New š§ Interview: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
The Flywheel took its talents to South Beach to find out why Miami is the new hotspot for tech talent.
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Hi friends! There is no article today; instead, I wanted to share with you the extremely cool opportunity I had to meet Miamiās Mayor and Twitter phenom Francis Suarez.
Suarez has been all over tech Twitter recently recruiting tech and VC talent to Miami, and I couldnāt resist getting in on the fun.
I knew there was a slight chance the mayor would reply with a 40 Year Old Virgin GIF, but I was still pretty surprised to see it actually happen.
I grew up in South Florida and was already planning a road trip and lengthy stay at my parentsā, and so the mayorās reply set the stage:
Finally on February 3rd I met Mayor Suarez face to face in his office in Coconut Grove. We chatted about Miamiās flywheels, inequality, climate change, and how recruiting new tech talent to party in the city where the heat is on plays into all of the above.
We had about 20 minutes to talk, and I recorded the audio on my iPhone, but I hope you enjoy my conversation with Francis Suarez.
A few other items..
Feedback Wanted
I have several article ideas and fantastic interviews lined up for the next 1-2 months, but beyond that the slate is clear. A couple of asks:
Feedback: I opened up a Substack thread where Iād really love your feedback on what you would like to see in upcoming Flywheel posts. You can also find me on Twitter or email me (a reply to this will do!) if youād prefer.
Interview guests: if there is anyone you think I should be talking to about their company flywheels, send them my way! Iām looking to fill up the interview schedule for Q2 2021 and beyond and would love any suggestions or introductions you guys have.
Suggested Reading
A couple of newsletters Iāve been enjoying lately:
Climate and Money is written by my good friend and fellow Liverpool die-hard Owen Woolcock. Owen has done a lot of different things in his lifeāheās been a diplomat, Googler, and even an Aussie-rules football physioāand combines his varied set of experiences with his current one as a researcher at Harvard to examine some very fundamental questions about climate change and the economy.
Brands Mean a LotĀ is a once-a-week commentary on the ways branding impacts our lives written byĀ Jared Holst. Each week, he explores contradictions within the way politics, products, and pop-culture are branded for us, offering his take on what's really being said. Take a look at hisĀ recent postĀ about how GoodRx, the prescription discount company, is anything but.
One More Thing
The Flywheel is supported by Juno.
One of the best things I did after I graduated business school was refinance my government loans with a private company. The lower rates allowed me to finish paying the loans way faster than I would have otherwise been able to, which I think has been a huge factor in my ability to quit Amazon and pursue serendipity on the internet.
Juno helps students with student loan refinancing using the power of collective bargaining. They use the power of group buying to negotiate with lenders on members' behalf, so they have access to deals they can't get otherwise. Rates are really low, starting at 1.24% APR.
Juno is free for borrowersāthey get paid by lenders when a member refinances, and they share a portion of that fee with the member in the form of a cash back bonus (up to $1,000). And if you use my link and refinance a loan, theyāll share a portion of the fee with The Flywheel as well!
Thatās it for this edition of The Flywheel. Weāll be back with a regular schedule of posts two weeks from today.