The Launch Pad

Weekly Open Hack Night
2017-09-25 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | 1951 NW 7th Avenue, 1st Floor, Miami, FL, 33136, United States
Join us for our weekly civic hack sessions @ Cambridge Innovation Center. Anyone interested in civic hacking and engagement is welcome.
You can contribute to an existing Code for Miami Project (see our projects at https://codefor.miami/projects) or come share your idea, and maybe start a new collaboration.
As always, bring a laptop; beginners are always welcome!
We ask that participants at Code for Miami events follow our Code of Conduct to ensure that our group is a safe and welcoming space.

National Day of Civic Hacking hackathon
2017-09-23 09:00 - 18:00 | 1951 NW 7th Avenue, Miami, FL, 33136, United States
Join Code for Miami for the 5th annual National Day of Civic Hacking, and help us #HackForChange!
On September 23rd, thousands of people from across the United States will come together for National Day of Civic Hacking.
The event will bring together urbanists, civic hackers, government staff, developers, designers, community organizers and anyone with the passion to make our city better.
We will collaboratively build new solutions using publicly-released data, technology, and design processes to improve our communities and the governments that serve them.

Day’s Schedule
9:00am Register, Grab some breakfast
9:30am Opening remarks
10:00am Break off into groups
1:00pm Lunch
5:00pm Closing presentations

This year’s theme is Innovation & Urban Resilience.
The challenges will focus on the core following themes:
Equity in South Florida
Access to Data
Citizen Engagement
Transportation
Health & Human Services
Review our Code of Conduct and make the personal pledge to provide a safe space free from discrimination and harassment.

Wordpress Hands On Classes - September 23, 2017
2017-09-23 08:30 - 17:00 | 8181 NW 36th Street Suite 21A, Doral, FL, 33166, United States
WordPress Hands On Classes – September 23, 2017
Due to Hurricane Irma, we are postponing WordPress from September 9th to September 23!
How to Create a Website Fast and Easy
WordPress Website Training
In this WordPress Website Training Course you will learn how to use one of the easiest, most popular and practical website building tools available.
WordPress is a simple yet powerful website building program that allows you to build and manage your own website with a small amount of training and effort.
In this day-long, instructor-led, hands-on, training workshop you will:
• Learn how to build a high quality, functional website in no time at all!
• Save time and money by building your own website and managing changes.
• Market your products and services on a professional website you build yourself!
You will be able to edit and modify your website yourself without depending on others, and without spending tons of time and money.
It’s EASY!, but there are important prerequisites:
1. If you know how to use a computer and are a fast learner.
2. Have some experience managing Microsoft Office Tools like Word, Power Point, and Excel.
3. Have your business ready, a clear idea of why you will like to have a website and what for.
4. You have your business logo and/or a clear idea of your business image.
Thanks to our 8-module, 1-day hands-on “WordPress Website Training” Course, you will learn and master how to build your own website.
• We cut the theoretical and complicated aspects of programming, and bring you an easy to use content management system that will help you accelerate the process.
• We will help you learn how to do it in a totally practical and simple way, step by step, directed by an expert.
REGISTER TODAY FOR THIS PRACTICAL PROGRAM at: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ee7e6ksd4e8f5f58&llr=niazh9cab
Cost: $197* (Registration Fee Includes a Complimentary WordPress Mastery
DVD Training Course Valued at $197)
Contact:
Carmen Lopez
Doral Chamber of Commerce, Inc. / New Media, New Marketing, Inc.
(305) 477-7600
Location:
Doral Chamber of Commerce Training Center
2900 NW 112th Ave
Doral, FL 33172

