Endeavor, the world’s leading community of high-impact entrepreneurs, is pleased to announce the launch of Endeavor Canada, with the office based out of Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global organization with a mission to unlock the transformational power of entrepreneurship by selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders. Today, Endeavor’s network spans nearly 40 countries and supports more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, whose companies generate combined revenues of over $26 billion US, have created more than 4 million jobs, and, in 2019, raised over $3.6 billion US in capital.

“For more than 20 years, Endeavor has provided entrepreneurs with a community and platform to dream big, scale up, and pay it forward. With access to Endeavor’s global network, the Endeavor Catalyst co-investment fund, and support from a strong founding board, we’re confident Endeavor Canada will have a meaningful impact on Canada’s most innovative entrepreneurs and the country at large,” said Endeavor Co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg.

Endeavor Canada will identify founders with the greatest potential to participate in the organization’s renowned international selection process. Once selected, Endeavor Entrepreneurs benefit from a global network, peer-to-peer community, and open-door access to talent, markets, and capital.

In addition to tailored support, Endeavor also invests in Endeavor Entrepreneurs through its rules-based co-investment fund, Endeavor Catalyst, which has hundreds of millions of dollars under management, and provides avenues for them to invest in, mentor, and inspire others. Successful high-impact entrepreneurs not only create jobs but by paying it forward, generate a multiplier effect, paving the way for future generations of founders.

The mission of our firm is to connect opportunities with talent, capital, and networks in order to build market defining companies,” said Paul Desmarais III, Chairman and CEO of Sagard Holdings, Founding Board Member of Endeavor Canada. “Endeavor is an organization that is perfectly aligned with these objectives. I am proud to be on the founding board of Endeavor Canada and am excited to help build Canadian champions that will create prosperity for our communities.”

Leveraging support from Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund, Western Economic Diversification Canada, and the founding board of directors, Endeavor Canada will provide avenues for founders to dream big, scale up and pay it forward.

Endeavor brings a unique element to the investment community in Calgary, and the fact they selected Calgary to be its Canadian headquarters speaks to the opportunities on the horizon here,” said Mark Blackwell, Chair of the Board of Directors, Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund. “We expect a high degree of indirect economic impact from Endeavor’s presence due to the potential to scale businesses and its track record of working with local companies to accelerate entrepreneurial ecosystems in cities like Miami, Detroit and Atlanta.”

Endeavor Canada has also announced its National Board of Directors:

• Susan Anderson, Co-founder, Digital Commerce Bank & DC Payments (Board Chair)
• Brad Zumwalt, Partner, Zinc Ventures
• Chen Fong, Co-founder, Pureweb Inc.
• Chris Huskilson, Former CEO, Emera Inc.
• Jim Estill, President and CEO, Danby Appliances
• Joanna Harries, SVP of Global Expansion, Endeavor
• Lindsay Machan, Co-founder, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals
• Paul Desmarais III, Chairman and CEO, Sagard
• Paul Parisi, Head of Canada, Silicon Valley Bank

“Canada does not have a startup problem but rather a global scale up challenge. Endeavor has an amazing network and track record of helping high-impact entrepreneurs scale their enterprises which in turn will benefit the Canadian tech ecosystem and contribute to our long-term economic growth. I am excited that Endeavor has chosen Calgary as its headquarters in Canada and look forward to helping founders grow and scale their companies,” said Susan Anderson, CEO of Cannonball Capital, Inc., and Board Chair of Endeavor Canada.

The Endeavor Canada entrepreneur selection process will begin in May 2021.

Media Contact:
Randy Fox
Account Manager, NKPR
Email: Randy@nkpr.net

Endeavor selected 14 entrepreneurs leading six companies at the Thirteenth Virtual International Selection Panel (vISP) held March 21-23, 2021. Endeavor now supports 2,155 entrepreneurs leading 1,344 companies in nearly 40 markets around the world (read more about the newly selected entrepreneurs below).

