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Palo Alto, California – Endeavor Detroit is excited to announce the entrepreneurs behind Benzinga (Jason Raznick) and DROUGHT (Caitlin, Jenny, Jessie, and Julie James) have been selected to join the Endeavor Network. The Michigan-based companies were selected at the 68th Endeavor International Selection Panel (ISP) by a series of panelists, who were drawn from Endeavor’s extensive international network of business leaders and investors. The James sisters and Raznick were five of 37 high-impact entrepreneurs representing 20 companies and 13 countries who were selected at this ISP.
The ISP is the culmination of a rigorous and extensive multi-step interview and selection process. At the event, top international business leaders interview candidates about their businesses and high growth potential, then vote on whether or not candidates are selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs.
Post-selection, Endeavor Detroit provides the entrepreneurs with a world-renowned suite of services and programs along with access to an exclusive mentorship network to accelerate the growth of their companies. Benefits of selection to Endeavor Detroit include introductions through a network of more than 3,000 local and international business mentors for strategic guidance in raising capital and entering new markets.
Jason Raznick (second from right) leads the first Fintech company to join the Endeavor Detroit Network.
Benzinga
Raznick’s Michigan-based financial news site, Benzinga, is the first Fintech company to join the Endeavor Detroit Network. Benzinga provides actionable financial news and insights to give investors an edge that was once
only available to the Wall Street elite. Through its highly-trafficked media site and subscription-based terminal products, Benzinga offers real-time news breaks, analyst ratings, earning reports, and exclusive insights from industry experts that are read by three million people in 125 countries each month. Benzinga has established a nationally-recognized media brand that is positioning Detroit as a hub of entrepreneurship.
Raznick was selected based on his creative disruption of the financial media industry by successfully democratizing access to financial information, and for his commitment to growing his business in the heart of Detroit.
Raznick presented his company to a panel of esteemed business leaders including:
Now selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur, Raznick looks to the mentors of Endeavor for guidance on scaling Benzinga to become the go-to source for financial content and data. He also looks forward to the opportunity to take advantage of Endeavor’s exclusive executive education programs at Harvard and Stanford to further develop as a leader of his growing company.
DROUGHT
(The James are pictured above holding Endeavor acceptance certificates.)
The James sisters are the first female entrepreneurs to join the Endeavor Detroit Network. As Michigan’s first and leading cold-pressed juicery, DROUGHT satisfies consumers’ thirst for healthy, convenient and organic nutrition. DROUGHT packs 3-5 pounds of raw produce in every one of its juices, providing consumers with a readily available nutraceutical beverage without the hassle of juicing at home. DROUGHT juices are not only a benefit to people’s health but also to local agriculture (75% of their produce comes from Michigan for half the year) and to female employment, entrepreneurship and empowerment.
The James sisters were selected based on their growth and leadership potential in the Michigan entrepreneurial ecosystem and beyond.
The James sisters presented their company to a panel of esteemed business leaders including:
Now selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs, the James sisters will look to the mentors of the Endeavor Network to
“We are thrilled to welcome our first female entrepreneurs, the James sisters who founded DROUGHT, and our first Fintech company, Benzinga, which was founded by Jason Raznick,” said Lynda Applegate, a Professor at Harvard Business School and a Member of the Endeavor Detroit Board of Directors. “The growth potential of both companies is a prime example of how Michigan entrepreneurs are leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement and working to create jobs in the state.”
“I am looking forward to working with Endeavor to accelerate Benzinga’s growth,” said Jason Raznick, CEO of Benzinga. “With the guidance of mentors from the Endeavor Network, we hope to rapidly grow the company, hire the best local talent, and continue to be part of Detroit’s comeback story.”
“We are excited to work with the team at Endeavor Detroit as we grow DROUGHT,” said Julie James, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of DROUGHT. “As we strive to become leaders in the food and beverage community, we look to utilize the Endeavor platform as an opportunity to give back to the entrepreneur ecosystem by mentoring others to successful ventures.”
About Endeavor
Established in 1997, Endeavor is leading the global high-impact entrepreneurship movement. Endeavor promotes economic growth and job creation by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 47,000 entrepreneurs and selected more than a thousand individuals leading over 700 high-impact companies.
With support from Endeavor’s worldwide mentor network, these high-impact entrepreneurs:
Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in 25 markets throughout Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The Endeavor Detroit affiliate was established in 2015 and works with Entrepreneurs and mentors throughout the State of Michigan. Endeavor Detroit currently works with 13 entrepreneurs leading 7 companies including Algal Scientific, Banza, Benzinga, DROUGHT, McClure’s, Varsity News Network, and Vectorform.
About Benzinga
Benzinga is a leading originator of actionable financial insights for traders and investors. Benzinga’s news desk is constantly breaking stories and moving billions of dollars of market capitalization through its real-time terminal and data feed product, Benzinga Pro. Benzinga’s original content is syndicated to 70 partner websites, such as Yahoo! Finance and MSN. Benzinga is the leading provider of news to the North American brokerage community, with a client list including TD Ameritrade, Morningstar, TradeKing, and many more. The company is headquartered in downtown Detroit and dedicated to driving Detroit’s renaissance. For more information, check out Benzinga.com, Cloud.Benzinga.com and Pro.Benzinga.com.
About DROUGHT
DROUGHT promotes thoughtfully living well. DROUGHT’s specialty is premium cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juice. We recognize how challenging it can be to consume adequate amounts of nutrients and have found the age-old practice of juicing to be the most accessible and simple solution to add healthy options to your daily routine. DROUGHT is carefully sourced, pressed, packaged and distributed with supreme respect to our Midwestern roots in Detroit, Michigan. Our company is supported substantially by Michigan-grown produce, local suppliers, vendors and most importantly — our employees.
—ENDEAVOR DETROIT—