QuickBooks for Business - Español September 23
2017-09-23 08:00 - 17:00 | 8181 NW 36th Street Suite 21A, Doral, FL, 33166, United States
QuickBooks for Business – Español September 23
QUICKBOOKS in Spanish for Business Course
Seminar Presented by a Certified QuickBooks Instructor.
Our goal is to prepare you with the tools and understanding you need to take advantage of the power QuickBooks offers and get you competent in it’s use!
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Registration and Networking
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. – QuickBooks Course
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Lunch (On Your Own)
Course Fee: $147.00
Free Copy of “QuickBooks 2014: The Missing Manual” Book in PDF
Free RETAKE – Within 6 Months
Free QuickBooks Short Cuts Sheet
These are some of the topics covered in this workshop:
GENERAL: Upgrade vs Update, Navigating through QuickBooks: Home Screen / Menu Bars / Modules Navigaton, Cash vs Accrual method of accounting
QUICKBOOKS LISTS: Organize and Simplify, Same name not allowed by QuickBooks, Chart of Accounts, Items = Services and/or Products, Customers = Clients , Vendors = Suppliers and Contractors, Employees = Payroll, vs Contractors
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE & ACCOUNTS: PAYABLE: Create new Customer (Client), Create an Invoice, Receive Payment, Deposit Payment: Undeposited Funds account Create new Vendor (Supplier / Contractor), Enter a new Hill, Pay Bill
CHECKING ACCOUNTS & REPORTING: Open Register, Reconcile Bank account(s), Imperative for Business Decision Making, Preset Reports, Daily / Weekly Review of most common Reports
REGISTER AT:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ee7j9dli26332acc&llr=niazh9cab
Doral Chamber of Commerce
2900 NW 112th Ave
Doral, FL 33172

TADHack 2017 - Miami Fort Lauderdale
2017-09-23
The global hackathon for telephony application developers, TADHack, is coming up in September. For the second year, Miami/Fort Lauderdale will have its own local Hackathon location, although remote participation is also an option. Prizes and challenges are over $45k globally, and a minimum of $1k locally.
What to expect:
1. Sponsors provide access to their platforms and SDK to encourage new ideas and understanding of their capabilities. They will offer support and encouragement to participants via Slack to help you learn and realize your project.
2. You can come with a team or form one with other participants you meet at the event. You can work solo if you prefer.
3. The event is two days (Saturday and Sunday) but we’ll break overnight. Judges will meet at the end of the second day to pick the local winning hacks, and the TADHack global sponsors will review all projects to pick additional winners.
Why participate? Whether you are a developer, an enterprise, a vendor or a non-coder, TADHack is here to help you…• Get educated on the power of telecom app development – no coding skills necessary to attend!• Listen to expert speakers and share best practices• Create hacks (prototypes) using telecom technologies to solve local or global problems that matter to you• Meet the global community of telecom app innovators• Learn about the APIs, WebRTC, communications service platforms, cloud communications, decentralized / distributed web, and many other web- and IT-centric service platforms

Product Hunt Miami
2017-09-21 18:30 - 21:00 | 1951 NW 7th Ave, Miami, FL, 33136, United States
If you love cool new tech products and networking with the growing start up community in Miami, this event is for you!
Enjoy “Pitch and Sips” hosted at Venture Cafe Miami.
6:30-7:30 pm Connecting the Community and refreshments at Venture Cafe
7:30 pm Welcome and new product demos in the Amazon Room
8:30 pm More Connecting of the Community and refreshments
Refreshments will be provided, parking is free, or take Lyft using code MH20705
RSVP
Venture Cafe is our organization.
The Thursday Gathering @ Venture Café is a weekly place for the entrepreneurial, innovative, and creative communities of the Miami region. The objective of the Thursday Gathering is to connect people who are committed to helping entrepreneurs and innovators collide in a meaningful way. This gathering supports the Venture Café mission to connect communities of innovation, expand the definition of innovation and entrepreneurship, and build a more inclusive innovation economy.
To learn more about Venture Cafe click here.
To learn more about Product Hunt click here.
Know of a great product that should be at the next Pitch & Sips? Let us know!
Any questions send a text to 305-857-5913 or email info@chibur.info
FAQs
Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?
ALL ages are welcome at The Venture Café
What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?
Parking is free provided by Venture Cafe Miami.
Chibur encourages sustainable ridesharing services such as Lyft using code MH20705, or the Miami Free Trolley.
What can I bring into the event?
Bring yourself, a friend, your ideas. Feel free to read the Venture Cafe Community Credo for more information.
How can I contact the organizer with any questions?
Any questions send a text to 305-857-5913 or email info@chibur.info