The vISP 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 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: Alexandros Chatzieleftheriou, Co-Founder & CEO, Blueground (Endeavor Entrepreneur);  Dan Caruso, Managing Partner, Caruso Ventures (Endeavor Colorado Board Chairman); Firat İşbecer, CEO, Commencis (Endeavor Entrepreneur; Endeavor Turkey Board Member); Harun Hajadi, Managing Director, Ciputra Group (Endeavor Indonesia Board Member); Husodo Angkosubroto, Chairman, Gunung Sewu Kencana (Endeavor Indonesia Board Member); Javier Olivan, Vice President of Central Products, Facebook (Endeavor Global Board Member); Kyle Porter, Founder & CEO, SalesLoft (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Markus Bihler, Co-founder & CEO, Builders Union (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Paul Desmarais III, Chairman and CEO, Sagard (Endeavor Canada Board Member); Richard Harris, Founder & CEO, Black Crow AI; Roshini Bakshi, Managing Director, Everstone Capital Advisors (Endeavor Ambassador); and Shailesh Rao, Advisor/Investor, Venture Highway and BigSpring.

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 4.1 million 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:

ATLANTA

Entrepreneur: Kabir Barday
Company: OneTrust
Description: OneTrust is the #1 fastest-growing company on Inc. 500 and the category-defining enterprise platform to operationalize trust. More than 8,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, use OneTrust to make trust a competitive differentiator, implementing central agile workflows across privacy, security, data governance, GRC, third-party risk, ethics and compliance, and ESG programs. In December 2020, OneTrust raised a $300 million Series C funding from TCV, Insight Partners, and Coatue, bringing total funds raised to $710 million at a $5.1 billion valuation. OneTrust’s fast-growing team of 1,500 employees is co-headquartered in Atlanta and London with additional offices in Bangalore, Melbourne, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, São Paulo, Munich, Paris, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.

BRAZIL

Entrepreneurs: Adhemar Milani & Joao Costa
Company: Kovi
Description: Founded in 2018, Kovi is an online car rental platform headquartered in Sao Paolo, Brazil, built for ride-hailing drivers. With less than half the population in Latin America owning a car Kovi, partners with automakers and small rental companies to lease transportation out to drivers unable to afford to outright own or lease a car. With over $40M raised from VCs including Monashees, Quona Capital, and ONEVC, and more than 9,000 vehicles on its platform, Kovi is democratizing access to the gig economy in an affordable way for thousands of ride-hailing drivers on its platform. 

COLOMBIA

Entrepreneurs: Jerónimo Uribe, Rodrigo Sanchez, & Santiago García
Company: La Haus
Description: La Haus is transforming the status-quo in the real estate industry with its end-to-end residential marketplace, optimizing the home sale process from listing to closing of a property using data analytics and advanced technologies to provide the best customer satisfaction. La Haus selects listings with a semi-automated curation and valuation process, enabling users to be automatically qualified making for a seamless experience. With 4K+ completed transactions to date, and $58M raised from top investors such as Kaszek and Greenspring Associates, La Haus has operations in Bogotá, Medellin, and Mexico City, and is on track to become a dominant player in the prop-tech industry in Latin America.

INDONESIA

Entrepreneurs: Tiger Fang
Company: Kargo
Description: Kargo is a digital freight logistics marketplace that serves the entire Indonesian archipelago. The fragmented and inefficient logistics market in the country amounts to 25% of annual GDP ($250B). Kargo’s platform leverages technology to bring efficiency, transparency, and accountability for shippers and transporters. With 70% MoM platform growth, a new working capital financing service layer, and nearly $40M raised to date, the company aims to become the largest full-stack logistics platform in the region and transform the way goods are moved in Southeast Asia.

