This post originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cynthia McCormick Hibbert.
MIAMI—Once the capital of pastel shirts, white shoes and retirees, Miami's drive to become the next hub of finance is attracting record investments and a growing population of venture capitalists like 2013 Northeastern graduate Julian Jung.
Jung, who moved to Miami six months ago after two years in Mexico, is currently a partner at Republic and co-founded its institutional division, Republic Capital, which manages over $800 million and has invested in more than 150 portfolio companies globally.
He works with accredited investors, family offices and institutional investors at Republic, providing them with access to private venture opportunities and fund-related products.
Republic's core business is building a platform that allows for non-accredited investors to invest in private venture opportunities, Jung says. The company also has multiple business lines, including an institutional division, an accredited investor only division, a crypto division, a broker dealer and a merchant bank.
“Republic is building the infrastructure to allow non-accredited investors to participate in private venture type opportunities—normally something that was only allowed for the wealthy and people with access,” Jung says.
He refers to the possibilities that are opening up as the democratization of venture capital and says it's the type of frontier he's been drawn to since he was a student at the D'Amore-McKim School of business concentrating in entrepreneurship.