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Endeavor takes center stage at Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Istanbul

EventsHighlightsIn the News December 4th, 2011 — Justin Belmont

Note: be sure to follow the Summit on Twitter: #ESummit2. Special thanks to Ludmilla Figueiredo and Büke Çuhadar for contributing reporting.

CLICK HERE to read Endeavor’s official press release.

This week, over 120 Endeavor network members gathered in Istanbul to participate in the 2nd Global Entrepreneurship Summit (December 3-6), hosted by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Along with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Endeavor Co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg delivered a keynote address.

In addition to speaking on two panels, Didem Altop, Managing Director of Endeavor Turkey, participated in an exclusive meeting with the Vice President during which he complimented the work of Endeavor.

The Summit, which has brought together 2,000 top entrepreneurs from Turkey and around the world, is a follow up to the U.S. President Barack Obama’s Summit on Entrepreneurship held in Washington in April 2010.

Joe Biden spotlights Endeavor Entrepreneurs

In his opening speech, Joe Biden emphasized the importance of fostering global entrepreneurship, moving beyond policies to create ecosystems for entrepreneurs to succeed. Describing the new class of visionaries leading the entrepreneurial revolution, he shared the stories of two Endeavor Entrepreneurs in Turkey–Alemşah Öztürk (41?29!) and Bedriye Hülya (b-fit).

Linda Rottenberg’s keynote

Following an introduction by Lorraine Hariton (Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State), Linda Rottenberg delivered a 30-minute address in which she highlighted the rise of global high-impact entrepreneurship. “Innovators from around the world can imitate, emulate, or leapfrog their Silicon Valley counterparts,” she said. She proceeded to break down 10 common myths about entrepreneurship, including the belief that all entrepreneurs are equally effective drivers of economic growth and that the same companies that create lots of wealth also create lots of jobs.

Linda ended by relating a recent conversation she heard in the Middle East when Steve Jobs died, in which young people said: “Who knew that he was just like us? His father was Syrian! But good thing he didn’t live in the Middle East or Apple wouldn’t exist.” “That’s when I knew that our work is not done,” Linda continued. “Let’s ease the heavy lifting. Together, we can make the Middle East, the cradle of civilization, the new cradle of entrepreneurship.”

Endeavor network members attending and speaking at the Summit

Numerous Endeavor board members around the world are attending the Summit, including Arif Naqvi (Abraaj Capital), Fadi Ghandour (Aramex), Vuslat Doğan Sabancı (Hürriyet), Ferit Şahenk (Doğuş Grubu), Işık Keçeci Aşur (Aragon Capital), Murat Özyeğin (FINA Holding), and Fawaz Zu’bi (Accelerator Technology Holdings).

In addition to Linda Rottenberg, Arif Naqvi, and Didem Altop, network members with prominent speaking roles include Erhan Erkut (Endeavor Advisory Board member / Ozyegin University), Ferit Sahenk (Endeavor Turkey Board member / Dogus Holding), Christopher Schroeder (Endeavor global network member / HealthCentral), and Ken Morse (Endeavor global network member / Entrepreneurship Ventures).

Numerous network members also had speaking roles in parallel events organized by Endeavor Turkey, including Endeavor Entrepreneurs Ahmet Ozgun (Speedcity), Alemsah Ozturk (41?29!), Ali Ozgun (Speedcity), Basar Akpinar (PIWorks), Bedriye Hulya (bFit), Bulent Celebi (AirTies), Emre Mermer (Dukkan), Firat Isbecer (Pozitron), Fatih Isbecer (Pozitron), and Nevzat Aydin (yemeksepeti.com). Other speakers included Buke Cuhadar (Staff member, Endeavor Turkey), Isik Kececi Asur (Board member, Endeavor Turkey), Kaan Gur (Akbank), and Jonathan Ortmans (Kauffman Foundation – Global Entrepreneurship Week).

Special session on entrepreneurship

The close of the first day featured a session with Arif Naqvi (Board member, Endeavor Global), Ferit Sahenk (Board member, Endeavor Turkey), and Leonard Schlesinger (President, Babson College), moderated by Guven Sak (Director, TEPAV). Calling Endeavor a “very smart NGO,” Arif discussed Endeavor’s model of searching for an supporting high-impact entrepreneurs.