ITALY

Entrepreneurs: Giorgio Tinacci, Francesco Maria Fama, Giuseppe Caputo, & Francesco Dominidiato
Company: Casavo
Description: Casavo is a PropTech startup operating in the real estate sector that developed an innovative and unique business model: a technological platform (Instant Buyer) that submits direct offers to buy homes, and, after renovation, finds the final buyers. Founded in Milan in 2017 by Giorgio Tinacci, Casavo has the mission to change the way people sell, live and buy homes in Europe. The company has handled more than 1100 real estate transactions to date for a total value in excess of €300 million. With a team of 200 people, Casavo is currently operating in Milan, Rome, Turin, Florence, Bologna, Verona, and Madrid. To date, Casavo has raised €385M in capital between equity and debt, becoming one of the most funded startups in the history of Italy. With its core being the Instant Buyer service, Casavo is further expanding its marketplace product offer to cover all the needs of sellers, buyers and brokers.

VIETNAM

Entrepreneurs: Thuc Vu, Jared Go, & Tra Vu
Company: OhmniLabs
Description: OhmniLabs is a Vietnam and Silicon Valley-based robotics company focused on providing modular robotics solutions for businesses. OhmniLabs’ library of tech modules, cloud AI, robotics services, and proprietary ultra-lean development & manufacturing processes allow it to innovate at an unmatched speed, cost, and margin compared to other robotics companies, delivering robotics solutions in a quarter of the time at 1/10th the cost. With over 400 clients in verticals including healthcare, education, and manufacturing, and thousands of robots in operation, Ohmnilabs aims to democratize access to robotic technologies for the benefit of businesses and consumers around the world.

Endeavor selected ten entrepreneurs leading six companies at the Twelfth Virtual International Selection Panel (vISP) held February 22-24, 2021. Endeavor now supports 2,141 entrepreneurs leading 1,338 companies in nearly 40 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 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: Bob Lord, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Ecosystems and Blockchain, IBM; Bruce Hack, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, BLH Venture; Chris Zook, Former Partner, Bain & Company; Drew McElroy, Co-Founder & Chairman, Transfix; Elaine Coughlan, Managing Co-Founder and Partner, Atlantic Bridge (Endeavor Ireland Board Member), Ernest Bachrach, Former Managing Partner, Advent International (Co-Chair of Endeavor Miami Board); Mike Fries, Chief Executive Officer & Vice Chairman, Liberty Global (Endeavor Colorado Board Member); Rob Reid, CEO, RipCam Media; Serio Furio, Founder & CEO, Creditas (Endeavor Entrepreneur; Endeavor Brazil Board Member); Steve Frazier, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Co., Fmr. VP, Amazon; Steven Mail, Founder & Managing Partner, Mail Capital; and Vu Lam, Chief Executive Officer, KMS Technology (Endeavor Vietnam Board Member).

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 4.1 million 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

Entrepreneurs: Alber Guedes & Maurício Schneider
Company: Solubio
Description: Agriculture pesticides are not just bad for the environment, but also expensive as a result of distribution and supply chain intermediaries. Solubio is changing this in Brazil by providing on-farm biological management via its capsule, machine, and technical assistance, enabling farmers to produce their own biological pesticides on site and reduce costs by up to 40% on crops such as soy, wheat, cotton, sugar cane, coffee, and vegetables and fruits. Since 2017, Solubio has gone from serving 120K hectares to over 2M hectares in 2020, paving the way to taking on the biological pesticides market.

COLORADO

Entrepreneur: Mario Ciabarra
Company: Quantum Metric
Description: Quantum Metric is a SaaS platform that consolidates the point solutions used by marketing, product, engineering, and IT teams by gathering real-time customer data into a single version of truth and enabling a process called Continuous Product Design (CPD) a $20B market. With one comprehensive set of data about the customer journey, teams gain insight into how they are able to improve their customer experience in real time, helping organizations build better digital products faster. Having recently closed its $200M Series B valuing it at $1B, Quantum Metric has seen rapid adoption, now serving over 100 enterprise customers, including four of the Fortune Top10.

GREECE

Entrepreneurs: Charis Arvanitis
Company: Spotawheel
Description: Like many markets, European consumers know the pains of buying used cars. To change this paradigm, Spotawheel started as a mobile mechanic to give buyers peace of mind right outside the dealer lot. Over the years, the company evolved into a full-stack e-commerce platform for used cars. The company offers quality inventory and a transparent customer experience to typically underserved, value-sensitive customers. To date, Spotawheel has sold thousands of vehicles in Greece and Poland, with plans to expand into a pan-European platform, capitalizing on a massive $540B second hand vehicle market with over 35M annual end-user transactions.

