DUSTIN POH


Endeavor selected 12 entrepreneurs leading seven companies at the tenth — and final — Virtual International Selection Panel (VISP) of 2020, held December 9-11. Endeavor selected new entrepreneurs leading 68 companies in 2020, and now supports 2,121 entrepreneurs leading 1,326 companies in 37 markets around the world (read more about the newly selected entrepreneurs below).

The Virtual ISP was presented by General Atlantic, with additional support from AXA, Bain, Cooley, EY, HSBC, Silicon Valley Bank, and Zoom.

The ISP is the culmination of a rigorous multi-step selection process to identify high-impact entrepreneurs who demonstrate the potential to leverage Endeavor’s resources and mentorship to create large-scale wealth and jobs, and are committed to reinvesting their time and money in their local entrepreneurship ecosystems to help others take off.

During the tenth VISP panelists utilized Zoom breakout rooms to interview a small group of high-caliber entrepreneur candidates leading four companies about their businesses. In “deliberation rooms” — private Zoom meetings with only Endeavor staff and panelists — panelists evaluated the entrepreneurs on their potential for high-impact growth, discussed which candidates should be selected to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs, then voted unanimously to select the newest Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

Panelists at the ISP included: Brian Brackeen, Managing Partner, Lightship Capital (Endeavor Entrepreneur; Endeavor Louisville Board Member); Diego Piacentini, Sr. Advisor, KKR (Endeavor Italy Board Member; Endeavor Ambassador); Elise Mitchell, Founder & Chairman, Mitchell Communications (Endeavor Northwest Arkansas Board Chairwoman); Elly Keinan, Managing Director, Vista Estrella Consulting; Gary Swart, Partner, Polaris Partners; Geoffrey Godding, EY Digital and Innovation Leader, Entrepreneur, Executive Coach, Author; Luis Arbulú, Partner, Salkantay (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Lynda Applegate, Professor, Harvard Business School; Rob Reid, CEO, RipCam Media; Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer, Safaricom (Endeavor Kenya Board Member); Steve Kessel, Fmr. Senior Vice President, Amazon.com; and Ziad Oueslati, Executive Founding Partner, AfricInvest.

As part of Endeavor’s network, the newly selected entrepreneurs will gain access to comprehensive, strategic, global support services, including introductions to local and international business mentors, investors, and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms who will help them address key needs.

Endeavor Entrepreneurs have had a significant track record of impact. Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created 4.1M+ jobs, generated $26.8 billion in revenues in 2019, and help build sustainable growth models in their home countries.

 

Learn more about the companies selected below:

 

BRAZIL

Entrepreneur: Henrique Dubugras
Company: BREX
Description: BREX is a financial technology company that is reimagining financial systems so growing businesses can realize their full potential. By rebuilding the entire technology stack for credit card issuing, storing and transferring money, Brex has designed financial software that avoids previously painful banking problems. Brex has created products for fast moving companies that are intuitive, well designed, and have more powerful functionality than anything on the market. At its core, Brex exists to empower every growing company to dream bigger. Having started as part of the Y Combinator accelerator program in 2017, the team has grown to over 400 people. Based in San Francisco, Brex has raised over $430 million in venture capital, with support from Kleiner Perkins Growth, YC Continuity Fund, Greenoaks Capital, Ribbit Capital, IVP, DST Global, as well as fintech insiders like Peter Thiel and Max Levchin. As of writing Brex is worth $3 billion.

Entrepreneurs: Mariana Dias, Bruna Guimarães, Guilherme Dias, & Robson Ventura
Company: Gupy
Description: Gupy is an award-winning, fast-growing employability platform, leading HR’s digital transformation in Brazil. The company offers end-to-end recruitment, selection, and hiring compliance services within a single platform, leveraging artificial intelligence to match candidates with open positions with greater speed and precision. Its proprietary technology hosts the largest library of 5B+ Portuguese sentences and phrases, enabling Gupy to process 2M resumes in one second and reduce the time to close positions by 50%. Since 2019, Gupy has experienced 2.5x recurring revenue growth and 4x new vacancy listings at a  <1% logo churn. Gupy has 720+ clients, 32M positions and 13M+ candidates. In 2020, the company raised $6.8M Series A-1 and launched its second product, Gupy Admission.

 

BULGARIA

Entrepreneurs: Plamen Tsekov & Viktor Bilyanski
Company: ScaleFocus
Description: Scalefocus provides a full range of IT consultancy and software development services to 300+ clients with services from analysis, design, and prototyping to development, deployment, and post-release maintenance. It’s team of 600+ engineers  leverage a variety of technologies to help its clients innovate, transform, and accelerate growth and innovation. Founded in 2012 and operating in the $2.6T Information Technology market,  Plamen and Viktor have profitably bootstrapped growth to revenues of $30M+ and secured a list of clients that includes Coca Cola, Experian, Shutterfly, and IBM.

