Summer Archives

Alexis Cook Madrid, Spain - Endeavor

Cultural Context

This summer, I lived in Madrid, Spain to work with an international non-profit called Endeavor. As the leader of the high-impact entrepreneurship movement, Endeavor has offices in 25 countries, and each office is locally staffed and fairly autonomous. The goal of the company is to support established entrepreneurs around the world, thus stimulating local economies, increasing jobs in those areas, and encouraging creative thinking. To select the best entrepreneurs from each of the regions, all 25 offices select local entrepreneurs, who then go through a rigorous process of meetings with mentors and panels. After being selected, these entrepreneurs are official “Endeavor Entrepreneurs” and are privy to the entire Endeavor network, which includes successful business leaders, other entrepreneurs, and staff. The entrepreneurs also have a customized board to support their development and growth, access to various special events, externships, and investments through venture capitalists.

While my Ingram project involved researching the unemployment crisis for Spanish youth, one part of the summer that really sticks out to me was more about Endeavor as a whole: the International Selection Panel, which was conveniently held in Madrid. During the ISP, potential Endeavor Entrepreneurs from all of the global offices came to Madrid to present their companies to a review board. Essentially, all the entrepreneurs went through different panels, where they pitched their company and tried to convince the panelists that they would have an effect on the local economy. The panelists are all highly successful and influential business leaders who serve as mentors in the Endeavor network. After all the pitches were over, the panelists would convene to discuss each entrepreneur and ultimately decide who would pass. Although they were allowed to pass as few or as many entrepreneurs as they wished, the average came about to be around two-thirds passing and becoming Endeavor Entrepreneurs. Because I was considered staff for the Spanish office, I was a “host” of the entire event and was thus able to witness everything: the pitches, panelist deliberations, feedback, and networking opportunities. We were working about 16 hours a day, but we didn’t mind since it was so fun and interesting.

I was very intrigued by the deliberations and the criteria used to determine which entrepreneurs fit the Endeavor model. There are actually very specific slides regarding potential to scale, community giveback mentality of the entrepreneur, and projected impact on the local economy and ecosystem. I was impressed with how an international company felt so indigenous by having offices that are staffed by locals and specify criteria to best encompass what would be helpful in a certain region. In other words, cultural context was a huge portion of the process, and it allowed for consistent goals to be fitted to the circumstances. We can apply this in our own lives and volunteer positions by trying to think of issues from the perspective of others, being careful to avoid creating cultural hierarchies, and being able to discern our consistent goals from our adaptable methodology.

For more, please visit Endeavor, Madrid.