Arif went on to identify entrepreneurs as tenacious, passionate risk-takers who were at the same time risk-minimizers with obsessive attention to detail, irrational optimism and the ability to improvise. He entreated the MENA region to: 1) better protect intellectual property and thus encourage innovation, 2) create more institutions of higher education (fewer universities in MENA than in Japan!); and 3) minimize the stigma of failure (e.g., create bankruptcy law, as Turkey has).

Ferit, meanwhile, discussed his experience attending Endeavor’s recent International Selection Panel in Jordan (Oct 2011). He told the story of a Turkish Endeavor Entrepreneur who traveled to Silicon Valley and stalked investors in a coffee shop until he convinced them to invest, using the anecdote to illustrate that the best entrepreneurs will always raise money–i.e., a lack of capital is not the biggest barrier to entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

After further group discussion about Endeavor, Arif emphasized the importance of mentorship, and of creating a culture where success is celebrated but so is learning from failure.

The Endeavor Lounge

The event venue featured an “Endeavor Lounge,” an area that showcases Endeavor Entrepreneurs (some of whom are delivering presentations) and recognizes Endeavor country offices and board members.

Investor Network Trek

In addition to attending the Summit, Endeavor Entrepreneurs, board members, and mentors participated in seven related events organized by Endeavor Turkey–including an Investor Trek, Gala, two panels, two roundtables, and one “speed networking” session.

Endeavor’s two-day “Investor Network Trek” (December 1-2) assembled many top international and local investors, culminating in a massive “speed networking” session with over 200 investor-entrepreneur introductions in one two-hour window.

During special pitch sessions, Endeavor Entrepreneurs from Arvento, Digitouch, Jeeran, Pozitron, Tiaxa, and Yemeksepeti had the opportunity to pitch their businesses to local, regional, and international investors.

A panel, “Why Turkey? Why Now?” featured some of Turkey’s top web gurus (Ali Karabey, Managing Partner – 212 Venture Capital; Alp Saul, CEO – Pronet Security Systems; Emre Kurttepeli, Founder – Mynet Group; Melih Ödemiş, CIO & Co-founder – Yemeksepeti), many of whom left the country to study but returned to build high-impact enterprises. The consensus was that Turkey is experiencing an entrepreneurial boom, with significantly opportunity especially in the tech space.

A discussion, “Beyond Turkey: Investors’ Perspectives on MENA and other Emerging Markets,” spotlighted the current investment climate.

Endeavor Turkey Gala

Endeavor Turkey celebrated its 5th anniversary with a Grand Gala on December 2nd at Four Seasons the Bosphorus Hotel. More than 300 people, including many top Turkish business leaders and investors that are part of Endeavor’s network, attended the annual event. This year’s Gala honored Ferit Sahenk, Doğus Group Chairman and Endeavor Turkey’s newest Board member, who was introduced by last year’s honoree, Hüsnü Özyeğin (Chairman, Fiba Holding), who was a close friend of Ferit’s late father.

During his speech, Ferit threw aside his cue cards and with a quivering voice, shared that he had often wished to hear more words of praise or encouragement from his late father–making the evening’s recognition by his peers more meaningful than expected. He admitted that he had avoided Endeavor for several years due to a challenging period restructuring the organization, and said that following an epiphany at the recent Jordan selection panel in October, he recognizes the inspirational power of the organization–not only for entrepreneurs but for mentors.

Acknowledging the progress of Endeavor Turkey, the board’s Chairman, Özcan Tahincioğlu, mentioned that Endeavor Turkey now supports 37 Entrepreneurs representing 28 companies, who together have created 1,550 high-value jobs and grew by 51% in 2011, generating US$183 million.

Abraaj Capital was one of the main sponsors of the Gala and many of its top managers and partners including the Founder and Group CEO Arif Naqvi were present.

