In less than four years, StartUP FIU became Florida International University’s (FIU) platform for entrepreneurship, innovation and inclusion. This session will touch on important contexts that informed why we chose to be so different than most university incubators and economic development offices and of course, how we do what we do! For us, there were three major factors: 1) that the current technological revolution was changing everything, 2) that humans really hate change, and 3) that though everyone was focused on the next big company, we weren’t really sure how that was going to lift up the 20% of Miamians who lived in poverty, let alone the 50% who were one emergency away from homelessness, that informed our work. With the help of strategic philanthropy, an incredible team and design thinking, we were able to convince our leaders to let us take some risks. We will demonstrate how our three lines of business allows us to support faculty commercialization and student startups; serve as the innovation arm of the university by testing our new courses and co-curricular activities; and support equitable economic development through a series of grant-funded programs. Come learn the strategies and techniques we used to create real income stability for our food entrepreneurs, develop more equitable procurement practices for our local suppliers and help our students, faculty and community start and scale new technology companies.
