Amazon has a new Second Headquarters!
While I was disappointed that South Florida was not chosen, I found myself thinking it was probably for the best. Seeing how far our startup/tech community has come over the last several years, I would hate for all that focus to shift towards an Amazon based community.
Of course, I understand that wherever Amazon goes to top tech talent will follow, jobs will increase, the local markets could do improve and much more. All good things, don’t get me wrong, but I am looking for long-term growth in the South Florida community, not a full takeover. Looking at some of the past articles showing how Amazon has shaped Seattle into their town is the last thing I want for South Florida.
If you observe the tech areas in South Florida you will see that the Miami companies differ from Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach companies by the target industries, ex. financial, consumer, product and so on.
South Florida already has many tech companies growing in South Miami, with several well-known companies carrying locations, such as Facebook and Twitter. Other top growing companies include Rokk3r Labs, Premonition and more.
Some Fort Lauderdale companies are Ultimate Software, Microsoft, Magic Leap, Collective Ventures, while also pulling in some Venture Capital firms.
So all this growth and Amazon moves to New York and Virginia, so be it. It sounds like they wanted three headquarters, not two. I am curious to see how this move will play out over the next two years as they predict 2020 to be operational.
Time will tell!