Our Entrepreneurs

Company Snapshot

While completing his thesis in civil engineering during his final year at Universidad Catolica de Chile, Javier received an offer from a Taiwanese businessman to “take his business plan out of the library,” so in 1993 he opened a seafood processing factory and launched Geomar.

Javier moved to the south of Chile (Coronel) where he found an old industrial building to rent and set up operations very near the raw material resources. He purchased aged canning equipment and with one customer, Geomar was open for shellfish canning sales in 1994, selling razor shells to a Taiwanese trading company in Chile.

Today the company has consolidated its presence in 20 different countries, developing strong long-term relationships with its distributors. Geomar’s marketing strategy is to position the products at the high end of the gourmet seafood market. The company believes that the combination of high quality product offerings and strong branding activities will make Geomar products succeed in the new markets, with desirable operating margins. Geomar now exports to Asia and has opened operations in both Spain and the US.

Since selection by Endeavor, company revenues have grown by 100%.

Endeavor and GEOMAR

Javier received financing in 2002, facilitated in part by an introduction made by Endeavor. Today, Endeavor Global is actively helping Javier expand further into the US market. In addition to an Ernst & Young Fellow, Javier has benefited from the eMBA and G-Lab programs (in the area of expansion opportunities), and Entrepreneur Summit.

Javier has served on Endeavor Chile’s Advisory Board, and as a panelist. He has also done mentoring and motivational speaking. Most recently, he has donated boats to help support Endeavor Chile’s post-earthquake rebuilding initiative.