I’ll quote Walter Wriston’s famous statement on this topic when he was chairman and CEO of Citibank: ‘Capital goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well treated,'” Blumberg told the Business Journal. “Florida hits both of those points very well.” Read more here.

5

Motorsports Games files to go public

Miami-based Motorsport Games, the esports division of Motorsport Network, aims to go public with an offering of Class A common stock. The  company plans to raise up to $40 million through an initial public offering to grow its esports and automotive racing platform, according to a Dec. 18 registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the South Florida Business Journal revealed. Read more here.
Motorsport Network recently announced it was moving its headquarters to the Magic City development in Little Haiti.
***
We’re keeping the Holiday Edition of our roundup short this week because we know many of you have pigs to attend to and the coquito awaits! Happy holidays to all – and, as always, thank you for reading! 
Got news? Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @ndahlberg.
 

Nancy Dahlberg
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