Mercado Libre Becomes First Endeavor Company to Surpass $10 Billion Market Value

Online marketplace Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI) became the first-ever Endeavor “Decacorn” when it surpassed a stock market cap of $10 billion USD at the end of April, marking another historic milestone for both the company and Endeavor as an organization. In 2007, Mercado Libre also became Endeavor’s first US IPO when it went public on the NASDAQ.

Led by Endeavor Entrepreneur, and now board member, Marcos Galperin, MercadoLibre.com was selected as one of Endeavor’s earliest companies in 1999. Immersed in the culture of Silicon Valley, Marcos and co-founder Hernán Kazah developed a passion for the internet while attending business school. Both entrepreneurial by nature, the pair decided to team up to found an eBay-style site in Argentina, emphasizing local content to outperform its competitors.

Today, Mercado Libre is a dominant player in Latin America with sites across 12 countries — including Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, where Endeavor made key introductions — and is owned in part by eBay, a deal that Endeavor helped Mercado Libre negotiate.

As leaders in the Endeavor network, both Marcos and Hernán pay it forward generously to the next generation of founders, as panelists, speakers, and local Endeavor board members.