Thursday Gathering @ Venture Cafe Miami
2017-09-21 16:00 - 21:00 | 1951 NW 7th Ave, Miami, FL, 33136, United States
Connect with hundreds of Miami’s amazing innovation and startup community every week. Gather to enjoy, engage and learn from each other at our free Thursday Gathering @ Venture Café.
The Venture Cafe Thursday Gathering serves as a physical nexus for helping innovators and entrepreneurs find one another and collaborate to bring their dreams to reality. Through connections and scheduled programming, Venture Cafe Miami is working to strengthen the growth of our innovation community. Please check our calendar for more information on weekly programs.
No need to RSVP, and parking is free!

Machine Learning Office Hours
2017-09-21 10:30 | 1010 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL, 33132, United States
David Crook will be on site to answer questions, provide technical guidance, debug code or even business assistance for all things intelligent services, data science and machine learning. Don’t even know what it is; thats ok, drop by to find out. Organizations to individuals are all welcome to take advantage of this free time.
David Crook is a Microsoft Technical Evangelist focused on Machine Learning, Data Science and Intelligent Applications. He is previously from Microsoft Consulting Services where he focused on development operations. To see more information about David, check out his blog: www.DaCrook.com

How to Ensure your Business is set for Growth September 20th
2017-09-20 09:00 - 11:00 | 8181 NW 36th Street Suite 21A, Doral, FL, 33166, United States
How to Ensure your Business is set for Growth
September 20th, 2017 | 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
You are focused on your day-to-day sales, collecting invoices, managing logistics and inventory, paying your vendors, etc., etc. We seldom have time to think whether we are on the right track for short and long term growth and how we will ensure business sustainability. This seminar is designed to give you a quick guide on the key elements you need to focus on to guarantee your product/service is relevant for your customers, how to determine you are playing in the right place with the right strategies to win and with the right configuration.
The topics included in the Seminar are:
Why are we in business?
Element 1 – Do we have the right product?
What is a value proposition?
How do we come up with a product that people need?
Element 2 – Where do I play?
What is a business strategy?
Choosing where to play:
Categories and Customer Segments
Distribution channels
Product Portfolio
Value chain selection
Element 3 – How to Win?
What is winning?
Strategies for winning
How often we need to change our winning strategy
Element 4 – How to Configure?
Understanding capabilities and systems
Gap analysis – from today to a desired state
How to improve our capability and system gaps
How should attend this seminar:
Business Owners
Future Entrepreneurs
Consultants
Functional Managers (Marketing, Finance, Sales)
College Students
Register Now! https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eeg8errp57227826&llr=niazh9cab
Speaker:
Rodolfo Artiles- Founder of Business Management Allied
As a founder and leader of the firm, Rodolfo advises clients and leads engagements on how to more effectively build businesses and how to improve their performances for sustainable and profitable growth. His areas of expertise are: General Management, Sales Management and Processes, Sales Capabilities, Market entries, Business turn-arounds and transformations, Brand integration after acquisition, Strategic Alliances and Organizational Management among others. Prior to founding BMA, Rodolfo spent 28 years working in multinational companies like Procter & Gamble, Clorox and Whirlpool across 48 different countries in USA, Latin America and Africa. Rodolfo received his BS from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and his MSc from Auburn University, AL, USA.
Contact
Rodolfo Artiles
Business Management Alliance
305-297-7240
rodolfo.artiles@businessallied.com
Where
Doral Chamber of Commerce Training Room
2900 NW 112th Ave
Doral, FL 33172

Waffle Wednesday
2017-09-20 09:00 - 10:30 | 120 Northwest 25th Street Loft 301, Miami, FL, 33172, United States
Waffle Wednesday is a local Miami community event hosted at the LiveNinja offices in Wynwood, Miami. Every Wednesday morning (except for the last Wednesday of the month – check out our Waffles After Work event) we cook up delicious waffles in our office and host local entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and more to mingle over breakfast and some brief presentations by our weekly featured guests. We are sponsored by the Knight Foundation, and are honored to be considered a staple in the Miami entrpreneurial and tech communities.
As always, we want this to be an open conversation! Bring your ideas, questions, and we will bring waffles, coffee, juices and fruits.

