A part of the Refresh Miami Ecosystem.
The Miami Tech Pod

The Miami Tech Pod

The number #1 weekly podcast about Miami's booming tech community. Miami Tech Pod hosts interesting locals to talk about all the recent news, events, happenings, and trends in the #MiamiTech community.

Recent Episodes

Jan. 27, 2024

Building teams that scale, investing in the future, and falling in love with Miami - Emil Michael

Listen in to our interview with Emil Michael, former Chief Business Officer at Uber and current Chairman & CEO of DPCM Capital. Topics on deck: Lifelong leadership lessons Building teams that love you Scaling and taking big …
Sept. 19, 2023

Building OpenStore In Miami, Working At Google & A New Creator Marketplace with Jeremy Wood

This week on The #MiamiTech Podcast the hosts chat with Jeremy Wood founder at OpenStore. While working at Google, he watched as companies like Shopify brought small businesses online and was re-energized by the space. When …
Aug. 14, 2023

Changing The Future Of Work For Mobile Professionals w/ Cary Gahm and Ed Thomas

This week on The #MiamiTech Podcast the hosts chat with Cary Gahm and Ed Thomas Co-founders of Tempmee. TempMee is a new and easier way to connect Licensed Dental Professionals with Dental Offices in need of temporary help t…
Aug. 8, 2023

A True Underdog Story w/ Edrizio De La Cruz

This week on The #MiamiTech Podcast the hosts chat with Edrizio De La Cruz. Edrizio is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor and occasional stand up comic :-) He’s a Dominican immigrant who grew up in Harlem. He dropped ou…
Aug. 1, 2023

Riding Unicorns and Supercharging SaaS w/ Javier Ramirez Lugo

This week on The #MiamiTech Podcast the hosts chat with Javier Ramirez Lugo of Cuota! Javier is the founder of Cuota which is a company of B2B Sales consultancy, he has helped over 40 venture backed-startups. His B2B Sales e…
June 6, 2023

Building a Finance Super App, Thiel Fellowship & Investing In Miami w/ Zaid Rahman

This week on The #MiamiTech Podcast the hosts chat with Zaid Rahman Founder/CEO of Flexbase Topics on Deck: - Who Is Zaid Rahman? - Dropping Out Of College For The Thiel Fellowship - Working In A.I. Before It Was Cool - Buil…

About the Hosts

Cesar FernandezProfile Photo

Cesar Fernandez

Host

Cesar was born and raised in Miami. He is a government affairs and communications consultant for tech companies at Converge Government Affairs. His clients include some of the world’s most innovative tech companies such as Zillow, REEF, Nuro, Revel, EA, Lilium, Vivid Seats, etc.
Prior to joining Converge, Cesar managed Uber’s government affairs work before state and local government in Florida for three years and was instrumental in the passage of statewide ridesharing regulations. His advocacy at Uber also extended to autonomous vehicle legislation, negotiating a multi-million dollar settlement with Miami-Dade County, and leading strategy for contract negotiations with a half-dozen Florida airports. Shortly after, Cesar transitioned to a role on Uber’s Public Policy team for Central America and the Caribbean, where he represented the company’s interest before the national governments of seven countries.

Maria DerchiProfile Photo

Maria Derchi

Co-Host

Maria Derchi Russo is the VP of Platform & Community at Florida Funders, a hybrid venture capital fund and angel network investing in early stage startups with a goal of transforming Florida from the Sunshine State to the Startup State. Florida Funders has been ranked the most active venture capital fund in Florida by CB Insights for the last two years.

Maria Derchi Russo is also the Executive Director of Refresh Miami, a non-profit which has served as the hub of the Miami Tech community since 2006. She is also the founder of Women in Miami Tech (WIMT), a group dedicated to supporting and advancing women in technology in South Florida.

Maria spent the first ten years of her career running marketing programs for startups including Travelzoo and ParkJockey (now REEF Technology).

Will WeinraubProfile Photo

Will Weinraub

Co-Host

Will Weinraub is a serial entrepreneur and currently CEO and Co-Founder of OnChain Studios, the makers for the NFT gaming platform Cryptoys. Before OnChain Studios, Will founded Miami-based startup LiveNinja which was acquired in 2017.

Will also invests in startups through Flamingo Capital and runs The Local Leaders Collective, an organization that helps founders overcome challenges through peer support. On the personal side, Will is obsessed with Miami sports (the Heat and Dolphins in particular), has three kids (Victoria, Kevin, and Tyler) and an Australian Shepherd (Ace). He also has a strong affinity towards really good southern bbq and thinks the best flavor combination in the world is chocolate and peanut butter.

Brian BreslinProfile Photo

Brian Breslin

Co-Host

Native Miamian, Founder of Refresh Miami, Director of The Launch Pad at the University of Miami.
Brian is the Director of The Launch Pad at the University of Miami. At The Launch Pad, Brian teaches, mentors, and supports the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Brian has been supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Miami since 2004.

Brian is a serial entrepreneur, most recently co-founding JPegMorgan, Deal Flow Miami, VCDB, FLStartups, and this podcast.