Endeavor Selects Eight Entrepreneurs Leading Five Companies at the Fourth Virtual International Selection Panel

Endeavor selected eight entrepreneurs from five markets at its Fourth Virtual International Selection Panel (ISP). Endeavor now supports 2,077 entrepreneurs leading 1,295 companies in 37 markets around the world (read more about the newly selected entrepreneurs below).

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

Typically held eight times per year, 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. Beyond the selection process, ISPs are also unique international gatherings that bring entrepreneurs, dedicated business leaders and staff together across borders and industries, and allow them to make connections they may never have otherwise. This event marks the fourth Virtual ISP that Endeavor has held.

“What began as our team pivoting to take Endeavor’s selection process virtual, has today transformed the way we think about the ISP,” said Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg. “The Virtual ISP allows us to transcend travel and time commitments to welcome exceptional entrepreneurs from diverse regions and backgrounds into our support network more frequently, while benefiting from the participation of seasoned panelists from around the world.”

Over the course of three days at the Virtual ISP, panelists utilized Zoom breakout rooms to interview a small group of high-caliber entrepreneur candidates 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: Emily White (President, Anthos Capital), Joanna Rees (Managing Partner, West), Dan Turchin (Co-Founder & CPO, Astound, CEO, PeopleReign), Nicolas Szekasy (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Kaszek Ventures; Endeavor Global and Endeavor Argentina Board Member; Endeavor Entrepreneur), John Somers (President & CEO, Harmac Medical Products; Endeavor Western New York Board Chairman), Bruno Wauters (Fmr. CEO, Sibelco Asia), Javier Villamizar (Operating Partner, Softbank Investment Advisers), Monica Mandelli (Managing Director, KKR; Vice President, Endeavor Italy), Anderson Thees (Managing Partner, Redpoint eventures), Mo Ballout (Co-Founder, Kitopi; Endeavor Entrepreneur), Stephane Levy, (Partner, Cooley), and Luis Arbulú (Partner, Salkantay Partners; Endeavor Entrepreneur).

As part of Endeavor’s network, the entrepreneurs selected at the Virtual ISP 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 $24+ billion in revenues in 2019, and help build sustainable growth models in their home countries.

Learn more about the companies and entrepreneurs selected below.

BRAZIL

Entrepreneur: Cassio Bobsin
Company: Zenvia
Description: Zenvia is the leading communication-platform-as-a-service (C-PaaS) provider in Brazil, empowering companies like Danone, Amazon, RD Station, and Creditas to connect, automate, and manage customer communications across a variety of channels. With more than 10B messages sent in 2019 by its 8K clients, it provides a complete platform for its clients to increase engagement, decrease service costs, and interact with their customers wherever they might be. Operating in the estimated $3.2B global C-PaaS market, Zenvia aims to expand its communication channels and geographic operations to become a global player in the customer communication and experience industry.

INDONESIA

Entrepreneur: Iwan Kurniawan, Kelvin Teo, and Kah Meng Wong
Company: Funding Societies (Modalku)
Description: Funding Societies – Modalku is an online platform that connects investors with small businesses that need funds, solving the financial inclusion issue by making credit-worthy SMEs bankable. The company is the first digital financing platform that got operating licenses from regulators in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Most recently the company raised a $40M Series C, which will be used for applying for a Digital Bank license, market entry into Thailand and achieving profitability. So far, the company has disbursed loans of more than $1.08 billion for MSMEs in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Indonesia accounted for around 60 percent of the total loan disbursement.

KENYA

Entrepreneur: Joseph Rehmann
Company: Victory Farms
Description: Victory Farms is the fastest growing fish farm in Sub-Saharan Africa and the largest fish farm in East Africa, producing fresh and healthy protein for thousands across Kenya. The company uses cutting edge technology to farm tilapia in Lake Victoria at scale to deliver fresh fish throughout Western Kenya and Nairobi. The product is mainly sold via a network of ~2,000 market women that sell to end customers. Founded in 2015, the company achieved a production capacity of 10,000 MT in 2019. They are currently raising a Series B round to finance building of new aquaculture infrastructure, a solar energy grid and research to boost tilapia survival rate to >90%.

SPAIN

Entrepreneur: Laura Urquizu
Company: Red Points
Description: Brands have never been more vulnerable to the issues of online counterfeiting, piracy, and distribution fraud. Red Points (RP) empowers businesses worldwide to seamlessly protect their valuable assets across all online distribution channels. Through its proprietary technology, companies can scan the Internet, identify and take down all violations and infringements. Nowadays, $1 in $5 are lost to counterfeits, piracy and the gray market, and counterfeiting and intellectual property (IP) infringement cost companies $4.2T a year. To date, the company secured more than 650 clients between Europe and the US, employs more than 250 people and has raised over $64M in VC funding from top tier investors such as Summit Partners and Eight Roads Ventures. 

TURKEY

Entrepreneur: Kaan Gunay, Onur Kardesler
Company: Firefly
Description: Founded in 2017, Firefly is an advertising technology company that works with taxi companies and rideshare drivers to install its proprietary advertising displays atop their vehicles. With Firefly’s technology, for the first time advertisers can combine digital ads, programmatic inventory, dynamic geotargeting, and precise measurement in out-of-home (OOH) marketing.  With an impressive list of funders including GV, Industry Ventures, and NFX, Firefly has achieved strong traction. The company’s screens provide an additional revenue stream to drivers and deliver 800M+ impressions of dynamic content per month across more than 40K square miles based on location-based, WiFi-enabled triggers.