Endeavor Catalyst Holds its Largest Investor Meeting to Date and Announces the Official Launch of Fund III

On May 2, 2019, Endeavor Catalyst held its fourth annual investor meeting in San Francisco, California. The gathering was the largest to date and convened over 200 members of the Endeavor Catalyst community, including many of the major investors and donors behind the $110MM+ Endeavor Catalyst funds, as well as entrepreneurs from its 100+ portfolio companies. The day also served as the official launch of Endeavor Catalyst’s third fund, targeting $100MM+.

Started in 2012, Endeavor Catalyst is the innovative co-investment fund of Endeavor. The fund invests exclusively in Endeavor Entrepreneur-led companies and seeks to sustain Endeavor’s long-term operations in a mission-aligned way. In just seven years, the fund has become widely recognized as one of the most active global investment firms.

With its pioneering profit-sharing model, Endeavor Catalyst enables investors to generate a return while supporting both Endeavor Entrepreneurs and the organization itself. With five exits out of Endeavor Catalyst I to date and the just-announced first exit out of Endeavor Catalyst II, the fund’s vision is beginning to materialize.

“Endeavor Catalyst is core to Endeavor’s model,” said Endeavor Co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg. “It has become a real value-add service to our Endeavor Entrepreneurs and we love being able to support them in this way. It is also critical to our own future growth and sustainability.” During the meeting, Rottenberg welcomed guests and shared her vision for Endeavor’s future.

The invite-only investor meeting provided an opportunity for investors to learn more about the fund’s progress, connect with one another and with Endeavor Entrepreneurs, and get inspired.

Guests enjoyed hearing from preeminent business leaders including a riveting fireside chat between Reid Hoffman (Co-Founder, LinkedIn & Partner, Greylock) and Patrick Collison (Founder & CEO, Stripe) and an inspiring conversation between Santi Subotovsky (Partner, Emergence Capital) and Eric Yuan (Founder & CEO, Zoom). Yuan appeared on stage just weeks following Zoom’s very successful IPO on the Nasdaq.

Guests also heard from a diverse set of Endeavor Catalyst portfolio entrepreneurs representing MENA, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Mona Ataya (Founder & CEO, Mumzworld) was interviewed by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (Managing Partner, Accretive and Endeavor Global Chairman). Mona shared valuable insights on leading a high-growth company in the Middle East and the unique challenges she has faced as a female founder.

Achmad Zaky (Founder and CEO, Bukalapak) shared his journey building Bukalapak, an e-commerce “unicorn” out of Indonesia. Bukalapak roughly translates to “open store” in Indonesian and has empowered millions of small business owners.

Sergio Furio (Founder and CEO, Creditas) gave us a unique view into the early days at Creditas — the challenges he faced and how he has overcome them. The company helps Brazilians restructure their debt with lower interest rates and higher maturity in a market that has historically charged astronomical rates.

Endeavor Catalyst Managing Directors Jackie Carmel and Allen Taylor shared details of the Endeavor Catalyst portfolio as well as the fund’s performance to-date. Details on the portfolio may be found in the recently released 2018-2019 Endeavor Catalyst Annual Report. The team concluded the meeting by thanking the investors, donors, and other stakeholders who have made Endeavor Catalyst possible and officially launching Endeavor Catalyst III.

“As we officially launch Endeavor Catalyst III, we are thrilled to announce that we already have $20MM committed. $10MM from our very own Endeavor Entrepreneurs and $10MM from Endeavor’s global network,” Taylor shared.

“We’ve come a long way in seven years,” said Carmel. “With over 100 investments made since 2012, we are beginning to have a pretty robust data set to look at and some interesting trends have emerged. We’re excited to continue watching this story unfold,”

The date for the upcoming 5th Annual Endeavor Catalyst Investor Meeting has been set, taking place in San Francisco on Thursday, June 4, 2020.

About Endeavor Catalyst

Endeavor Catalyst is the innovative co-investment fund of Endeavor, set up to invest exclusively in Endeavor Entrepreneur-led companies and to sustain Endeavor’s long-term operations in a mission-aligned way. Since launching in January 2012, Endeavor Catalyst has raised over $110M in philanthropically donated and invested capital, and invested into more than 100 Endeavor companies in over 20 markets. To date, Endeavor Catalyst has co-invested alongside a number of leading venture capital and growth equity funds, including Accel Partners, General Atlantic, NEA, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global. Investments include Globant (NYSE: GLOB) in Argentina, Yemeksepeti.com (acquired by Delivery Hero) in Turkey, and dr. consulta in Brazil. Learn more here.

For more information, please contact Jackie Carmel ([email protected]) and Allen Taylor ([email protected]).