17 New High-Impact Entrepreneurs Join Endeavor in July

This month, Endeavor selected 17 entrepreneurs leading nine companies at our 47th virtual International Selection Panel (ISP) held July 22-25, 2024. The organization now supports 2,615 entrepreneurs leading 1,598 companies in 40+ countries around the world.

Each ISP is the culmination of a rigorous, multi-step selection process to identify high-impact entrepreneurs from all over the world. We seek founders with the greatest growth potential and those who commit to reinvesting time and resources into their local entrepreneurial ecosystems to help build the next generation of entrepreneurs, sparking a Multiplier Effect. During the ISP, our panelists interviewed entrepreneurs about their businesses and evaluated their potential for high-impact growth. The panelists then discuss the candidates and vote on whether to select them to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

Panelists

As always, we had an outstanding group of panelists who were given the task of selecting the next great leaders. Thank you to:

Nicolás Szekasy, Kaszezk Ventures (Endeavor Entrepreneur, Endeavor Global Board Member); Hristo Hristov, Darik Radio (Endeavor Bulgaria Co-Chair); Mudassir Sheikha, Careem (Endeavor Entrepreneur, Endeavor Pakistan Board Chair); Alexis Pantazis, Hellas Direct (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Douglas Storf, Swap (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Emre Taş, Alictus (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Hector Sepúlveda, Nazca (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Ismael Belkhayat, Chari (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Kimberly Yao, CloudEats (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Lucas Vargas, Nomad (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Meghna Mann, MetaMap (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Mona Ataya, Mumzworld (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Mostafa Amin, Breadfast (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Tunde Kara, Vendease (Endeavor Entrepreneur); Brook Supanusonti, Asia Partners; Erin Renzas, EBB Strategic; Ettore Leale, Xplorer Capital; Nicolas Berman, Kaszek Ventures.

Our New Entrepreneurs

Learn more about the entrepreneurs and the innovative companies they are building.

Busbud

Entrepreneur: LP Maurice
Endeavor Office: Canada

What they do: Busbud is a leading global mobility group offering an online platform for booking intercity bus tickets. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Montréal, Busbud operates in over 80 countries and more than 20,000 cities. The user-friendly platform allows travelers to compare and purchase bus tickets from various operators, simplifying bus travel in the same way platforms like Booking.com and Kayak simplify flight and hotel bookings. Busbud’s platform aggregates schedules and prices from thousands of bus companies, making it easier for travelers to find the best options that fit their schedules and budgets.

Who they are: LP (Louis-Philippe) started his first company, a software development and consulting agency, at 16 while in high school. He holds a finance degree from HEC Montréal, an LLM in Corporate Law from the University of Montréal, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, completed in 2008. After his studies, LP backpacked across South America, where he was frustrated with the challenges of booking bus travel. While on a 10-hour bus trip in Argentina, the idea for Busbud was born.

Entrepreneur spotlight – Why we’re excited:

LP founded Busbud with a vision to revolutionize the analog bus travel industry, similar to the transformations seen in hotels and flights. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, which heavily impacted the travel industry, Busbud has bounced back stronger, achieving exponential growth.

After experiencing firsthand the challenges of bus travel at home and in his travels abroad, LP’s passion to fix it is unmistakable. Combining his deep expertise from years in tech start-ups with a charismatic presence that shines through even over Zoom, LP is the kind of exceptional founder we like to bet on. Eager to give back to Canada and connect with other Endeavor markets, LP is poised to create lasting change in the travel industry.

Abbi Larkin
Senior Associate, Entrepreneur Selection

Capim

Entrepreneurs: Marcelo Lutz and Roberto Biselli
Endeavor Office: Brazil

What they do: Founded in 2021, Capim is a Brazilian fintech and software company focused on streamlining and strengthening operations for dental clinics in the country. The Brazilian dental market generates over $12B annually, and Capim is capitalizing on that opportunity to digitize and financially include healthcare professionals, enabling them to build sustainable businesses and increase healthcare access for their patients. Since its founding, Capim has grown to serve thousands of dental clinics across the country.

Who they are: Capim is led by Brazilian co-founders Marcelo and Roberto, who met when they entered the INSEAD Venture Competition (IVC) while pursuing their MBAs. Immediately after realizing their complementary backgrounds – Marcelo’s in private equity (at firms including Tarpon, Graycliff, and H.I.G. Capital) and the healthcare space, and Roberto’s in entrepreneurship and as a consultant at McKinsey – they joined forces and came up with the idea for Capim. The co-founding duo became only the second group in 20 years to win the IVC on their first attempt when they pitched the initial business plan for Capim.

Healthatom

Entrepreneurs: Roberto León Velasco, Daniel Guajardo Kushner, Guillermo Medel Lucas, and José María Iruretagoyena
Endeavor Office: Chile

What they do: Founded in 2010, Healthatom is a leading healthcare software provider in LATAM. Its flagship products, Dentalink and Medilink, simplify operations for dental clinics and healthcare centers. The company’s new fintech arm, Gerty, facilitates payment, loan, and insurance solutions in partnership with nine insurance companies. Today, the company has 11,000 customers across 20 countries in LATAM, with offices in Chile, Mexico, and Colombia.

