In this guide, we will discuss Florida’s Growing tech scene. Florida is a state with a varied reputation. In popular culture, it’s often depicted as a sunny escape for layabout beach-goers, a summer camp for elderly “snowbirds” from colder states, or a down-home wetland for country folk. None of those reputations (relaxed, old, rustic) really mesh well with the concept of a tech-forward destination. Yet, if there’s one other reputation Florida holds, it’s this: expect the unexpected.

The Sunshine State has recently burgeoned as a tech state to rival the traditional powerhouses in California, New York, and Texas. Its startup scenes in Miami and Tampa are incredibly strong, and big multinationals are taking note too.

As the research analysts at Zippia report, Florida sits right behind New York in net tech employment. And the state’s pace isn’t slowing, showing strong signs of growth in 2023. What’s driving Florida’s recent tech boom? Why now?

This article explains Florida’s growing tech scene by exploring key factors, snowballing interest, and examples of how Florida tech interacts with other local sectors.

Key Factors Behind Florida’s Growing Tech Scene Boom

Let’s start with a zoomed-out explanation of Florida’s growing tech scene boom. In many ways, Florida’s inherent characteristics give it a leg up over other states and provinces. Here are a few features that have helped propel growth in the Sunshine State:

• Population: Tech penetration often follows population demographics (see: California and New York). It’s no surprise, then, that the US’s third-largest state by population would attract the interest of tech innovators.
• Geography and Climate: Relative to the winter chill of New York or Pennsylvania, Florida’s weather is inviting. That might seem like an inconsequential detail, but companies consider climate and proximity as significant talent attractors.
• Comparative Cost of Living: Compared to NorCal and New York City, the cost of living in Florida is low. This helps attract talent and encourages startups (famously strapped for cash) to take root.

Those are the inherently present driving factors of tech growth. Now, let’s turn our attention to snowballing interest and cross-sector activity.

Responding to the Real World

A less simplistic exploration of Florida’s tech boom involves parsing how the state’s tech companies interact with other key sectors. How do tech companies respond to – and provide solutions for – other local Floridian industries?

The best example here is real estate. Florida real estate is hot, owing to the state’s sizable in-migration and attractive coastline. The industry’s practitioners and consumers need tech-related solutions to facilitate quick and convenient sales. So, real estate tech companies have emerged to meet those needs.

Nobul, a real estate digital marketplace aimed at helping consumers find the right agent, recently launched in Florida with great success. “Florida is a wonderful and diverse market with a mix of consumers, agents, and needs,” CEO Regan McGee told Newswire.

The Snowball Effect: Big Companies and Scrappy Startups

According to the New York Post, Florida added more tech companies last year than any other state that gives it a growing tech scene than other state. In part, this demonstrates a phenomenon we’ve seen elsewhere in tech-forward cities: the snowball effect. Once some startups move into a new city or state (for the reasons mentioned above), others follow. Eventually, the scene reaches the critical mass required to be a) self-sustaining and b) self-iterative.

The same thing happened in Silicon Valley. When scrappy startups become firmly established, eventually, portions of their talent will break away to form new companies, creating a new kind of snowball effect. Therefore, an easy (if paradoxical) answer for why Florida tech is booming is “because it’s booming.”

Thanks to a mixture of inherent characteristics, agile relations with other sectors, and snowballing momentum, Florida’s growing tech scene is poised to grow even bigger in the coming years. Soon, popular culture might have to rethink Florida’s reputation. Hopefully, you enjoy reading this guide on Florida’s growing tech scene.