More than a decade ago, Joe Russo spotted two burglars outside his family home and ran after them into the dark. He did not catch them, but the episode stayed with him. The house was in a gated community and the alarm was set. Nearly every precaution had been taken, yet more than 20 homes and cars on the street were hit in one fell swoop.
Russo has spent much of the time since then trying to make South Florida’s technology community safer, stronger and more connected, though usually in a civic sense. He founded the Palm Beach Tech Association, which later became South Florida Tech Hub, and helped form the relationships that now underpin his latest chapter.
“The first couple of people that I spoke to were just because of my connections helping build the ecosystem,” Russo told Refresh Miami. “Those connections and that network have kind of led all to this.”
That includes Midnight, a home-security startup Russo founded in January. The concept joins his burglary experience with his recent work leading an AI product team for 911 technology company RapidSOS. There, he saw how alarm companies still call emergency centers by phone, and how false alerts consume dispatchers’ time.
Midnight aims to verify threats and send useful information to emergency services faster. Russo’s cofounders and advisers include people tied to Palm Beach Tech, ADT, Google Home, Citizen and Motorola. The team completed early stage VC Antler’s New York residency and has been validating prototypes while considering crowdfunding and outside investment.
Still, Russo’s new company is one part of a wider question: Can West Palm Beach turn its recent surge of money, people and construction into a working tech economy?
He saw solid raw material. ADT, Carrier and Kidde give a home-safety company nearby industry talent. FAU is putting more focus on engineering, Palm Beach State College is backing quantum training, and Vanderbilt’s planned graduate campus could add another major institution. Last week, Andreessen Horowitz announced it will make West Palm Beach a regional hub for its American Dynamism practice. Remote work has also let experienced people live in Florida while working for large technology firms elsewhere.
Yet new buildings and transplanted investors do not create a tech hub on their own. Palm Beach County’s spread-out layout can leave companies isolated, unlike Miami’s denser districts. Russo said the region needs stronger links among founders, universities, investors and public agencies, plus clearer paths to major funding.
“It’s not just about the people. It’s about the infrastructure,” he said. “How are you creating these institutions, either it be venture capital or ecosystem building, that actually help together these resources?”
Russo remains bullish because many of the needed people are already here. He has met recent arrivals from New York, is organizing founder-investor dinners and believes South Florida can hire strong early teams without copying Silicon Valley’s work culture.
His own path offers a practical measure of the local hype. Years after Russo helped assemble Palm Beach’s tech community, he is drawing on it to build locally again. The cranes may change West Palm Beach’s skyline, but the ties between people will decide what lasts after they leave.
Pictured above: Midnight co-founders, from left to right: Gabriel Goldstein, Joe Russo, Andy Schultz, and Max Fraser.
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
- a16z plants American Dynamism base in West Palm Beach
- AI security startup Penti thinks vibe coding needs a bodyguard
- Latitudes wants to make West Palm Beach a company-building engine for the New York–South Florida tech corridor
- Palm Beach County is turning inbound talent, AI trust, and institutional growth into a serious innovation ecosystem
- National Security Demo Day a salute to the power of tech and innovation
- AI broke the security model. Pillar wants to fix it.
- West Palm Beach-based Emergency App is equipping us with the digital tools necessary to weather disasters
- Joe Russo helped build Palm Beach Tech. Now he’s building from it. – September 14, 2026
- Koywe’s answer to slow international payments started with a lifelong friendship – September 9, 2026
- Split Pay raises $125M to give your paycheck better timing – September 9, 2026