KENYA

Entrepreneurs: Greg Murray & Sagun Saxena
Company: KOKO Networks
Description: KOKO Networks is a venture-backed climate-tech platform based in Kenya and India, delivering carbon-negative cooking fuel to the urban mass-market. Urban Africans spend $40B per year on cooking fuel, most of which is deforestation-based charcoal. Annually, the African charcoal industry drives 1B tons of CO2e, 5M acres of deforestation and 600,000 deaths from indoor air pollution. KOKO’s hardware and software technologies enable clean bioethanol cooking fuel to be accessible at low cost within a short walk of homes, undercutting demand for charcoal and enabling a material quality of life upgrade for low-income households. Founded in 2014, KOKO’s 700-strong team is scaling rapidly in Kenya and investing in geographic expansion. 

MEXICO

Entrepreneur: Ángel Sahagún
Company: albo
Description: albo is the leading Mexican challenger bank, offering mobile banking, virtual/physical cards, peer-to-peer transactions, bill pay, cash advance loans, and budgeting tools and services for customers. albo focuses on the largest segment of Mexico’s market — lower and middle income — and since launch in 2016 has acquired 500K MAU. albo has raised $71M from Valar Ventures and Mountain Nazca as it scales its user base and increases its credit and other product offerings, including expanding into servicing SMEs. albo’s goal is to develop financial technology to transform people’s relationship with money and to become the top neobank in the region.  

SPAIN

Entrepreneurs: Christian Hense, Juan Martinez-Barea & Marko Bitenc
Company: Universal DX
Description: Early detection is one of the most powerful weapons we have in the battle against cancer. While traditional options are expensive, ineffective, and have low compliance rates, UDX is creating a cancer platform consisting of minimally invasive, blood-based solutions for early cancer detection. As colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most deadly cancer worldwide, the founders decided that CRC early detection would be their starting point. With $44M in funding from top tech entrepreneurs, family offices, and biotech funds and 2 approved and 6 filed patents, Universal DX is poised to tackle the $20B CRC screening test market before expanding to a broader panel of cancers on its mission to win the fight against cancer.

Endeavor is pleased to announce the launch of a new office in Romania. Leveraging partnerships with three local founders, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Dedeman, and Globalworth, and with backing from local business leaders, Endeavor Romania will support founders and companies that have passed through the initial start-up phase and can demonstrate the potential for rapid expansion and scale.

“We’re thrilled to launch Endeavor in Romania to help local entrepreneurs scale up and multiply their impact by investing in, mentoring and inspiring the next generation. With access to Endeavor’s global network, the Endeavor Catalyst co-investment fund, and support from a strong founding board, we’re confident Endeavor Romania will have a meaningful impact on Romania’s most innovative entrepreneurs and the country at large,” said Endeavor Co-Founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg.

Founded in 1997, Endeavor’s network spans nearly 40 countries today, across Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S., leading the global entrepreneurial movement by selecting, mentoring and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs in the world. Since its inception, Endeavor has supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs worldwide, which generate combined revenues of over $26 billion, have created over 4.1 million jobs in their local economies and, in 2019, raised over $3.6 billion in capital. Endeavor Catalyst is a rules-based fund designed to support the Endeavor selected entrepreneurs with their equity financing rounds and contribute to the sustainability of the network.

The office, which will be Endeavor’s sixth in Europe, will be led by Mihnea Craciun, an executive with over 20 years experience in banking and finance, working for the EBRD and ING Bank.

“Endeavor is a wonderful addition to the Romanian entrepreneurial support eco-system, providing a best-in-class seal of approval, an unrivalled personal and professional network, frictionless co-investment capital, and peer-to-peer idea exchange in a truly global setting,” commented Craciun. “This is a unique value proposition for the Romanian market.”