Another highlight of the event was the screening of a special video, “Adventures of Mini Entrepreneur,” produced by Jordan-based Endeavor company Kharabeesh (Think Arabia).

Note: scroll to the bottom to check out Gala photos.

Linda Rottenberg featured in Summit newsletter

Rottenberg was featured on the cover of the official Summit newspaper, in which she is quoted as follows:

I am extremely honored to participate in this landmark Entrepreneurship Summit, generously hosted by Prime Minister Erdoğan. As I look forward to discussing in my keynote address, Turkey has become an extraordinary hub of innovation and a catalyst for entrepreneurship in growth markets around the globe. Increasingly, the world is looking to Turkey as an example of a successful ecosystem of entrepreneurship—with a growing network of mentors, investors, and role models.

The timing is right for this Summit. From the debt crisis in Europe to the wave of revolutions in the Middle East, the world is clamoring for new solutions. What we at Endeavor call “high-impact” entrepreneurs remain an important driver of growth: they generate wealth and opportunity, create high-value jobs, and serve as inspirational role models for the next generation. Together, they foster a culture of “thinking big,” where young people grow up learning to take risks and innovate.

At the Summit, I’m especially proud to be joined by the Endeavor Turkey network and board members, as well as by many other outstanding support organizations and entrepreneurs from around the world. Supporting and spotlighting High-Impact Entrepreneurs is crucial, and major events like this are important for promoting collaboration among key stakeholders—from CEOs and investors to entrepreneur support organizations, universities, media organizations, and the government. Together, let’s make it happen.

The next Summit

It was announced that in 2012, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit will be hosted in the 2012 during the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week, with the partnership of the Kauffman Foundation.

2010 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship

The Entrepreneurship Summit was a follow-up to U.S. President Obama’s Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington, D.C. in April 2010, aimed at “deepen[ing] ties between business leaders, foundations, and entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.” Endeavor played a prominent role in this inaugural summit; Linda Rottenberg and Endeavor Jordan founding board member Fadi Ghandour spoke on a panel about fostering an entrepreneurial culture (watch the YouTube recording), and four Endeavor Entrepreneurs were selected to attend as delegates. Endeavor also released a survey of 66 Middle East entrepreneurs which underscored the relevance of the Summit for highlighting the promise of entrepreneurial solutions to addressing common challenges.

Congratulations to the entire staff of Endeavor Turkey for playing a major role in this landmark Summit.

Endeavor Turkey Gala: Ferit Sahenk (left) and Özcan Tahincioglu (right)

Endeavor Turkey Gala: Vuslat Dogan Sabanci

Endeavor Turkey Gala: Husnu Ozyegin

Endeavor Lounge (Global Entrepreneurship Summit)

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Two Endeavor companies win awards at the Americas Venture Capital Conference

EntrepreneursEvents November 22nd, 2011 — Sarah Evangeline Norman

Endeavor companies gained valuable recognition at the second annual Americas Venture Capital Conference (AVCC) in Miami last week. Endeavor companies accounted for five of the twelve companies selected to speak in front of an audience of over 200 investors and attendees. Speakers included Endeavor Entrepreneur and Global Board member Wences Casares, Endeavor Global Network member Juan Pablo Cappello, and Allen Taylor (Director, Global Networks – Endeavor).

Two Endeavor companies were prizewinners at the conference. Buscalibre (Chile) received the FedEX Access to Global Markets Prize of $10,000 in-kind services for the company’s commitment to global trade. Cinemagic (Mexico) was voted by the public on Facebook to receive the CP Capital “People’s Choice Award,” awarding Cinemagic $10,000 in investment banking services “for a company that causes ripple effects of influence on people, industries and business around them,” according to the AVCC.

The AVCC is held annually to “provide a unique forum for innovative enterprises in South Florida and Latin America to showcase their ventures, and to meet established firms and potential investors to develop strategic alliances.” More information about the conference can be found here. Congratulations to Endeavor’s speakers and prizewinners.

