Three Enterprising Tales of Middle-Market Growth Inside the Sunshine State

How Marware Rediscovered its Mobile Mojo — and Returned to High Growth

Boca Raton, Fla. – Back in the late 1990s, Steve Jobs of Apple fame wasn’t very popular inside the offices of Marware, Inc. Shortly after his return to Apple, Jobs had lobbed the equivalent of a harpoon into Marware’s side when he killed off Apple’s Newton — a mobile messaging gadget that Marware had been outfitting with software as well as rubber encasements. Within an instant, it seemed that Marware became a cautionary tale among middle-market companies whose fortunes were perhaps too intricately linked to that of another firm. Nonetheless, the company kept its taste for mobile gadgets — and, thankfully, so did Apple. More.

For J. Milton, Building Small Blazed a Path to Big Growth

Miami, Fla. – It was roughly 10 years ago when Yosi Gil decided that it was time to respond to his global instincts — a sort of experience-enriched market intuition — that every Miami real estate developer must have if they’re not going to fall victim to the economy’s fits and starts.

As the executive vice president of sales for Miami-based developer J. Milton & Associates, Gil’s response would visually impact the Miami skyline, as he stubbornly rejected plans for 2,000-unit condominiums while preferring to steer his firm to smaller — but noticeably more stylish — 800-unit projects. More.

Houses of Information: For M1 Data, Four Million Daily Bits Feeds Appetite for Growth

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – When Greg Ashe is asked about the data aggregation business he cofounded with Andrew Marcus 6 years ago, he begins by assessing the middle-market firm’s current data supply pipeline.

“We probably take in 4 million bits of information on individuals on a daily basis, of which net unique pieces of information account for probably a quarter of a million to 300,000 per day,” explains Ashe, who says that the $10 million firm known as M1 Data & Analytics then simply funnels out its data to corporate clients of all shapes and sizes. More