Endeavor’s aim in Romania is to search for, select, mentor, and dramatically accelerate the best high-impact entrepreneurs by helping them to think bigger, make better decisions by accessing talent, investors, and global markets and multiply their impact by becoming role models, mentors, and investors in their local ecosystems. The local Board of Directors includes Marius Stefan, CEO and co-founder of Autonom Group, Monica Cadogan and Calin Fusu, the co-founders of Vivre, Vargha Moayed, Chief Strategy Officer of UiPath, Tiberiu Moisa, Deputy CEO at Banca Transilvania, Voicu Oprean, CEO and founder of Arobs, Andrei Dunca, the Co-Founder and CTO of LiveRail, and Costin Taracila, Managing Partner of RTPR. Dan Lupu, Partner in Early Bird Venture Capital, will join as Senior Advisor. The board is completed by the representatives of the three founding partners, Karina Paval of Dedeman, Dimitris Raptis, CEO of Globalworth Group and Mark Davis, Regional Director at EBRD.

“We encourage entrepreneurship as a key factor for economic development which in turn leads to a sustainable and competitive entrepreneurship ecosystem,” commented Mr. Raptis. “We are glad to contribute to the expansion of the Endeavor organization in Romania, a country where we operate as an office market leader precisely because we consider it to be the most attractive business environment in South-Eastern Europe. We are convinced that our joint efforts will lead to the creation and consolidation of successful companies that will strengthen the Romanian economy. We are happy to share our know-how and experience in order to assist start-up companies on their journey to business success.”

“Entrepreneurship, risk taking and innovation are woven in the DNA of Dedeman’s story and we are thrilled that with the support of Endeavor, more young companies will get to experience the exciting scale up journey. We are confident that the marriage of talent, mentorship and access to capital will accelerate the growth trajectory of the next generation of local entrepreneurs, planting the seeds for a more equitable and prosperous future for Romania,” added Mrs. Paval.

“The missions of Endeavor and EBRD are complementary in many ways. We work towards catalyzing the development of the entrepreneurial environment in Romania and are delighted to join forces,” said Mr. Davis of EBRD.

 

WHEN ECONOMIES TURN DOWN, ENTREPRENEURS TURN UP

2020 proved this to be true, as Endeavor Entrepreneurs pivoted their businesses to contribute novel solutions to the pandemic, kept much-needed jobs intact, developed new products that will continue to shape our lives for years to come, and continued to scale despite the odds. In 2020, Endeavor’s global network also came together like never before to support entrepreneurs so they could lead through the crisis.

We’re proud to share Endeavor’s first ever Virtual Impact Report, offering a deeper look into the moments that defined our global community in a challenging, unforgettable year.

 

Explore our Virtual Impact Report at impactreport.endeavor.org, or access the PDF version here.

 

Endeavor selected ten entrepreneurs leading six companies at the Eleventh virtual International Selection Panel (vISP) held January 25-27, 2021. Endeavor now supports 2,131 entrepreneurs leading 1,332 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 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: Alex Jaimes, Chief Scientist & SVP of AI, Dataminr; Arvind Rajan, Co-founder & Executive Chairman, Cricket Health; Gervase Warner, President & Group CEO, Massy Group; Jason Green, Partner, Emergence Capital Partners (Endeavor Global Board Member); Javier Villamizar, Operating Partner, Softbank Investment Advisers; Joanna Rees, Managing Partner, West (Endeavor Global Ambassador); John McIntire, Director, Open Education Holdings; Kent Thiry, Executive Chairman & Former Chief Executive Officer, DaVita (Endeavor Colorado Board Member); Leandro Sigman, Chairman, Grupo Chemo (Endeavor Spain Board Chairman); Nick Beim, Partner, Venrock (Endeavor Global Board Member); Paulo Veras, Co-founder & Former CEO, 99 (Former Endeavor Brazil Managing Director, Former Endeavor Brazil Board Member); and Ruby Gadelrab Tudor, Founder & CEO, MDisrupt.

