What Endeavor’s Newest Entrepreneurs Are Doing Differently

Inside a tree stump is its history, written in rings. Each ring marks a year; collectively, they represent chapters of growth, struggle, moments of abundance. Scientists study these rings not just to understand the past but to predict what’s ahead.

Entrepreneurship follows a similar pattern. Each generation of founders carries the imprint of those who came before them. But the most ambitious entrepreneurs don’t just react to change, they drive it. Shaped by their environment while pushing beyond its boundaries, their movements set new standards and offer us a snapshot of where global entrepreneurship is headed next. 

So we decided to take a look back at the founders selected by Endeavor in 2024: what do patterns among them tell us about the future?

We dove into three trends observed from last year’s Endeavor Entrepreneurs: younger yet more seasoned, hungry yet responsible, and, as always, big risk-takers.

Let’s break it down.

1. Founder factories are powering the next generation of entrepreneurs

We have seen increasing representation of entrepreneurs from “founder factories” — early employees of successful startups (some of them also Endeavor Entrepreneur companies) who start their own ventures. For example:

• Martin Rohland from Baly, a super-app founded in 2021 that is rapidly becoming the backbone of Iraq’s digital transformation. Before that, Martin was part of $3B venture-builder Rocket Internet and CFO of Snapp!, the largest technology company in the Middle East, created by the same team behind Qlub.
• Four of the five co-founders of Spyke Games previously helped build Peak Games into a global mobile gaming powerhouse acquired by Zynga for $1.8B. Founded in late 2020, Spyke Games boasts a lifetime user base of 10 million players and has raised $105M to date. Both companies are from Turkey. 
• Juan Pablo Ortega, a founding team member of Colombia’s Rappi, one of Latin America’s largest unicorns and most prolific “founder factories”. Alongside Julián Núñez (a Rappi early employee), they co-founded Yuno in 2022 to address the need for a streamlined global payment infrastructure.

Founders really benefit from seeing the hyperscale playbook firsthand, as well as guidance from those with more experience. As a result, they tend to reach escape velocity faster — the momentum required for a budding idea to reach mainstream success. Companies that were three years old or younger at the time of selection are doing roughly three times more in revenue compared to their peers selected between 2018 and 2021.

2. Capital efficiency is generating smarter growth

The “growth at all costs” mentality from 2021 is officially gone. Divorced from an era when it was acceptable to hire and spend like there was no tomorrow, founders are now growing responsibly and have more efficient teams. About two to four times more, in fact.

In 2024, companies were growing at 2x per year, down from nearly 3x in 2022—still fast, but more sustainable. Revenue per employee has tripled, jumping from $27K to $81K, reflecting greater efficiency. And profitability? 1 in 3 newly selected Endeavor companies are now profitable—twice the rate of 2022.

As VC adopted more conservative funding practices, Series A and B Endeavor Entrepreneurs began to aim for efficiency. “For those who adjusted in the hard times and are having great results, the businesses came out stronger and the lesson learned is still strong in the entrepreneurs’ minds: it’s no longer about growth at any cost, but showing a consistent plan that can be delivered,” Veronica adds. 

3. Fintech is taking over the world’s blind spots

Entrepreneurs elsewhere show that they can find immense opportunities where the rest of the world isn’t looking. These blind spots are often critical financial gaps in markets deemed too complex or simply not worth it by global players.

Last year, one in four selected companies was in fintech, reflecting the overwhelming potential of solutions tailored to underserved audiences. Companies like Nium, a payments infrastructure company from Singapore worth $1.4B, and Thndr, Egypt’s number-one online investment platform.

Up until 2021, the majority of selected Fintech companies had B2C propositions, many of them focused on consumer lending. In 2022 and 2023, we started seeing a shift where B2B became more dominant. Fintech infrastructure companies in particular are emerging — and winning — at large.

As they join our global community, new Endeavor Entrepreneurs become tomorrow’s board members, investors, and mentors. In the future, who knows, they may even start other high-impact initiatives in their ecosystems. What we know for sure is that, inspired by those who came before, they uplift those who come next.