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27 Endeavor Entrepreneurs participate in Endeavor Digital Media Tour in NYC

EntrepreneursEventsHighlights November 15th, 2011 — Justin Belmont

A global organization in 15 countries, Endeavor supports 632 High-Impact Entrepreneurs (selected from 29,000 candidates), connecting them to a network of 2,400 top local and international business leaders who volunteer their time to provide pro-bono mentorship, advice, connections, and supports. In 2010, these executives spent over 25,000 hours mentoring entrepreneurs.

One of the popular services that Endeavor Global provides to Endeavor Entrepreneurs is access to special “Immersion Tours.” On November 9-10, 27 Endeavor Entrepreneurs from emerging markets in Latin America and the Middle East gathered in New York City for a Digital Media Tour, meeting with numerous senior executives in the digital media and advertising space from companies like Facebook, News Corporation, Huffington Post / AOL, IAC, R/GA, Edelman, Gilt Groupe, and Barclays Capital. These executives delivered presentations and offered pro-bono mentoring and support. A list of participating Endeavor companies can be found at the bottom; many of these firms are generating between $2M and $10M+ and are working with multinational clients such as Google, Facebook, Coca-Cola, Citi, Nike, IBM, and Sony.

The tour kicked off on Wednesday morning at Barclays Capital, a sponsor of the Tour, with a fireside chat with Endeavor Global Board member Reid Hoffman, Co-founder and Chairman of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock. Reid shared his personal entrepreneurial story and offered his assessment of the current technology landscape, including new areas for innovation.

At Barclays, Entrepreneurs also attended a panel “Investing in Online Media and Advertising Start-Ups,” which shed light on recent IPOs, future trends, and tips for entrepreneurs interested in fundraising. The panel, introduced by Paul Parker (Global Head of M&A, Barclays Capital), was moderated by David Shrier (Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ernst & Young), and featured Endeavor Entrepreneur Mariano Suárez Battán (Co-founder, Three Melons), Greg Dalvito (Co-Head, Technology M&A, Barclays Capital), Howard Morgan (Managing Partner, First Round Capital), and Dave Morgan (Founder & CEO, Simulmedia [backed by Union Square Ventures] and angel investor). At one point, Mariano summarized many Endeavor Entrepreneurs’ view on the economic downtown: “We were ‘born’ in a crisis: Argentina in 2001. So, in 2008, when my friends in the US said that there was a crisis, I said ‘whaaaat?’ For us, a crisis is a feature, not a bug.”

Later, at Endeavor Global’s offices in Union Square, Sunny Bates (CEO, Sunny Bates Associates) moderated a panel on building a fast-growth media company, which addressed challenges surrounding building an effective team and scaling successfully. Panelists were Kirsten Nevill-Manning (International HR and Staffing, Facebook; formerly at Google) and Melanie Hughes, COO, Gilt Groupe.

Then PR expert Brian Reich (SVP and Global Editor, Edelman), drawing on lessons from his new book Shift & Reset, discussed macro issues for cultivating engagement beyond traditional strategies.

Continuing their busy day in New York, Entrepreneurs then visited R/GA, a full service advertising agency that was named Adweek‘s “Digital Agency of the Decade” as well as Adweek’s “Digital/Interactive Agency of the Year.” William Charnock (Chief Strategy Officer, R/GA) discussed some of R/GA’s most successful campaigns, and offered advice for taking advantage of various areas of advertising — from mobile and social media to visual design and digital productions — to create compelling campaigns.

On Wednesday evening, Entrepreneurs convened at the iconic Frank Gehry building that is home to IAC (InterActiveCorp), an Internet company with over 50 brands across 40 countries led by Chairman and Senior Executive Barry Diller, previously head of Paramount Pictures, Fox Broadcasting, and USA Broadcasting. A “Founders’ Panel” highlighted the experiences of founders from some of IAC’s most popular sites, in addition to David Kidder, Co-founder and CEO of Clickable. Then, at a cocktail reception at IAC, Entrepreneurs had the chance to network with IAC executives and employees, as well as various Endeavor network and board members.