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 4.1 million 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:

CHILE

Entrepreneurs: Jose Ignacio Parada & Juan Eduardo Joannon
Company: Bioelements
Description: Without intervention, there may well be more plastic in our oceans than fish by 2050. Bioelements is a Chilean company that manufactures and sells biodegradable packaging products. The products are manufactured using a proprietary resin, BioE-8, which reduces the degradation of packaging materials from 400 years (plastic) to 6-20 months. Bioelements currently sells its products (primarily flexible plastic alternatives like bags and wraps) mainly to retail and F&B companies including MercadoLibre, Coppel, and Linio in Chile, Mexico, and Peru, but sees a massive opportunity to change the future of the >$500B global plastics market.

COLORADO

Entrepreneurs: Dan Holt & Kelly Seidl
Company: BillGo
Description: BillGO is a Fort Collins, CO-based fintech that is transforming the dreaded necessity of managing and paying bills with its real-time bill management and payments platform. BillGO’s technology, currently deployed to over 8K banks and more than 32M consumers, offers speed, choice, and intelligence with simple integration to change the way people make and receive bill payments.

EGYPT

Entrepreneurs: Belal El Megharbel & Mohamed Ben Halim
Company: MaxAB
Description: MaxAB is a B2B e-commerce platform that connects small retailers directly to FMCG companies and manages the entire logistics and supply chain processes involved. MaxAB facilitates the interaction between brands and retailers especially in underserved areas by offering a digital marketplace (digital wholesale food and grocery B2B ordering apps) and a state-of-the-art supply chain and logistics solution. Through MaxAB, retailers have access to a wider product variety, brand promotions, and credit facilities. Today, MaxAB operates 10 warehouses across greater Cairo and launched its first warehouse outside greater Cairo. The company manages a fleet that carries 130 brands and takes around 2K different SKUs and serves around 13K active merchants monthly.

INDONESIA

Entrepreneur: Aaron Tan
Company: Carro
Description: Carro is Southeast Asia’s largest automotive marketplace for pre-owned cars that offers a full-stack service for all aspects of car ownership. Through offering a trustworthy and transparent experience, Carro is challenging the traditional way of buying and selling cars through a proprietary pricing algorithm. Having raised over $100M to date from several world-class institutional investors, the company has experienced exponential year-on-year growth. With an in-house financing solution through its sister company Genie Financial Services and a suite of after-sales services, Carro is leveraging innovation and technology to provide consumers with the most seamless car buying experience.

KENYA

Entrepreneur: Nikhil Pereira-Kamath
Company: Africa HealthCare Network (AHN)
Description: Africa Healthcare Network (“AHN”) has established the first and most expansive dialysis chain across East Africa, partnering with hospitals to provide high-quality life-saving dialysis at an affordable cost. AHN acts as a fully outsourced provider of renal services within hospital premises including Government, Private and Faith-Based Hospitals. Established in 2015, it currently performs over 3,000 hemodialysis sessions and over 10 outpatient vascular surgeries per month in its 15 centers. Embarking on an ambitious expansion plan across East Africa with the goal of becoming the dominant provider of renal care, the company plans to expand beyond Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, to reach 103 dialysis centers by the end 2024.

TURKEY

Entrepreneurs: Ecem Baran & Emre Tas
Company: Alictus
Description: Alictus is an Ankara-based developer and publisher of mobile games that has focused on the hyper-casual genre since 2019. In just 2 years, Alictus has become one of the top players in hyper-casual mobile gaming globally. With a portfolio including Collect Cubes, Money Buster, and Oh God!, Alictus reaches millions of daily users and aims to deliver on the growing reputation of Turkish gaming companies worldwide. The company takes a data-driven approach to developing and monetizing highly-marketable games within the $77B mobile gaming market.

Chime Solutions (Chime), a provider of customer contact services and one of the largest and fastest-growing minority-owned businesses in the country, closed a $30M recapitalization investment with BBH Capital Partners (BBHCP) this October, with additional participation from Endeavor Catalyst. The investment, made through BBHCP Opportunities Fund, L.P., aims to provide Chime with a long-term, well-capitalized financial partner who will support the company’s growth strategy. 

