CIC Miami is here! I sat down with Natalia Martinez-Kalinina (@soulafloat) to talk about all one of Miami’s newest centers of gravity, CIC Miami (@cicmiami). Natalia has a deep background in organizational psychology so we had an interesting chat around how she goes about building a team, what she looks for during interviews, and how she “tries out” candidates for a day before bringing them on full-time. We covered why CIC chose to expand in Miami, how she came onboard and why she has renewed faith in Miami’s potential after immersing herself in the ecosystem over the last year. We also talk about her side project, Love Lost Miami, a unique art exhibit that will take place during Art Basel and the lesson in entrepreneurship that we can take away from it. Natalia is a true “hustler” in Miami, making big things happen through her work in getting CIC Miami to where it is, but reminds us that the future is where the real work will need to be done. 2:30 - How she became involved in CIC Miami and why CIC chose Miami 7:30 - Advice to people thinking of taking on an entrepreneurial process 9:30 - What success would be for CIC Miami in a year 11:30 - Her side project Love Lost Miami, previewing some of the romantic and other stories of loss featured 14:00 - Lessons for entrepreneurs from Love Lost Miami 14:30 - Team building, what she looks for in hiring, and how she “tries out” candidates before hiring them 19:00 - How she helps people avoid burnout 20:20 - Other organizations in Miami that do a great job at team building 22:25 - Closing questions: best advice, book recommendations, only in Miami moments, what she’d do if new to Miami and had $500 to start a business Mentioned in this episode:
Awesome Foundation CIC Miami Venture Cafe Miami
The New Tropic Love Lost, Miami Ultimate Software Lulu’s Ice Cream Leading Teams Black Swan Theory