Former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez: Why I’m joining Stephen Ross and Ken Griffin in betting big on ambitious business leaders
Former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez recounts how his 2020 tweet offering help to tech founders sparked a wave of interest in Miami as a business destination. He explains his decision to join the 'Ambition Accelerated' campaign, a Florida Gold Coast initiative backed by Stephen Ross and Ken Griffin to attract ambitious business leaders. Suarez emphasizes Florida's culture of opportunity, low barriers to entry, and proactive problem-solving as key advantages for entrepreneurs and companies.
- ▪Francis Suarez became the 43rd Mayor of Miami and the first Miami-born mayor in the city's history.
- ▪His viral 2020 tweet 'How can I help?' helped catalyze interest in Miami from tech founders and investors.
- ▪The 'Ambition Accelerated' campaign is led by The Florida Council of 100 and supported by billionaires Stephen Ross and Ken Griffin.
- ▪Suarez joined the campaign as a Senior Advisor to promote the Florida Gold Coast as a hub for ambitious business leaders.
- ▪The campaign aims to inform CEOs, founders, and investors about the region's pro-growth culture and opportunities.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
In December 2020, a tech founder posted on Twitter (now X) suggesting that Silicon Valley should consider moving to Florida. I was mayor of Miami then, and I responded to the post with “How can I help?”Recommended Video My reply went viral. My phone started ringing with calls from founders, venture capitalists, engineers, operators — people who had been quietly thinking about leaving San Francisco or New York or Boston — who wanted to learn more about relocating to Miami. I have thought a lot since then about why the four words I posted hit so hard. I realized that if you are building a company from the ground up, your default experience with government is that it does not help. City Hall is the place that slows you down.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Fortune.
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