The second day of the media tour (November 10) kicked off with 1:1 mentoring sessions between Endeavor Entrepreneurs and industry and subject matter experts, customized to the Entrepreneurs’ industries and specific business needs. “The mentoring sessions, like the Tour itself, were relevant, well-organized, and highly valuable,” said Endeavor Entrepreneur Ramzi Halaby (The Online Project). “We have already started implementing a number of the tips and recommendations.”

“They were amazing connections,” said Endeavor Entrepreneur David Basulto of Plataforma Networks. “Even if [some of the mentors] were from companies in different industries, they’ve gone through some of the same issues so the experience was very valuable. They were very open to collaborate with us, tell us about their insights, and connect us with people, so it’s a huge benefit for us. They’re already connecting us with the right people we’re looking for (for instance, people in advertising sales in New York).”

Jesse Dwyer (Senior Sales Development Lead, Facebook) then delivered a lively presentation on social media marketing, discussing how best to utilize Facebook as a platform and medium for building businesses and marketing to key audiences.

Entrepreneurs then divided into groups and visited companies relevant to their businesses:

- At Gilt Groupe, one of the fastest growing e-commerce sites in the U.S., Alexis Maybank (Founder & President, Premium Products and Services) and Susan Lyne (Chairman) offered advice on driving user adoption through game mechanics, leveraging online marketing and social media to build brands, and differentiating products from the competition.

- At News Corporation, a global and vertically integrated company with brands including 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins, and Sky, Entrepreneurs gained advice from Jorge Espinel (EVP, Strategy and Corporate Development – News Digital Media) and Gil Fuchsberg (SVP – News Digital Media).

- At The Huffington Post, a top news website and content aggregating blog launched in 2005 and acquired by AOL in 2011, Entrepreneurs gained advice from Jimmy Soni (Chief of Staff), Tim O’Brien (Executive Editor), and Nico Pitney (Managing Editor), among other senior staff members.

- MediaVest is a division of Starcom MediaVest Group and one of the leading, full-service media specialist companies offering brand-building results and business solutions for marketing partners. Entrepreneurs spoke with Guillermo Abud, VP & Digital Director at Forty-Two Degrees at MediaVest (MV42), a leading multicultural media agency with clients such as Kraft, P&G, The Coca-Cola Company and Wal-Mart.

- At Kickstarter, the largest online funding platform for creative projects, Entrepreneurs gained valuable insights from Perry Chen, Co-founder and CEO. Specifically, Chen recounted his unique road to becoming an entrepreneur and discussed the value of finding and focusing on a niche market.

Entrepreneurs then reconvened for a visit to Google‘s New York office, before joining 600 New York and global CEOs and business leaders at Endeavor’s annual Gala, which has raised $2m and will honor Reid Hoffman and Fadi Ghandour—an event hosted by Endeavor Board chairman Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (Chairman, Warner Music Group).

Endeavor’s previous Immersion Tours have taken Endeavor Entrepreneurs to such places as Silicon Valley, Boston, India, and Israel. At the October 2010 Silicon Valley Tour, entrepreneurs met with executives at Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and eBay. December 2010’s Fashion and Design Spotlight in New York featured presentations, conversations, and panels with top fashion executives, as well as several “Behind the Seams” tours. In 2012, Endeavor plans to offer a tour in Austin and another tour in the San Francisco area.

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Endeavor Entrepreneur companies that participated in the Digital Media Tour

MARKETING / SOCIAL MEDIA

• Social Metrix (Argentina) – a leading social media analytics company in LatAm; just received investment from A&N Media
• Modern Media (The Online Project) (Jordan) – launched Jordan’s #1 hit music station; now the leading Arabic social media management firm; untraditional marketing/events
• SocialWire (Turkey) – online social recommendation engine (for int’l retailers who want “recommended items” on homepage à la Amazon)

MOBILE

• Pozitron (Turkey) – a leading mobile software developer for large companies in MENA; clients include 30 Turkey Fortune 500 companies
• T.A. Telecom (Egypt) – a top mobile platform in Egypt; early pioneer in mobile value-added services (VAS) industry

