Winning the South Florida Business Journal’s 2025 H. Wayne Huizenga Startup Award is more than an honor — it’s personal.
Not because it marks a milestone for Avenue Z (though it does), but because it represents a deeper alignment with a vision that’s guided me since day one: build with purpose, lead with integrity, and move like it matters. It’s the same blueprint Wayne Huizenga followed — and it’s the one we live by today.
Wayne didn’t just build businesses — he built movements. He scaled Waste Management, Republic Services, Extended Stay America, and AutoNation into cultural forces that changed how America moved, lived, and connected. His sports ventures — from the Miami Dolphins to the Florida Panthers — weren’t vanity plays. They were about community, energy, pride.
That kind of impact doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when leaders stop playing defense and start shaping the game.
That’s the spirit behind Avenue Z.
When I launched Avenue Z, the goal wasn’t to build another agency. It was to reshape how influence works in a world driven by algorithms, AI, and nonstop disruption. We set out to unify strategic communications, digital marketing and performance media under one roof, backed by data and built for speed. In just two years, we’ve grown to 100+ people, expanded nationwide, and launched a first-to-market AI Optimization Solution — something only a team with the right foundation could do.
What drives us is what drove Wayne: urgency, clarity, and conviction.
Wayne was never content to watch trends happen — he created them. He scaled hard, moved early, and stayed grounded. That mindset is still rare in business. But it’s what separates companies that grow from those that lead.
At Avenue Z, we’re not interested in short-term plays or safe bets. We’re here to build something bigger — and more durable. A company where influence is architected, not earned, or inflated. Where brands win with strategic communications across all channels (including AI) – and where speed meets substance.
The values that powered Wayne’s empire? They are the ones we hold tight.
Passion.
We show up early and stay late. Our people don’t just execute — they care. From media buying to strategic comms, we build for tomorrow. That same fire fueled me when I founded iCrossing in the early days of search. And it’s what drives me now — because when you pair passion with precision, momentum follows.
Integrity.
Wayne built from zero. No shortcuts. Just relentless grit and quiet generosity. That’s a model I respect deeply. At Avenue Z, trust is our currency — with clients, teammates, and the communities we serve. We don’t talk about integrity as a value. We treat it as a strategy.
Impact.
It’s the only thing that lasts. Wayne didn’t just scale companies — he reshaped industries. At Avenue Z, we’re doing the same in our domain: combining PR, media, AI, and marketing tech to give brands real-world leverage in a fragmented, noisy world.
This isn’t about headlines. It’s about building the infrastructure for the next era of influence — where brand equity is shaped by how AI systems index your relevance, how audiences respond to your story, and how culture moves around your message.
And we believe there’s no better place to do that than right here in South Florida.
The momentum in Miami is electric — bold, fast, unapologetically ambitious. That’s why we’ve planted deep roots here. Because this isn’t just a great place to live. It’s a launchpad for the future of business, technology, and creative leadership.
This award recognizes what we’ve built – but more importantly, it validates the way we’re building it.
It honors the movement, the opportunity – and the shared vision.
To our team: your hustle, heart, and integrity make this real.
To our clients: thank you for betting on something bold.
To South Florida: thank you for the community, the energy, the inspiration.
And to Wayne Huizenga: thank you for setting the bar. Your legacy is alive in the leaders you continue to inspire.
We’re proud to carry that mission forward.
And we’re just getting started.
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Read the full award coverage in the South Florida Business Journal.
