In realm of innovation, Florida ’gets there first‘

There’s a 50 or so mile stretch of California coast where a staggering amount of the western world’s innovations are born.

From San Francisco to Palo Alto, Mountain View and Cupertino, entrepreneurs with big ideas flock there for two reasons: proximity to a highly specialized workforce and access to an embarrassing amount of the most risk-tolerant capital in the world.

Out of this environment, good concepts give birth to billion-dollar companies, seemingly overnight. But as idyllic a spot as Northern California is for a startup to be born, it is likely the most hostile place in America for a disruptive idea to come of age — and that’s where Florida enters this story.

Its long been said that wherever America goes, if Florida isn’t there yet, it will get there first.

This aphorism, usually a reference to evolving demographics, multilingual communities and global connectivity down to the municipal level, has taken on a new meaning in recent years.

Florida is increasingly looked to by industry disrupters as a market ready to embrace innovation.

Continuing to embrace this role will be essential to carving out Florida’s place in the new global economy as the Sunshine State is poised to make its claim as the tourism (and innovation) capitol of the world.

Example 1A: Home sharing.

Airbnb, the mega-unicorn hospitality company that gives people the ability to plug their biggest asset, their homes, into the global tourism industry, injected nearly half a billion dollars directly into our state’s economy in 2017. The company reported that its hosts, everyday Floridians, earned $450 million last year while also remitting $45 million in taxes.

Meanwhile, back in Airbnb’s hometown and birthplace of San Francisco, the company is slogging through a well-documented fight with regulators and hoteliers who in some cases are seeking to ban the activity outright.

If you know any millennials, you’ll know how ridiculous a position this is.

Home sharing platforms like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway aren’t going anywhere, and if Florida is going to continue to be a dominate force in tourism deep into this century, a big reason is going to be because it leans into home sharing. Why not start early and set an example for the rest of the world to follow?

Elon Musk’s fully electric Tesla Model S is the most innovative automobile since the Model T, and that’s just the start. Their sales model is innovative and perhaps most importantly of all, their approach to curbing global climate change is innovative: produce a product so cool, the positive effects on sea level rise are an afterthought to everyone outside of Miami Beach.

While some states are banning the sales of Tesla (which, like Airbnb, is represented in Florida by the lobbying firm — Southern Strategy Group — that seems to specialize in representing disruptive clients), the first new publicly traded U.S. automaker in over 60 years, Florida is full steam — or, full charge — ahead. And why wouldn’t we be? Does anything fit the Florida brand better than a cool ride you can feel good about taking down A1A?

One of Musk’s other concerns, SpaceX, is the odds-on favorite to send the first humans to Mars. The company is targeting a launch date sometime in the 2020s when the next great explorers will takeoff from right here in Florida for an adventure which will surely enthrall humanity for generations to come.

Elon for Governor, anyone?

Florida looked prescient back in 2012 when through the leadership of then-Rep. Jeff Brandes, the state passed one of the nation’s first autonomous vehicle testing bills. At the time, AV’s seemed like technology for a distant future, now, barely half a decade later, the entire country is scrambling to get the technology first.

While California is placing more and regulations on AV operations, Florida would be smart to continue to lead in this space.

The undisputed industry leader, Waymo, recently hired lobbyists in Florida, signaling a potential interest in the state.

AV is widely regarded as the next massive shift that will change the way we live our lives, and the title of AV innovation center of the world is still up for grabs. If Florida can wrangle that flag away from California, it’s hard to overstate the long-term impacts it will have on our economy.

For an excellent example of a local government embracing innovation, you don’t have to look any further than my hometown of St. Pete.

The city entirely re-imagined permitting and compliance by bringing in tech company OpenCounter to automate and streamline those processes. The result is potential entrepreneurs can get businesses off the ground faster.

It’s innovation to promote innovation; as a local business owner, I love it.

State agencies and local governments throughout the state should look for similar solutions that the private sector embraces. Companies like Salesforce and Slack come to mind.

There’s a reason the biggest companies in the world embrace cutting-edge enterprise software and for Florida, doing so could increase efficiency, improve the interaction with citizens, and make the public-sector work environment much more competitive.

There is a lot of reason to be hopeful that Florida will continue on this current trend of embracing innovation. Incoming presiding officers, Senate President Bill Galvano and House Speaker Jose Oliva are both champions of innovation and are expected to let industry disrupters prove their mettle in the free market.

State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced his office would look to become the national leader among the states in cryptocurrency regulation.

These are exciting times to be alive, the world is changing faster than ever, and it seems like us lucky folks in Florida are going to have a front-row seat.

In fact, it might not be long until Florida is known as the innovation (and tourism) capitol of the world.