WEB 2.0

• Akhtaboot (Jordan) – “Monster.com of the Middle East” (region that needs to create 100 million jobs by 2020)
• Jeeran (Jordan) – “Yelp of the Arab world”; user-generated reviews for 8+ cities across MENA
• Clandescuento (Chile) – daily discount site acquired by Groupon in June 2010 to build out Groupon Latin America
• Yemeksepeti.com (Turkey) – the “Seamless/GrubHub of Turkey” (top online food delivery site); expanding internationally
• Plataforma Networks (Chile) – publisher of the world’s most visited architecture website, ArchDaily (over 2M monthly visits / 18M monthly impressions; 400k Facebook fans)
• Hindawi (Egypt) – Publishes 300+ open access, peer-reviewed academic journals; innovation in traditional industry; 20k editors; 400+ employees

IT / PRODUCTION

• Globant (Argentina) – top LatAm IT outsourcer; poised for U.S. public launch in 2012; Google’s first outsourcing partner; 2k employees
• Three Melons (Argentina) – pioneered Argentine video game industry; acquired by Playdom in March 2010 (July 2010: Playdom acquired by Disney)
• Think Arabia (Jordan) – creative production / tech firm for new media platforms; includes Kharabeesh, offbeat animation studio
• Ollin Studio (Mexico) – a leading LatAm movie studio (post-production / visual effects); 2009 Oscar for visual effects in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Dynamo (Colombia) – only PE fund for film financing in LatAm; also a leading production studio
• Oruga (Colombia) – “Pixar of Colombia”; digital animation studio
• Subway Link (Brazil) – pioneered closed-circuit “business TV” in Brazil (55M viewers each month)

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2011 Endeavor Gala honoring LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman and Aramex International Founder & CEO Fadi Ghandour raises $2 million

EventsHighlights November 12th, 2011 — admin

The 2011 Endeavor Gala, which took place Thursday evening in New York City, convened over 600 business leaders and entrepreneurs to honor Reid Hoffman, Founder & Chairman, LinkedIn, and Fadi Ghandour, Founder & CEO, Aramex International- considered the FedEx of the Middle East, as High-Impact Entrepreneurs of the Year. In total, the Gala raised over $2 million to support Endeavor Global and its 632 High-Impact Entrepreneurs.

In addition to remarks from Hoffman and Ghandour, attendees heard from Herb Allen III, Allen & Co.; Linda Rottenberg, Endeavor Co-Founder & CEO; Arif Naqvi, Founder & Group CEO, Abraaj Capital, and Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Chairman, Warner Music Group, and Endeavor Global Chairman. The evening ended with a smashing performance by UK sensation Lianne La Havas.

Endeavor Co-Founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg said that while every Gala is unique, she was particularly thrilled to honor two Endeavor Board Members this year. “Our honorees truly exemplify what it means to be ‘high-impact.’ Aside from being phenomenal entrepreneurs, both Reid and Fadi are committed to giving back to the next generation of talent.’ Endeavor could not have been more excited to honor Reid and Fadi, or more grateful for Reid and Fadi’s participation as board members of Endeavor Global and Jordan, respectively.”

Hear Reid and Fadi’s insights on the meaning of “high-impact” in this short video:

The 2011 Endeavor Gala came on the heels of the Endeavor Entrepreneur Digital Media Tour, at which over 20 Endeavor Entrepreneurs participated in panel discussions with Reid Hoffman, met with leading media and advertisement executives, and visited top firms including R/GA, The Huffington Post, and IAC.

Below, check out a special video created for the Gala by Kharabeesh, an Endeavor company in Jordan:

And finally, here are some wonderful speeches from the evening:

Linda Rottenberg:

Arif Naqvi:

Fadi Ghandour:

Reid Hoffman:

Edgar Bronfman, Jr.:

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Endeavor co-hosts angel investing summit in Turkey

Events October 12th, 2011 — admin

From left to right: Didem Altop (Endeavor), Kaan Gür (Akbank), John May (ACA), Hakan Binbaşgil (Akbank), Banu Samiloğlu (Turkcell), Özcan Tahincioğlu (Endeavor), Mustafa Say (Endeavor and TUSİAD), Tayfun Bayazıt (TUSİAD), Robert Okabe (ARI)

By Ceylan Hunal (Endeavor Turkey)

“İyi Yatırım Summit,” an event targeted at developing an angel investing community and entrepreneurial culture in Turkey, was held at at Sabanci Center in Istanbul on October 4-5. The summit, organized with the collaboration of Endeavor Turkey, TUSIAD and Angel Resources Institute and sponsored by Akbank and Turkcell, brought together leading Turkish and international investors, entrepreneurs, academics and top executives.