Who they are: Roberto León (CEO) and Daniel Guajardo (CPO) met while studying industrial civil engineering at UTFSM Chile. Roberto, inspired by his self-employed architect parents, had a strong entrepreneurial drive. Daniel, who developed a passion for computer science early on, taught himself to code at 13 and sold software projects. While still in university, they brought Guillermo Medel (CTO) into the founding team. Guillermo, a friend from UTFSM Chile, had experience as a freelance software engineer and had previously founded a summer camp. Their visit to a dental clinic highlighted the need for digitization in healthcare, leading them to create Healthatom after graduating. José María (CFiO) joined Healthatom after his company, DentalMédica, was acquired in 2022. José, a trained dentist with a master’s in orthodontics, co-founded two companies before joining DentalMédica, Chile’s largest dental insurance claim processor, founded by his father.

ICEYE

Entrepreneur: Rafał Modrzewski
Endeavor Office: Poland

What they do: The “CubeSat revolution” involved a new wave of space companies creating smaller, cheaper, more flexible, and easier-to-transport satellites. ICEYE, a leading company in this “NewSpace” movement, uses its large fleet of satellites to provide real-time, high-resolution, and on-demand images of the entire world, no matter the weather or time of day. The technology ICEYE utilizes is called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and the company owns and operates the largest constellation of SAR satellites orbiting the Earth. Its clients come from a broad range of industries including government, finance, insurance, maritime, and natural disaster recovery.

Who they are: Rafal, the CEO and co-founder of ICEYE, studied electrical, electronics, and communications engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology before specializing in radio science and engineering at Aalto University. While studying at Aalto University, he joined a program called Aalto-1, which was researching ways to build “CubeSats” – miniaturized satellites with a standardized interface that makes them cheaper to build and easier to transport to space. He then joined a program called New Venture Formation, which was done in collaboration with Stanford University. It was during this program he launched the company that eventually became ICEYE. Its initial use case was to track the movement of icebergs along the Northern Sea Route. Hence the name “ICEYE”, which is a contraction of the words “ICE” & “EYE”.

Entrepreneur spotlight – Why we’re excited:

When ICEYE launched the ICEYE-X1 in 2014, it represented a real technological breakthrough. The satellite was more than 10x smaller and cheaper than any other SAR satellite that had been launched to that point, without sacrificing its performance. The impact this had on the earth observation industry is similar to the impact replacing mainframes with minicomputers had on the computing industry; it took a technology that was only available to a handful of governments and democratized it. Today, ICEYE’s constellation of satellites enables it to provide clients with an image of any area of interest, within hours, regardless of time or weather. Its technology is also used to predict natural disasters such as floods and wildfires and to manage the response to them. The company’s long-term vision expands beyond natural disasters. It intends to change our understanding of the Earth by providing governments, corporations, and other organizations with actionable insights about every square meter on Earth, updated every single hour.

The scale of this ambition is daunting, but throughout his selection journey with Endeavor, Rafal showcased a combination of single-mindedness, clarity of vision, technical expertise, and business acumen that left us feeling confident that ICEYE will continue to be a pioneer in the earth observation industry.

Derin Adebayo
Manager, Entrepreneur Selection

Kave Home

Entrepreneurs: Francesc Julià Sr. and Francesc Julià Jr.
Endeavor Office: Spain

What they do: Operating in the $540B global furniture market, Kave Home offers affordable luxury furniture and decor. Known for its original design, quality materials, exceptional customer service, and commitment to sustainability, Kave Home stands out in the industry. Based out of a small town in the north of Spain, the company sells its items through an omnichannel strategy in over 80 markets, serving more than half a million customers worldwide. Having grown revenue over 15x in the past decade, Kave Home aims to become the top player in the European affordable luxury furniture segment.

Who they are: Kave Home is led by father-and-son duo Francesc Julià Sr. and Francesc Julià Jr. With over 40 years of experience in the furniture industry, Francesc Sr. started his career as a salesman, eventually founding Julià Group, which evolved into Kave Home. Francesc Jr. first gained exposure to the world of high-growth entrepreneurship by being one of the initial employees at Kantox (Endeavor Entrepreneur). After this, he joined his family business and helped his father transform the company into the leading global furniture brand it is today.

Prima

Entrepreneurs: Juan Pablo Ramos, Daniel Autrique, and Patricio Servitje
Endeavor Office: Mexico

What they do: Founded in 2022, Prima is a trusted integrator in Mexico’s manufacturing and supply chain ecosystem. The country’s manufacturing sector is highly fragmented (500k+ factories) and has low fulfillment rates (~30% vs. 95% in advanced economies), creating challenges in terms of efficiency and reliability. Prima addresses these challenges through a technology-first approach, integrating the end-to-end supply chain and managing every step of the process.