 

IRELAND

Entrepreneur: Brendan Noud
Company: LearnUpon
Description: Over 40% of global Fortune 500 companies use some form of educational technology to speed up the onboarding process of their customers, partners, and employees, and this number is expected to significantly increase amidst the current pandemic. LearnUpon is an award-winning Learning Management System (LMS) that is disrupting the LMS space by providing a multi-tenant, user-focused, intuitive solution that coordinates and streamlines training delivery for multiple, separate audiences. The company is founded on more than 25 years of eLearning experience and aims to be the LMS of choice for the world’s most innovative companies. After a recent $56M Series A and with 1100 mid-size and enterprise clients, LearnUpon is poised to become a market leader in the rapidly growing $13.4B LMS market.

 

ITALY

Entrepreneur: Dr. Luca Ravagnan
Company: WISE
Description: WISE is stretching innovation. Patients suffering from neurological pathologies from chronic pain to epilepsy often need electro-stimulation (for chronic pain treatment) and/or electro-monitoring (used intraoperatively during brain surgery). Such monitoring or stimulation is implemented through the application of neuro-leads or electrodes on the brain or spine. Today, neuro-leads available on the market are made with traditional electrical wires. WISE is a biomedical company producing electrodes for neuromodulation and neuromonitoring using a proprietary technology that enables inserting electronic microcircuits into biocompatible rubber (e.g. silicone). WISE developed the first stretchable, soft, and minimally invasive electrodes in the market and is on its way to commercialization and its mission to transform the neuro-electrode industry and its adjacencies. 

 

LOUISVILLE

Entrepreneur: Ankur Gopal
Company: Interapt
Description: Interapt is a proven provider of information technology solutions and services, including mobile and web application development, robotic process automation, cloud engineering, data science, and IT support services. With its contract-to-hire model, Interapt is addressing the talent gap in technology by training the next generation of IT talent and developers, while providing enterprise clients with efficient technology solutions. By partnering with General Assembly, Interapt has built one of the first successful large-scale IT apprenticeship and training program the US, and is able to secure projects to deploy newly-trained apprentices with Fortune 500 customers like Humana, EY, and more

 

THE PHILIPPINES

Entrepreneurs: Roland Ros & Rexy Dorado
Company: Kumu
Kumu: Kumu is a Filipino social platform designed to offer live streams and mobile content.  The company’s platform, currently the fastest growing social app in the country, amplifies creativity, storytelling, community, and commerce while creating a safe space for user-driven and partner content. With more than 7M+ registered users, 1.5M+ MAUs,  and Top-10 App-store rankings in multiple markets, Kumu is building kumunities for Pinoy culture to thrive and connect worldwide.

Featured Stories


Deciphering Latam VC: Deep dive into the workings of the Venture Capital ecosystem in LatAm
Deciphering Latam VC: Deep dive into the workings of the Venture Capital ecosystem in LatAm
ENDEAVOR

Endeavor launches its 41st office in Poland, providing a global support system for high-growth Polish founders
Endeavor launches its 41st office in Poland, providing a global support system for high-growth Polish founders
ENDEAVOR

Endeavor Catalyst raises over $290 Million, backed by over 100+ high-impact entrepreneurs
Endeavor Catalyst raises over $290 Million, backed by over 100+ high-impact entrepreneurs
ENDEAVOR CATALYST

The Inflection Point: Africa’s Digital Economy is Poised to Take Off
The Inflection Point: Africa’s Digital Economy is Poised to Take Off
ENDEAVOR

Endeavor launches its 40th office in Pakistan, providing a global support system for high-growth Pakistani founders
Endeavor launches its 40th office in Pakistan, providing a global support system for high-growth Pakistani founders
LAIS GRILLETTI
blog-placeholder

Related Articles


Deciphering Latam VC: Deep dive into the workings of the Venture Capital ecosystem in LatAm
Deciphering Latam VC: Deep dive into the workings of the Venture Capital ecosystem in LatAm
Endeavor launches its 41st office in Poland, providing a global support system for high-growth Polish founders
Endeavor launches its 41st office in Poland, providing a global support system for high-growth Polish founders
Endeavor Catalyst raises over $290 Million, backed by over 100+ high-impact entrepreneurs
Endeavor Catalyst raises over $290 Million, backed by over 100+ high-impact entrepreneurs
The Inflection Point: Africa’s Digital Economy is Poised to Take Off
The Inflection Point: Africa’s Digital Economy is Poised to Take Off