Opening remarks were made by Özcan Tahincioğlu, Board Chairman of Endeavor Turkey, Hakan Binbasgil, Deputy CEO of Akbank, and Tayfun Beyazıt, Vice President of the Board of Directors of TUSIAD. During the two-day summit, attendees discussed the “Angel Investor” model, which aims to support entrepreneurship and enhance entrepreneurial activity by providing knowledge, mentoring and networking opportunities to entrepreneurs, along with funding support.

The first day of the summit featured five panels lead by Robert Okabe, President of Angel Resource Institute, and John May, Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association, which aimed to educate participants on various aspects of angel investing. The panels focused on portfolio strategy, due diligence, structuring of a deal, valuation of early stage companies, and post-investment relationships. On the second day of the summit, Robert Okabe and John May gave a half day workshop on different valuation techniques for early stage companies. The other panelists in the sessions were mostly Endeavor members, Endeavor Entreprenuers and Endeavor partners. The audience also included select members of the greater Endeavor network, such as NGOs and business leaders, all uniting to shape the nascent angel investor ecosystem in Turkey.

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5 Endeavor companies to present at 2011 Americas Venture Capital Conference

EntrepreneursEvents October 10th, 2011 — admin

On November 16-17, cutting-edge ventures from Latin America and South Florida will vie for more than $50,000 in awards and recognition from leading investors, at Florida International University’s 2011 Americas Venture Capital Conference (AVCC). Of the 12 companies invited to make presentations and compete in this year’s conference, “Latin America: Building on Success,” five were started by Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

The AVCC bills itself as the premier forum for creative and innovative Latin American ventures to engage established firms and investors of South Florida. As many South Florida companies are looking to benefit from emerging talent in the oft overlooked region of Latin America, the conference allows the two to create strategic alliances so that both may better compete and thrive in today’s global marketplace.

Endeavor congratulates all nominees for the 2011 Top Global Innovative Ventures, including the following five Endeavor-supported companies:

APPI Tecnologia APPI of Brazil provides software solutions that make it easy to use point of sale (POS) devices (such as cash registers, terminals, or other types of hardware) for a variety of functions. Today almost half of all POS merchant devices in Brazil are equipped with APPI’s platform.

Buscalibre is fast becoming a best-seller in the Spanish-speaking world. The Chilean e-commerce website for books manages a comprehensive collection of titles by unifying Latin America’s segmented book markets through a network of local publishers.

Business News Americas of Chile is a subscription-based service that provides elite industry-specific information in English and Spanish to Latin America’s business leaders and decision-makers via a daily, real-time Internet news service.

Cinemagic builds and manages high-tech, modern movie complexes in small size Mexican cities taking advantage of the gap in the Mexican movie market where the national cinema industry is valued at US$575 million, and yet more than 200 small cities do not have a movie theater.

Conexia has become the industry benchmark in Argentina, providing the great benefit of real-time adjudication, which enables healthcare practitioners and insurance companies to share information and validate medical procedures with the simple swipe of a patient’s health card.

More information on this year’s conference can be found here.

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Join us as we celebrate High-Impact Entrepreneurship at the 2011 Endeavor Gala

EventsHighlights September 15th, 2011 — admin

We hope you will join us at what promises to be a memorable evening. Seats are limited, so email gala@endeavor.org to reserve your table today!

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Experience is everything: a field report from Experiencia Argentina (Part 1 of 3)

EventsVoices August 25th, 2011 — admin

By Mark Horoszowski (reprinted from his blog, Aspen to Nepal)

I am currently at Experiencia Argentina, a conference for high-impact entrepreneurs and their businesses. The tagline for this year’s event is “LIVE THE EXPERIENCE OF CHANGING THE WORLD.”