Prima’s extensive capabilities include CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, die casting, and plastic injection. Serving over 150 major North American companies across industries such as infrastructure, industrial equipment components, contract manufacturing, and retail, Prima offers a more reliable, efficient, and consolidated value proposition than the market standard. This attracts demand that otherwise wouldn’t come to Mexico, igniting a manufacturing renaissance poised to transform the country’s economic landscape.

Who they are: Prima’s three co-founders—Juan Pablo (Co-CEO), Daniel (Co-CEO), and Patricio (CFO)—met at Stanford University in 2012 while pursuing their MBAs. The trio has a wealth of prior experience at consulting firms such as Bain & Company and BCG, as well as successful technology scaleups including Uber, Loft (Endeavor Entrepreneur), and Klar (Endeavor Entrepreneur). After remaining in contact and investing in numerous startups together over the prior decade, Juan Pablo, Daniel, and Patricio teamed up to found Prima in early 2022.

UrBox

Entrepreneur: Bui Hoai Nam
Endeavor Office: Vietnam

What they do: Founded in 2015, UrBox is a digital platform used by over 1,000 leading corporations in Vietnam, such as Vietnam Airlines, VietjetAir, Vietcombank, Visa, Mastercard, Unilever, and P&G, to distribute rewards to customers and employees. It provides reward vouchers redeemable at over 350 merchants across 20,000 stores and supports 300,000 active users through its app and white-labeled solutions. UrBox manages rewards and premium services for 5 million employees, offering a user-friendly platform for HR teams to administer various reward programs, including bonuses and business expenses. The company aims to streamline reward distribution, boost employee satisfaction, and improve workplace efficiency, with plans to expand its reach to the 20 million working professionals in Vietnam.

Who they are: Nam holds a Bachelor of Business & Administration from Foreign Trade University in Vietnam. He began his career at Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank), where he drove card usage and loyalty strategies, managing a significant Mastercard market share. He then joined Grab to develop Grab For Business, GrabPay, and Rewards. Returning to VPBank, he managed card life cycles and partnerships before co-founding UrBox in 2015. His experiences at VPBank and Grab fueled his passion for using technology to improve customer experiences and address inefficiencies in traditional reward and loyalty programs.

Woba

Entrepreneurs: Roberta Vasconcellos and Pedro Vasconcellos
Endeavor Office: Brazil

What they do: Founded in Brazil in 2018 as BeerOrCoffee, Woba was launched to make co-working and hybrid work more accessible for employees while reducing the costs and maintenance associated with leasing office space for enterprises. The pandemic and the subsequent rise in hybrid work highlighted the ongoing costs and challenges for businesses in maintaining often semi-vacant office buildings. In response, Woba leverages technology to offer “workspaces-as-a-service,” including hot desks, meeting rooms, private offices, and event spaces. Woba offers over 2,000 workspace locations across Brazil and Latin America.

Who they are: Woba was founded by siblings Roberta and Pedro. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Roberta displayed her interest in entrepreneurship early on, even selling hot dogs in high school to buy her first computer. Today, she has won awards such as Forbes 30 under 30 and Google Demo Day Women. Like his older sister, Pedro has always had an entrepreneurial knack. Pedro started his first business at age 21, a low-income housing construction company. Concurrently, Pedro and Roberta began brainstorming ideas and co-founded their first joint venture, Things You Should Do (TYSDO), a digital platform designed to help people achieve their goals. Despite its success, the siblings recognized the business model wasn’t scalable. They later came together to found their second joint venture, Woba.

Yoco

Entrepreneur: Katlego Maphai
Endeavor Office: South Africa

What they do: In 2015, around 70% of South Africans had cards, but less than 10% of businesses could accept card payments. To bridge this gap, Yoco was created to offer businesses affordable payment solutions and business management tools. Yoco offers a variety of card machines and online payment tools that enable companies of varying sizes to accept digital payments. Yoco also provides small businesses with access to credit and tools to manage their products, staff, and stocks.

Who they are: Yoco was co-founded by four friends: Katlego (CEO), Lungisa (CTO), Carl (CBO), and Bradley (CFO). Katlego, who grew up between South Africa and the US, graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2005. Initially, on a traditional career path, he worked in management consulting at Accenture and Delta Partners, where he discovered the impact of mobile and the internet. In 2012, Katlego joined Rocket Internet, a German venture capital company, where he spent time in Lagos, Nigeria, to help build Jumia, one of Nigeria’s first e-commerce platforms. After leaving Rocket Internet, Katlego returned to South Africa, ready to start a business. He brought together Lungisa (his childhood friend whom he reconnected with at UCT), Carl (a coworker at Delta Partners), and Bradley (a coworker at Rocket Internet) to form the founding team of Yoco.

That’s a wrap on Endeavor’s Newest Entrepreneurs!

From a Poland tech company delivering real-time, high-resolution images of Earth to simplifying bus ticket bookings from Canada, this month’s new companies embody the diverse, yet consistently high-impact businesses that continue to join Endeavor’s community.

Stay tuned for next month’s batch of high-impact entrepreneurs and change-makers.