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People told us we were crazy. We took it as a compliment.
In 1997, Linda Rottenberg and Peter Kellner sat down and, like many entrepreneurs before and after, sketched their vision on the back of a napkin. Peter had just returned from a Harvard Business School trip to China, where he had witnessed first-hand the boom in entrepreneurship that would transform that country.
For Linda, the light bulb moment for Endeavor came in the back of a taxi cab in Buenos Aires. She struck up a conversation with the driver and was shocked to learn he had a PhD in Engineering. She asked if he hadn’t considered becoming an entrepreneur instead of driving a taxi. “An empresario?” he said dismissively, using the Spanish word for a big businessman. It suddenly occurred to her that there was no Spanish word for “entrepreneur.”
The “business plan” that began on the back of a napkin has become a shared vision, cultivated and expanded by board members, staff and entrepreneurs around the globe. Their passion and commitment have created a movement and transformed Endeavor into something far bigger than the founders could have imagined.
To learn more about the history Endeavor and Endeavor Detroit, continue to scroll down. Visit Endeavor Global to learn more about the organization’s history.
in the midst of an emerging market currency crisis brought on by the collapse of the Thai bhat.
as a “Top 100 Innovator for the 21st Century.”
becoming the first Endeavor Entrepreneur to do so.
becoming the first Endeavor Entrepreneur to serve as a country board chairman.
to study entrepreneurship ecosystems around the world.
to connect entrepreneurs with international venture capital and investment firms.
taking the organization’s focus beyond emerging markets and into the United States.
to support Michigan entrepreneurs.
when Geoff Horst of Algal Scientific, brothers Bob and Joe McClure of McClure’s and brothers Brian and Scott Rudolph were selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs.
an honor akin to a Nobel Prize for the nonprofit sector.
when the James sisters of DROUGHT are selected at the Palo Alto ISP.
in Kurt Steckling and Jason Vazzano of Vectorform and Jason Raznick of Benzinga.com.
when Ryan Vaughn of Varsity News Network in Grand Rapids is selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.
when Kyle Hoff and Alex O’Dell of Floyd are selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs at the Rio de Janeiro ISP.
sees acquisition when Kemin Industries acquired the manufacturing technology created by Algal Scientific.
join Endeavor Detroit after being selected at the Lima ISP.
when James Meeks of MOVE Systems International, is selected to Endeavor Detroit at the Brooklyn, New York ISP.
selecting five entrepreneurs from three companies at the Miami ISP. The newest entrepreneurs include Jan and Sassa Akervall of Akervall Technologies, Jason Wenk of FormulaFolios, and Tom Brady and Danny Ellis of SkySpecs.
showcasing our impact on high-growth companies in Michigan and their workforce along with the support provided by our expert mentors.
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