The capital raise will support Chime’s business process outsourcing solutions and its mission of creating economic and social impacts in underserved communities across the country. Chime has rapidly grown to over 2,500 employees since its founding in 2016 by partnering with Fortune 1000 corporations providing high-value, outsourced customer contact solutions. The growth capital investment will enable Chime to continue its expansion into new markets and invest in next-generation customer experience technologies to support corporations seeking high quality, competitive cost solutions from outsourced partners located in the U.S.

Chime CEO and Founder, and Endeavor Entrepreneur, Mark Wilson stated, “With the support and expertise of BBHCP and unique network of Endeavor, Chime will continue to innovate and support our clients’ complex requirements, while solidifying our position as the emerging leader in the customer contact industry. We are excited to partner with BBHCP and Endeavor as we aspire to change the narrative in underserved communities and impact lives as we deliver high-impact solutions to our clients.”

“We are delighted to continue our support of high-impact Endeavor Entrepreneur Mark Wilson and the entire team at Chime Solutions with this investment from Endeavor Catalyst, alongside Brown Brothers Harriman,” said Endeavor Atlanta Managing Director Aaron Hurst. “Chime Solutions is delivering a world-class, technology enabled service to large enterprises while directly addressing gaps in economic opportunity within our communities. Their growth is extraordinary and we are grateful to partner with Mark and his team for years to come as they scale.”

Based in the Atlanta area, Mark Wilson and Chime were selected into the Endeavor network in 2019.

Endeavor is thrilled to announce that Shu Nyatta, a Managing Partner at SoftBank, has joined the Endeavor Global Board of Directors. 

At SoftBank, Shu co-leads a new $5B Latin America-focused technology growth fund and SoftBank’s $100M Opportunity Fund for Founders of Color. Prior to these roles, Shu was a founding member of SoftBank Group’s Silicon Valley investment team, and subsequently the SoftBank Vision Fund. He has made investments spanning a variety of sectors including fintech, mobility, hospitality, media, semiconductors, software, machine learning, genomics, robotics, and autonomous driving in the US, Europe, India, China, and Latin America. 

Shu has become a highly valued and sought after panelist at Endeavor’s International Selection Panels, interviewing and mentoring high-impact entrepreneurs from around the world. He also serves on the board of Kavak, Mexico’s first Unicorn company founded by Endeavor Entrepreneur Carlos Garcia. Endeavor Catalyst Chairman Reid Hoffman nominated Shu to the Global Board. 

Upon joining the Endeavor Board, Shu commented, “Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful change agents that has ever existed. Endeavor is powered, at its very core, by the idea of nurturing and supporting entrepreneurship all around the world. That’s an idea to get up for every morning!”

“Growing up in an Endeavor market (Nairobi), living in two others (Dubai, Saudi Arabia), serving on the board of an Endeavor Entrepreneur-led company (Kavak/Mexico), and sharing our passion to invest in underserved founders here in the U.S., Shu truly couldn’t be a better fit to join the Endeavor Board,” added Endeavor Co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg. “We’re incredibly excited to add his perspective and deep experience backing entrepreneurs to our organization’s leadership.”

Prior to joining SoftBank, Shu’s career spanned investment banking at JPMorgan, consulting with McKinsey, and singer-songwriting. Shu received a BA from Harvard College, and an MSc in Anthropology. from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

ABOUT ENDEAVOR

Since 1997, Endeavor has led the global entrepreneurship movement. Our collective vision is that long-term economic growth will be led by the highest growth, highest impact entrepreneurs — exactly the ones Endeavor selects, helps take to scale, and co-invests in across the globe. Founded by Linda Rottenberg and Peter Kellner, Endeavor has helped 2,500 of these entrepreneurs build more than 1,300 companies across 40 emerging and growth markets. Endeavor Entrepreneurs collectively generate $27 billion in annual revenues, have created 4.1 million jobs, and often go on to mentor and invest in the next generation of founders as well as serve on the boards of Endeavor offices.

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.

To view Endeavor’s December newsletter, a recap of all the top news stories from the past month, please CLICK HERE.

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