The concept is simple: high-impact, responsible businesses are the most potent force in creating jobs and leading innovations that drive positive progress. As such, getting entrepreneurs together to share ideas, learn from each other, and expand their networks will surely make a more positive impact, faster. I couldn’t agree more with this theory. But, not everyone can attend these world-changing conferences. So here are four tips on how to grow your own skills to be more effective:

These four tips center around the notion that we can all help drive more positive progress if we have more experience to empower us:

DEMAND IT: Paid or volunteer, if you want to grow, you have to get more experience. An essential trait of all leaders is experience, and it’s also a fundamental component of Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of 10,000 hours on why people succeed and excel.

STUDY IT: Another common trait of the best leaders is an unquenchable desire to learn and innovate. Read, write, and watch as much as possible: Blogs, books, videos, conferences, etc. Using coaches and mentors is essential, too.

VOLUNTEER FOR IT: Everybody should give more than they take simply because it is the right thing to do, but in doing so, you can also experience exponential growth in your core skills. So use your skills in different settings to fuel creativity and grow. (Note: the important thing is to volunteer your desired skills, not just volunteer to volunteer).

TEACH IT: To teach is to learn twice. If you can’t teach on the job, try volunteering at schools, being a mentor, or traveling abroad.
Mark Zuckerberg was successful because he loved programming, loved writing about it, loved working on side projects, and loved telling his friends about it. Starbucks is what it is because Howard Schultz loved telling people about coffee, traveled around the world to experience it in different settings, taught others about it, and demanded new opportunities at his job to get better coffee in the hands of more people.

The bottom line: whether you want to grow your career or make a more positive global impact, experience is everything.

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SuperReturn Middle East 2011 (October 16-19 – Dubai)

Events August 12th, 2011 — admin

Endeavor is a Supporting Association for the MENA region’s largest private equity event, which brings together 500+ delegates to hear from global titans, Middle Eastern & International LPs and regional GPs. Endeavor Entrepreneurs, mentors, and staff members are eligible for a 10% discount. (For more information, contact ludmilla.figueiredo-at-endeavor.org.)

Click here for complete details about SuperReturn Middle East event, which will take place October 16-19, 2011 in Dubai, at the Ritz-Carlton (Dubai International Financial Centre).

Speakers include Endeavor network members Timothy Draper (Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson), Mustafa Abdel Wadood (CEO, Abraaj Capital), and Josh Lerner (Jacob H. Schiff Prof of Investment Banking, Harvard Business School). Learn more about the speakers here, and download the speaker lineup.

Click here to download the latest conference program. You can also follow the event on Twitter @SuperReturn.

To see what the conference was like last year, check out the video below.

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Argentina’s “Experiencia Endeavor 2011″: Aug 24-25

Events July 28th, 2011 — admin

Endeavor Argentina’s annual Experiencia Endeavor conference is set for August 24-25 at La Rural Exposition Center in Buenos Aires. The public event aims to bring together entrepreneurs from around the world for instruction and networking. To learn more and register, click here.

On the first day, participants will attend a series of workshops on entrepreneurial topics, with sessions focusing on developing attendees’ management skills and business know-how. Additionally, several networking activities are planned, including group and face-to-face meetings between participants and Endeavor mentors / Endeavor Entrepreneurs. A networking party is also planned for more informal connections. See the complete schedule here.

The second day will consist of inspirational talks by prominent business leaders, entrepreneurs, and industry experts. Endeavor Entrepreneurs currently scheduled to speak include Santiago Bilinkis, Luciano Nicora, Matias Rozenfarb, Andy Freire, Martin Migoya, Guibert Englebienne and Juan Damia. Endeavor Argentina Managing Director Alejandro Mashad will also speak, along with Endeavor Global Network member David Frazee. View a complete list of speakers here.

For more information, visit https://eventioz.com/events/experiencia-endeavor-2011-xe2011. Also, be sure to follow Endeavor Argentina on Twitter (@EndeavorArg) and Facebook.

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