Since its launch in 2023, Miami Tech Works has grown from a bold new initiative into a recognizable force behind South Florida’s tech talent pipeline.
And helping shape that brand? A local digital marketing agency that’s been with them every step of the way, since day one, witnessing and contributing to Miami Tech Works’ mission to transform the city into a global tech hub.
“At Lineout Media, I’ve worked with over 200 clients over the past 11 years, and I’ve never had a client like Miami Tech Works. It’s such an incredibly unique needle that we’re threading here,” said Zachary Pinder, founder and CEO of Lineout Media [pictured above]. “We’re not just selling a product. With Miami Tech Works, we’re trying to get emotional investment and buy-in from people in the community to ultimately invest in the resources around them.”
Backed by a $10 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Challenge, Miami Tech Works has built strong partnerships with startups, entrepreneurs, enterprises, educational institutions, and the broader tech community over the last two years.
And its ultimate mission: to bridge the gap between the needs of tech employers and South Florida’s emerging talent network.
“That’s what I think has been really unique about our work – we were able to take part in building the value prop of what Miami Tech Works is in the community, what role they play, their mission, and the ask of the community as a whole,” Pinder said.
From data gathering to brand development and digital marketing strategy, Lineout Media has helped shape the face of Miami Tech Works. Their work has supported the recruitment of more than 50 companies into the Miami Tech Talent Coalition, the completion of over 250 internships across South Florida, and the hiring of more than 300 local tech professionals.
And this story comes full circle. One of Lineout Media’s own account coordinators is a former BrainStation graduate and Miami Tech Works scholar – just another example of the talent Miami Tech Works wants to empower.
“I worked as an admin in real estate for over 10 years, and I found myself doing the marketing and design work in that atmosphere, which I really enjoyed. That’s when I started to explore UX design,” said Naomi Lioy, account coordinator at Lineout Media [pictured below]. “I was actually contacted by a friend in Miami Tech Works about the program at BrainStation, so I put my eggs in one basket, left work for three months, and did BrainStation’s UX Design program. It ended up being really good for me.”
Throughout the three months in BrainStation’s UX Design program, Lioy and her colleagues learned the fundamentals of UX design with programs like Figma, explored design processes, and implemented their ideas into real-world scenarios. She and her team also won their cohort’s hackathon competition, where they worked with Kaseya on building an operations dashboard.
For Lioy, she found that people participating in BrainStation already had full-time careers, but they wanted to branch out into different fields.
BrainStation allowed them to do that, giving students the confidence to try a new field, explore, build, and learn.
“Programs like BrainStation awaken a drive in people who are well into their careers. After doing the same thing for so many years, you feel stagnant,” Lioy said. “Sometimes, you might feel like you can’t go back to school or there’s no time for it when you reach a certain age. But programs like BrainStation and Miami Tech Works give you that boost to feel like you’re capable of reaching those goals.”
That boost helped Lioy find something fresh in a new industry she was interested in. At the same time, it helped Pinder experience the fruits of his labor with Miami Tech Works and South Florida’s talent.
“Hiring Naomi was a full-circle moment for us. We wanted to see what it looked like to hire someone from Miami Tech Works, and what we found was that we were getting much higher quality applications,” Pinder said. “Depending on the size of the business, the hiring process may look different. But with Miami Tech Works, we want to connect people and businesses together so that they understand the resources they have at their disposal. And when we looped in their resources, it yielded a much better result – we had a lot of really great candidates.”
But the work is not done. With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, startups, and the need for technical skills in well-known enterprises, we’re entering a new digital era. Tech talent is needed now more than ever, and our community is working hard to meet those needs.
“I think the work from Miami Tech Works and the Miami Tech Talent Coalition is definitely starting to show,” Pinder said. “There’s much more confidence about hiring local talent from Miami.” For employers: How to get involved in the Miami Tech Talent Coalition
Your involvement can make a significant difference in shaping the future of Miami’s tech industry, creating a vibrant and sustainable tech talent ecosystem. Together, participants can continue to build Miami as an innovative hub and a desirable destination for businesses and tech talent.
Join the Coalition
. Employers can also specify a work group they are interested in.
Attend a meeting: The next in-person general meeting will be in September and will be posted soon. Stay tuned.
Stay connected with the coalition’s progress and updates by signing up for their newsletter
, reviewing the website
, and following Miami Tech Works on
and
.
READ MORE ABOUT MIAMI TECH WORKS IN REFRESH MIAMI:
From server to SEO star: How this woman broke into tech with help from a local bootcamp Creative Hub
From FIU to a tech-filled future: How Bryan Garcia turned a dream into reality
And much more
.
Refresh Miami is a proud Miami Tech Works partner