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An interview with Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg (The Bridgespan Group)

In the NewsVoices February 16th, 2012 — admin

Interview conducted by The Bridgespan Group and reprinted from Bridgestar.org. You can see the original post here.

Interview by Kathleen Yazbak

This “CEO Perspectives” features a conversation between Bridgespan Executive Search Partner Kathleen Yazbak and Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of Endeavor Global.

Kathleen Yazbak: You’re an entrepreneur, leading a network of organizations led by entrepreneurs, each supporting entrepreneurs in their countries. How do you define ‘entrepreneur’ and has your definition changed over time?

Linda Rottenberg: Endeavor Global has always been of, by, and for entrepreneurs. Originally, we thought of “entrepreneurs” as those who create jobs and wealth and give back to Endeavor’s work with other entrepreneurs, creating that positive cycle. However, the term “entrepreneur” has become ubiquitous, and I think it has been devalued over time. At Endeavor, we now talk purposefully about ’high-impact entrepreneurs,’ those who drive innovation and growth. Growth potential is now a more rigorous lens than it was. We now think of our entrepreneurs’ success as a multiplier effect and are now far more definitive about growth being the role model.

There have been distinct phases to your work at Endeavor, and thus your role and leadership. How do you categorize those phases?

Rottenberg: If I look at the phases, they’ve all been about the people. Phase one—roughly 1998 to 2003—was about getting top, local business leaders to pick us up. We found the movers and shakers and we told them, ’We have a model, but you have to decide whether you want it, and you have to pay us for it.’ We put the onus on them, and we built local boards and partnerships to find and nurture the best entrepreneurs.

Phase two began in January 2004, when Edgar Bronfman, Jr. [the chairman of Warner Music Group] became our board chair. We went from being a founding board to developing into a board that had a focus on resources and strategy at its core. Edgar wanted to help make Endeavor important and pushed us to take on a goal of 25 countries by 2015. Our growth and expansion led us into South Africa, Turkey, and the Middle East.

Phase three, which occurred roughly three and a half years ago, is when Omidyar Network took a bet on us and gave us a challenge grant to build our leadership team and management and to build in retention, because we were finding that because we are private-sector driven, we were losing smart, young people to business school, as well as to hedge funds and private equity firms.

Phase four is now, with our Endeavor 3.0 strategy. We have an operating plan to double in the next five years what it took us 14 years to do. Part of this phase is about unlocking our long-term sustainability.
(more…)

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Endeavor company Yola listed a “Top 20 Tech Startups in Africa” by Forbes

EntrepreneursIn the News February 15th, 2012 — Jack Connor

Founded by Endeavor Entrepreneur Vinny Lingham, the South African tech company Yola has just been listed by Forbes Africa (a licensed affiliate of Forbes magazine) as one of the “Top 20 Startups in Africa”: “Founded by South African-born internet entrepreneur Vinny Lingham in 2007, Yola (formerly known as Synthasite) is a website builder which lets you create your own website with easy-to-use drag and drop multimedia features.” Check out the Forbes.com blog post about the list.

Yola has become a valuable resource for small businesses looking for affordable, easy-to-use website solutions. Vinny currently resides in the San Francisco area where he works on growing their North American business as well as angel investing and sitting on the boards of several tech companies. Along with being selected by Endeavor for another venture, Incubeta, he was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2009.

Yola plays an important role in Africa as internet penetration continues to grow exponentially. Currently there are over 110 million users on the continent, a 2,300% increase over the last ten years, and having an online presence is becoming increasingly important for businesses and entrepreneurs on the continent.

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New Endeavor research and video: the “multiplier effect” in Argentina

HighlightsImpact in ActionIn the NewsVideos February 13th, 2012 — admin

Over the last decade, entrepreneurs in Argentina have created a thriving tech sector in a country that Inc. magazine calls “one of the toughest business climates on earth.” For years people have wondered how this has happened. Our research group, Endeavor Insight, has just completed six months of research and interviewed more than 200 entrepreneurs to figure out the answer.

The secret to Argentina’s success is something we call the “multiplier effect” and we’ve created a video that shares the important lessons they learned. You can find the video on our YouTube channel.

“We are very excited to share this video of our research on Argentina,” says Rhett Morris, director of Endeavor Insight. “It really shows how things like mentoring, investing in and inspiring other entrepreneurs are critical for creating communities of entrepreneurship.”

Trust us. You don’t want to miss this video.

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Endeavor February 2012 newsletter

HighlightsIn the News February 10th, 2012 — admin

To view Endeavor’s February newsletter, a recap of all the top news stories from the previous month, please CLICK HERE.

Reminder: To receive our monthly newsletters by email, please enter your email address in the sign-up box at the bottom of our homepage.

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Endeavor launches in Indonesia!

