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Endeavor selected 17 entrepreneurs leading 11 companies from seven countries at the 81st International Selection Panel (ISP) in Detroit held July 30-August 1 and hosted by Endeavor Detroit. Endeavor now supports 1,715 entrepreneurs leading 1,070 companies in 30 growth markets around the world.
“It was inspiring to bring together truly fantastic entrepreneurial talent and some of the most experienced business leaders from the U.S. and around the world in Detroit, a city that is itself in an exciting period of growth and innovation,” said Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg.
Entrepreneur candidates in one of their three interview sessions on day 2 of the Detroit selection panel.
Top business leaders and investors from the region and around the world, including Steve Case (Revolution), Donna Dubinsky (Numenta), Shira Goodman (Staples), Jason Green (Emergence Capital), and Chris Zook (Bain & Co.) among others, served as panelists at the event. Panelists were drawn from Endeavor’s extensive network of board members, mentors, and supporters.
At the ISP, which was attended by over 100 entrepreneurs, network members, and partners, panelists interview entrepreneur candidates about their businesses, evaluating them on their potential for high-impact growth, and deliberating on which candidates should be selected to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs.
“The ISP brought together a diverse lot with so much talent from so many countries, from my fellow panelists, an impressive group who brought real professionalism and dedication to the process, to the entrepreneurs who put themselves out there to be questioned, coached and ultimately judged — inspiring,” said Shira Goodman.
Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg moderates a panel, whose members must vote unanimously to select the next Endeavor Entrepreneurs.
The ISP is the culmination of a rigorous multi-step selection process to identify innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are committed to advancing an ecosystem of entrepreneurship.
Once selected, Endeavor Entrepreneurs gain access to comprehensive customized services, including introductions to local and international business mentors and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms who will help them address key needs.
Endeavor Entrepreneurs have had a significant track record of creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, generating billions of dollars in revenues, and building sustainable growth models in their home countries.
Endeavor will host ISPs in 2018 in Buenos Aires (September 5-7), Athens (October 22-24) and Cape Town (Stellenbosch) (December 11-13).
Learn more about the companies and entrepreneurs selected below.
Company: Auth0 Entrepreneurs: Eugenio Pace and Matias Woloski Description: Today’s successful applications accommodate more users across more systems than ever before, forcing software developers to develop deep vertical expertise in authentication just to keep applications secure. Enter Auth0, an Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) cloud platform that simplifies identity management for developers in any identity environment, across all Application-Programming-Interfaces (APIs) and applications. Today, Auth0 facilitates over 42 million secure logins everyday for more than 4,000 clients in 70+ countries worldwide.
Company: Grupo Interrupción Entrepreneurs: Rafael Goldberg and Diego Gonzalez Carvajal Description: Grupo Interrupción is a trading company that is building a sustainable future through responsible consumption, organic farming, and fair trade. The company produces, buys, packages, exports, and distributes directly to fruit and vegetable retailers and supermarkets, such as Whole Foods and Walmart.
Company: VRTIFY Entrepreneur: Facundo Diaz Description: The music industry is racing to create immersive content to engage fans, but struggles to adapt this content for compatibility across various platforms such as VR, AR, and MR headsets, mobile operating systems, and web browsers. VRTIFY solves this by helping clients in the music industry seamlessly adapt immersive video content to these platforms to expand their reach.
Company: Rented.com Entrepreneur: Andrew McConnell Description: Rented.com is a marketplace connecting vacation homeowners with short-term property managers. Rented.com allows homeowners to identify the best manager at the best price, as well as receive a fixed monthly income through Rented Capital – the company’s financing arm. In turn, property managers acquire new clients and receive a commission-based payment from Rented Capital. Today, Rented.com offers properties in over 60 countries and 700 cities, and has more than 1,200 property managers and thousands of vacation homeowners on its platform.
Company: Mi Águila Entrepreneurs: Bruno Ocampo-Gonzalez and Andres Blumer-Davila Description: Mi Águila is a logistics technology company that provides safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation services for the Colombian corporate sector. With its proprietary fleet management tools, Mi Águila coordinates operations for its 70+ partnered transport companies and is endorsed by the Colombian government as the only legal technology player in the market.
Company: Workit Health Entrepreneurs: Robin McIntosh and Lisa McLaughlin Description: Workit Health provides a 90-day program for addiction recovery tailored to patient needs that combines both virtual and in-person medical and mental health support. The company has the potential to be a disruptive force in addiction recovery and help millions of disenfranchised people regain control of their lives. The model makes a highly demanded but outdated and inaccessible treatment solution more holistic, widely accessible, and cheaper.
Company: Little Entrepreneur: Kamal Budhabhatti Description: It’s time for African commuters to ride a Little better. Little transforms the ride-hailing experience with its unique set of add-on services for both riders and drivers, including free WiFi, financial services, SOS emergency assistance, and women-only rides.
Company: Holistik Entrepreneur: Jorge Arteaga Description: Holistik makes 100% natural frozen fruit bars that are vegan, low-calorie (approx. 20 calories each), gluten-free, dairy-free, and non-GMO. The brand more recently introduced a smoothie line and is launching its own ice cream line this summer.
Company: Voyhoy Entrepreneurs: Ignacio Vial, Jake Moskowitz, and Roger Robinson Description: Navigating Latin America’s disconnected transportation system, while dealing with the region’s archaic ticketing infrastructure can be a daunting task for cost-conscious travelers. Voyhoy is a multi-modal travel website that allows users to compare a variety of transportation options (bus, train, low-cost airlines, ferries, etc.) and combine everything onto one single ticket, saving travelers time and money.
Company: Skynamo Entrepreneur: Sam Clarke Description: For manufacturers and wholesale distributors, managing a field sales team effectively is nearly impossible – the entire process lacks visibility, connectivity, and transparency surrounding individual reps’ performance and relevant customer data. Skynamo provides a cloud-based platform and mobile app that enables seamless management, administration, tracking, and data collection for all parts of the outbound B2B field sales process, to increase sales and reduce conversion cycles.
Company: Sinemia Entrepreneur: Rifat Oguz Description: Sinemia is a private movie club that allows its members to see movies in theaters at a fraction of the normal cost by using location-based and artificially intelligent technology. Sinemia integrates its mobile app and prepaid payment card with its social platform and partner deals to provide an end-to-end moviegoing experience.
***All photos by Featherstone Moments***