The state's most active venture capital firm has its sights set on South Florida.
Florida Funders is expanding to Miami and already made a new hire to lead the local office, the company announced March 17.
Maria Derchi Russo, executive director of tech and startup community Refresh Miami, joins Florida Funders as its new director of community. She will be responsible for building relationships with local founders, entrepreneurial support networks, investors and more in her new role. Christian Leon will join her as director of investor relations.
"I’m excited to join the Florida Funders team and help continue its mission of finding, funding and building the next generation of tech companies, right here in my hometown," Derchi Russo said. "To be able to provide founders both the funding and expertise that Florida Funders offers will make a huge impact on our growing ecosystem."
Before leading Refresh Miami, Derchi Russo held positions at Miami venture capital fund TheVentureCity and the University of Miami's entrepreneurship center The Launch Pad.
Florida Funders is still searching for a physical office space in Miami. VP of Investor Relations Saxon Baum and Chief Information Officer Ryan Whittemore will spend a portion of their time in the South Florida location.
Tampa-based Florida Funders focuses on early-stage technology companies and has invested in nine Miami-area startups in recent years, including HealthSnap, ClassWallet, Bambino and Lula. Baum previously told the Tampa Bay Business Journal with the firm's second fund, there will be a mix of Florida-based startups and out-of-state startups.
The company, a hybrid venture capital fund and angel investor network, was voted Pitchbook's top venture capital firm in the Southeast last year, beating out competitors in other regional tech hubs such as Raleigh, North Carolina and Atlanta.
The firm is actively seeking to grow its investor network and identify local startups that are ripe for funding. That feat that will be aided by Derchi Russo's presence on the Miami team, said managing partner Tom Wallace.
"Miami’s tech ecosystem is growing rapidly and we’re excited for [Derchi Russo] to welcome local entrepreneurs and startups as we continue to grow as the top VC firm in the state and the Southeast," he added.