HighlightsIn the News February 8th, 2012 — admin

It’s official: Endeavor has launched in Indonesia! With approximately 240 million people, Indonesia is Endeavor’s biggest country, and signals Endeavor’s formal entry into East Asia.

Endeavor’s presence in Indonesia will start in the capital of Jakarta, located on the island of Java, the most populous of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands. The office plans to expand its presence throughout the country, locating high-impact entrepreneurs in every province.

We are proud to welcome Sati Rasuanto as the new Managing Director. Formerly, Sati served as Chief of Staff to Gita Wirjawan, then Chairman of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board and the new Minister of Trade, helping to shape Indonesia’s development agenda and formulating strategies to increase investment flows into the country.

As another major milestone, we are pleased to announce the board of directors, comprised of many of the country’s top business leaders. The complete list appears below.

Endeavor Indonesia has already begun building a Search & Selection pipeline; the first entrepreneur candidate is slated to present at Endeavor’s International Selection Panel next month in Dubai.

“The timing for Endeavor Indonesia couldn’t be better,” says Sati. “Entrepreneurship is really taking off. Just look at the mobile technology industry. Mobile penetration has tripled in the last five years, with the majority of growth coming from a younger, less affluent Indonesia (half of the population is under the age of 29). High-Impact Entrepreneurs are seizing on the opportunities, and more and more people are innovating. Endeavor is poised to play a vital role in cultivating an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Indonesia.”

Cindy Ko from Endeavor, who led the expansion, is currently based in Singapore, Endeavor’s newest regional service office. “With plans to expand in all of the major emerging markets in East Asia,” she says, “it was the right time for Endeavor to be present in the financial & commercial hub of Southeast Asia.”

Announcing Endeavor Indonesia’s Board of Directors:

Ciputra
Ciputra Development
Founder & Chairman

George Tahija
Austindo Nusantara Jaya
President Director & CEO

Hendrik Kolonas
Celebes Artha Ventura
President Commissioner

Husodo Angkosubroto
Gunung Sewu Kencana
Chairman

Jimmy Masrin
Lautan Luas
Vice President Director

Svida Alisjahbana
Femina Group
President & CEO

Theodore Rachmat
Triputra Investindo Arya
President Director

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Dow Jones VentureWire: “NGO Endeavor backs Globant through new investment fund”

In the News February 2nd, 2012 — admin

Reprinted from Dow Jones VentureWire. See original article here (highlighted on WSJ.com).

By Deborah Gage

Endeavor Global Inc., a non-profit that supports entrepreneurs capable of building big businesses in developing countries, invested $2 million in Globant, a software development company headquartered in Buenos Aires that handles projects for customers including Southwest Airlines Co., the Coca-Cola Company and Dell Inc.

The investment was made through Endeavor Catalyst, a new organization operating as a 509(a)(3)–the same classification used by university endowment funds–that enables Endeavor to make venture-style investments in promising companies and reap returns without being regulated like a private foundation.

So far, Endeavor has raised nearly $10 million for Endeavor Catalyst from investors including True North Venture Partners Chairman Michael Ahearn, former Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr., Accretive LLC Managing Partner Michael Cline, Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman, Abraaj Capital founder Arif Naqvi and Omidyar Network founder Pierre Omidyar, according to Endeavor Chief Executive Linda Rottenberg. Each man has pledged $1 million.

The goal is to get the fund to $20 million this year and ultimately to $40 million, which should allow Endeavor to become financially self-supporting rather than relying on donations, Rottenberg said.

“For Endeavor, this is a huge step toward longevity, and for the Endeavor entrepreneurs it’s an additional feeling of confidence for them and allows them to get more of a leg into the investment community in the U.S.,” she said.

Rottenberg co-founded Endeavor 14 years ago as a way to support the development of businesses in emerging economies that could generate revenue and create jobs. It now operates in 15 countries in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and has screened more than 29,000 entrepreneurs, selecting 656 of them to lead 413 companies.

All Endeavor entrepreneurs are mentored, often by volunteers, and are also required to donate time and money back to their communities, but Endeavor was torn over how to invest in some entrepreneurs without seeming to play favorites.

Hoffman and Matrix General Partner Nick Beim solved that problem by designing a fund that would allow Endeavor to participate passively in investments of at least $5 million led by professional investors, contributing no more than $2 million to a round in return for about 10% of the company. Negotiations on terms are handled by the lead investor.

For Globant, whose founders have been participating in Endeavor since 2005, Endeavor added on to a $15 million funding round that Globant raised last March from FTV Capital and Riverwood Capital so that Globant could be Endeavor Catalyst’s first investment, Rottenberg said.

Five more investments–two in Brazil, two in Mexico and one in Turkey–are likely to happen in the next three to four months, she said.