Visualization and Data Fusion for Cybersecurity by Rich Zuech
2017-09-19 19:00 - 20:30 | 315 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL, 33132, United States
As data scientists, sometimes we need to take a step away from pure number crunching and gain a better understanding through Visualization. For Cybersecurity, Multi Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF) can be employed to achieve superior Cyberspace Situational Awareness. With a new application, we’ll demonstrate how to virtualize, operationalize, and visualize Cyberspace. Essentially, we’re improving Cybersecurity through better Visualization.

More details about our project can be found here:
https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/researchers-render-cyberspace-in-3d-like-a-video-game-to-make-identifying-threats-easier
And here:
https://www.thecepblog.com/

Richard Zuech is a PhD candidate at Florida Atlantic University, focusing on Machine Learning and Cybersecurity.
https://www.richardzuech.com/
This new application is compliments of Tim Bass:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tim_Bass

Brainfood Speaker Series Featuring Pincho Factory
2017-09-19 18:30 - 21:30 | 400 Northwest 26th Street, Miami, FL, 33127, United States
(Speakers) Otto Othman and Nedal Ahmad
Otto Othman and Nedal Ahmad are the co-founders of Pincho Factory, an award winning and unique concept inspired by street food—Burgers + Kebabs elevated to a modern day experience here in Miami.
Otto Othman is an Interactive Creative Director, Serial Entrepreneur and CMO of Pincho Factory. With 15 years of interactive design experience and fluent in 4 languages, Otto has led multi disciplinary interactive teams on award winning campaigns for clients such as FIAT, Coca Cola, Chrysler and Sprint. Otto is the Co-founder of the award winning burgers and kebabs fast casual chain Pincho Factory in Miami. Leveraging its culture, social media and technology, Pincho Factory has won the hearts of many guests and has been successful at creating a very loyal following/cult in South Florida.
Having spent his childhood in the kitchen with the women in his family, Nedal Ahmad grew up with not only a passion to cook, but also to create. Chicago-born and Hialeah-raised, Ahmad worked in the restaurant business most of his young adult life and honed his talents for cooking from a very young age.
At a family barbecue in 2010, while making his family-famous burgers and taking turns with his cousin Otto Othman – who was grilling up some of his mother’s equally-famous meat and vegetable skewers, the duo cooked up more than just delicious food. Looking to make changes in their careers, Ahmad and Othman decided that these simple elements – burgers and kebabs – would make the perfect springboard for a successful fast casual chain. The dream was hatched: to open their own restaurant, serving delicious burgers and skewers of undeniable quality, made with the freshest ingredients.
With $6.27 left in his bank account and his friends and family by his side, Ahmad’s journey led to what is now one of South Florida’s most homegrown fast casual success stories. On the heels of its win of the 2015 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival Amstel Light People’s Choice Award, Pincho Factory is rapidly expanding its South Florida presence.
After winning the 2015 Food Network Burger bash, Pincho Factory has grown into 9 locations with 4 more in the works. The brand has ambitious goals to reach 500 locations nationwide in the future.
Twitter: @PinchoFactory
(Moderator) TBA
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Brainfood is a monthly, hands-on discussion with local entrepreneurs who share the secrets of their success. These monthly gatherings will help Miami startups and entrepreneurs understand the opportunities and challenges of launching and growing a business. Every participant will leave with a wealth of new ideas and key, practical advice to advancing one’s own entrepreneurial career. Brainfood is presented by Endeavor Miami and takes place at The LAB Miami in Wynwood, generally on the last Tuesday of each month.
#BrainfoodMIA #LABventures
@thelabmiami | @endeavorMIA | @knightfdn | @startupfiu