Globant Chief Executive Martin Migoya told VentureWire in March that the company had raised about $35 million and hoped to go public in the U.S. within the next few years. He said Globant’s participation in Endeavor has enabled the company to learn “from some of the most talented and experienced professionals in the world.” Globant now employs over 2,500 people.

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Endeavor Global closes investment round with IT firm Globant

EntrepreneursHighlightsIn the News February 1st, 2012 — admin

The following press release can also be viewed here: http://prn.to/xpQVEQ

For the first time in its history, the global NGO – through the Endeavor Catalyst Program – invests $2MM in one of their selected High-Impact Entrepreneurs

New York, New York, February 1, 2012 - Endeavor, the word-wide leader in selecting, mentoring and accelerating high-impact entrepreneurs, announced that it has closed an investment round with Globant, a leading producer of innovative software products that appeal to global audiences, as the first investment of Endeavor Catalyst.

Endeavor Catalyst is a revolutionary and high-impact initiative that uses donated capital to allow the organization to co-invest in Endeavor Entrepreneurs in a neutral, unbiased way. The main goal of this program is to use the returns of the investment both to support Endeavor’s operations and to be reinvested into Catalyst to provide funding for other Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

The pioneering supporters of Endeavor Catalyst have each pledged $1MM to the investment vehicle, citing it as an innovative new model of philanthropy. The founding members of this Entrepreneurs’ Circle include Michael Ahearn, Chairman of True North Venture Partners; Edgar Bronfman, Jr, Former Chairman of Warner Music Group; Michael Cline, Managing Partner of Accretive LLC; Reid Hoffman, Partner of Greylock Partners and Co-Founder of LinkedIn; Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group CEO of Abraaj Capital; Pierre Omidyar, Founding Partner of Omidyar Network, Founder and Chairman of eBay.

“We are thrilled to be part of Globant´s story once again. The moment Globant’s founders were selected as High-Impact Entrepreneurs in 2005 we were struck by their passion and vision. We knew that they were going to change their society and country. Today, Globant’s reach and impact spans the globe, creating more than 2,500 high-quality jobs and working with the world’s greatest technology players. I am proud to announce that Globant has received the first investment from Endeavor Catalyst, a passive investment vehicle that uses donors’ funds to support Endeavor Entrepreneurs’ capital-raising rounds,” explained Linda Rottenberg, Endeavor Co-Founder and CEO.

Endeavor is leading the global high-impact movement to catalyze long-term economic growth around the world. With operations in 15 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Endeavor has screened more than 29,000 entrepreneurs and selected 656 individuals leading 413 high-impact companies.  These Entrepreneurs have created over 156,000 jobs, generated over $4.5 billion in revenues in 2010 and inspire future generations to innovate and take risks.

“For us, this round means much more than just the $2 million. It is a symbolic act that shows the reinforced trust that Endeavor puts in Globant; trust that was first shown in 2005 when they selected us as Endeavor Entrepreneurs. That was a key milestone in our history, since they enabled us to learn from some of the most talented and experienced professionals in the world”, said Martín Migoya, Globant´s CEO and Co-Founder. “By renewing its commitment to Globant through the Endeavor Catalyst Program, Endeavor reinforces a great partnership that will help us to take our company to the next level, creating more jobs for talent across the world, more opportunities for our Globers and delivering the best software products for our customers”.

Globant is a company comprised by more than 2,500 IT professionals, based in 15 delivery centers across Latin America and US and working for customers like Google, EA, JWT and LinkedIn.The Company closed late last year the acquisition of SanFrancisco-based Nextive, a company specialized in the development of mobile software solutions. This operation allowed them to improve its organization around 8 studios, which in turn is contributing to position the Argentinean Company as leader in their industry.


About Globant (www.globant.com)

Globant is the Latin American leader in the creation of innovative software products that appeal to global audiences. For us, that means we are the place where the best engineers team up with art design studios and innovation labs to deliver a superb user experience.

In only 9 years, Globant:

- Has more than 2,500 professionals working for companies like LinkedIn, JWT, Zynga, and Google, among several others.
- Was selected as Endeavor Entrepreneur (2005)
- Was named among the top 10 software development company and top 10 product engineering vendor (2011) by Global Services
- Was included in the 2010 Cool Vendor in Business Process Services Report by Gartner
- Was featured as case study of Harvard, MIT, Stanford and others

About Endeavor (www.endeavor.org)

Hailed by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman as “the best anti-poverty program of all,” Endeavor is leading the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 29,000 entrepreneurs and selected 656 individuals leading 413 high-impact companies.
With support from Endeavor’s worldwide mentor network, these high-impact entrepreneurs:

- Have created over 156,000 jobs
- Generated over $4.5 billion in revenues in 2010
- Inspire future generations to innovate and take risks

Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in 15 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. As the high-impact movement expands globally, Endeavor will continue to show that anyone with a big idea can succeed, from Silicon Valley to Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond.