How to Grow your Business Using Social Media
2017-09-19 18:30 - 21:00 | 66 W. Flagler St. 9th Floor, Miami, FL, 33130, United States
Introducing a skill-boosting, hands-on workshop designed to show you how to leverage the power of social media and put it to work for your business. Know which network works best for your type of business, understand and recognize key metrics and use them to increase awareness and get more leads. Start looking at social media as an invaluable tool to enhance your business, position yourself as a trusted resource and ultimately increase your sales.
Adriana Serna will cover the following main points:
1. Be Strategic
Know your WHY
The Digital Trinity
Social Platform Optimization
Key Metrics
2. Be Social
Know your Audience
Build a Community
3. Be Consistent
Voice
Frequency
Content

Annual Demo Day Pitch Competition
2017-09-19 18:30 - 20:30 | 300 NE 2nd Ave., Miami, FL, 33132, United States
It’s that time of the year again!
Join us for Demo Day, our annual pitch competition showcasing the incredible talent and entrepreneurial endeavors of South Florida’s top startups. Best pitch, voted on by a panel of investors, receives a host of prizes to drive their business forward!
Agenda:
6:30pm – 7:15pm: Check-in, Meet the Founders & Networking (pizza and soft drinks provided)
7:15pm – 8:15pm: Startup Pitches and Judges Q&A
8:15pm – 8:30pm: Judges deliberate and winners announced!
Register below:
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How to find us:
The event will take place at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus’ Chapman Conference Center (Room 3210), located right in Downtown Miami. Below is a map to help you navigate:

A Big Thanks to Our Sponsors for Supporting #MiamiTech!

Photo/Video Disclaimer:
Refresh Miami will be taking digital photography and/or videography throughout the event. The photographs and/or video may be used across our platforms, including our website, email newsletters, social media channels, Youtube channel, media releases, and marketing materials. Refresh Miami does not intend to use these photographs/videos in any manner other than for the purposes stated above. By registering for this event, you grant permission for Refresh Miami to use your photograph/video in this manner.

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HOW TO RAISE SEED FUNDING IN MIAMI
2017-09-19 18:00 - 20:00 | 78 Southwest 7th Street, 5th Floor, Miami, 33130, United States
Hear local founders tell you how they actually did it! We’ve assembled a panel of Miami entrepreneurs who’ve recently raised seed rounds of between $100k and $1.5 million for their startups. This is a chance to hear straight from entrepreneurs about what worked for them, as well as what they would do differently next time.
Panelists:
Andrew Parker: Founder and CEO of Papa, $500k Seed Round
Gabriel Montoya: Co-Founder and CEO of Dvdendo, $1.5 million Seed Round
Alex Nucci: Co-Founder and CEO of Gramercy, Undisclosed Seed Round
Herwig Konings: Co-founder and CEO at InvestReady, $100k Seed Round
Salo Sterental: Co-founder of SoStereo Music Group, Undisclosed Seed Round
Moderated by Mike Lingle, Managing Partner of 10xU and serial entrepreneur.
About 10xU
10xU helps people become world-class entrepreneurs by providing the education, mindset, and tools to launch and grow exponential companies—based on our experience building over 40 tech startups. We support business leaders through mentoring, innovative thinking, and connecting them to entrepreneur and investor communities all over the world. For more information, please visit www.10xU.com.
FAQ
Q: Are we still doing this event?
Yes! We realize many people are just coming back after Irma, and we want to be here when you return. It’s important to us to support Miami in its quest for growth no matter what.
Q: Why should I spend my time at this event?
It’s worth it! Because you get to hear people’s actual stories about how they raised their seed round in Miami.
Q: What will I learn?
Everyone’s fundraising situation is unique! By hearing from a bunch of other people you’ll be able to better chart your own course forward.

Office Hours @ the MIC
2017-09-19 10:00 - 17:00 | 1010 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL, 33132, United States
Microsoft Technical evangelists will be available on site hosting office hours to help answer questions, provide technical guidance on your engineering projects. Need help getting setup with Azure or perhaps developing that tricky SQL query? Come down to the open office hours and be part of the learning community dedicated to helping solve each others problems and growing new skills.