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Beleza Natural co-founder and CEO Leila Velez featured on Forbes.com

EntrepreneursHighlightsIn the News January 31st, 2012 — Sean Freeman

Beleza Natural Co-founder and CEO Leila Velez has a new approach to an old industry. Julie Ruvolo’s new article for Forbes.com, Bye Bye Brazilian Blowouts: The Next Big Brazilian Hair Trend is Beleza Natural (see original post here), offers insight into how Leila keyed in on overlooked aspects of hairdressing, and focused on underserved communities with her patented approach.  Leila’s idea was simple–less chemicals, and more natural approaches toward hair with women of color in mind.

In the Forbes interview, she describes how applying supply-chain techniques learned while working as a young woman at McDonald’s (a fact that she is rather proud of) to the hairdressing industry has driven her success.  Here she mastered the “art” and “science” approaches of the beauty salon–a place it is not often found.  Her approach is described as a “veritable conveyor belt of services” that begins with a private consultation, which designs a specific, unique plan for each individual, and ends in the actual hair design.  Her approach is so specific that her hair consultants (not hairdressers) analyze follicle density per quadrant of the scalp (they divide it into 16 quadrants), and takes into consideration the geometric shape of a client’s head in order to find the perfect cut that complements each woman.

This operation, which began in 1993, was entirely self-financed, largely due to her husband, Jair, selling his VW Beatle, has earned her the Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2006 and recognition as one of Brazil’s Most Influential Women in 2007.

This idea of bringing more efficiency and attentive care to hair-salons has grown into twelve salons in as many years, and employs over 1,400 people, mostly women.  Leila has also just recently expanded into manufacturing her own proprietary line of hair-care products, 45 in all, that include creams, shampoos and follicle treatments.

Her company donates generously and offers free hair care to women in poor communities.  In fact, 70% of her workforce are former clients, and women from these underserved communities.  And employees remain happy as Beleza Natural offers good working conditions, generous health-care and tuition-reimbursement.  Keeping an eye toward the future, Leila is constantly brainstorming and utilizing social media for ideas on new products and concepts.

As the article points out, a recent initiative, The Beleza Natural Institute, has also devised a model salon blueprint that is scheduled to be scaled internationally. Her first location is already slated for Harlem in New York City.

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Endeavor Entrepreneur Jorge Soto selected as one of 30 Global Shapers by World Economic Forum

EntrepreneursIn the News January 19th, 2012 — admin

Endeavor Entrepreneur since 2011 and co-founder of CitiVox Jorge Soto has been selected to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos as one of 30 Global Shapers from around the world.

Acknowledging that half of the world’s population is below the age of 27, the World Economic Forum created their new Global Shapers Community to supplement their existing network of Young Global Leaders in an effort to “provide youth with a global platform to shape the future.” Defined as up-and-coming global leaders between the ages of 20 and 30, Global Shapers must demonstrate a deep passion for entrepreneurship for the global public interest and a commitment to develop their leadership potential towards serving their communities.

Jorge, along with his partner Oscar Salazar, founded CitiVox in 2010 with the hope of enhancing the relationship between citizens and their governments. Through the use of crowd-sourcing and cloud-based technologies, CitiVox provides real-time report management to local governments based on compiled data received from local citizens. CitiVox services not only provide vital information to municipal authorities, but also increase civic engagement and government accountability. Jorge’s vision of utilizing emerging technologies as a tool for creating tangible social change has been rapidly reaching fruition as CitiVox continues to expand, with hopes of reaching 15 million citizens in 15 countries by 2013.

Jorge undoubtedly exhibits the best of these qualities; we congratulate him on his selection and wish him all the best at Davos!

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Endeavor mourns the loss of an invaluable mentor

In the News January 17th, 2012 — admin

Alexis with wife Marcela

Endeavor pays its respects to Alexis Rovzar, a member of the Endeavor Mexico board who passed away this month. In his work as a committed philanthropist both in Mexico and the United States, Alexis amassed a loyal following of international peers and colleagues who have described him as a wonderful friend. Endeavor Mexico received pro bono help during its formative years by Alexis through White & Case, the law firm to which Alexis dedicated his services for most of his professional career.

Along with serving on the Boards of numerous other academic and philanthropic institutions, Alexis served as Secretary of the Board of Endeavor Mexico for 10 years, actively engaging as a mentor and counselor throughout that time. With 100% of its Entrepreneurs participating in the Give-Back Program in 2011, and a new program to promote small- and medium-sized enterprise listings on the Mexican Stock Exchange, Endeavor Mexico makes a promising bid to continue Alexis’s legacy of generosity and humanitarian enterprise. Alexis will be truly missed.

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