Endeavor Midwest Celebrates Tenth Anniversary with Record Results

Founding Managing Director to cap transformative decade by passing the torch to new leadership

LOUISVILLE, KY, USA, February 19, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The world’s leading community of entrepreneurs is celebrating a decade of transforming the business landscape in Middle America – and charts a big vision for the next 10 years.

Endeavor Midwest is part of Endeavor Global, which operates in 43 countries and 8 U.S. markets. In 2023 alone, Endeavor Entrepreneur-led companies globally employed 4 million people and generated over $50 billion in revenues. Endeavor’s global venture fund, Catalyst, currently has $500 million in assets under management and a portfolio of over 47 “unicorns” – companies valued over a billion dollars. Regionally, Catalyst co-invested in Louisville based SkuVault.

The Endeavor Midwest office in Louisville, KY provides founders in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana access to talent, markets, and capital as part of the global network. In the ten years since its launch, the organization and its members have driven the creation of thousands of jobs and generated billions in revenue by developing an entirely new entrepreneurial network as part of a global organization.

Endeavor Midwest (Louisville) launched with David Jones, Sr. (Humana) as the Founding Chair along with a founding board that included Kent Taylor (Texas Roadhouse), Dan Jones (The Parklands), Peter Kellner (Richmond Global), and Matt Thornton (Thorntons, Inc.), among others. The mission was and remains simple: to support and invest in homegrown, high-growth companies and help them drive job creation, wealth creation, inspiration, and reinvestment. Today, the organization has transformed the environment for founders in the region.

“Many people thought we were crazy, that it couldn’t be done, that there were no entrepreneurs in this part of Middle America” said Jackson Andrews, Founding Managing Director of Endeavor Midwest. “Ten years later, it is safe to say Endeavor has proven there are great high-growth entrepreneurs and companies here.”

Endeavor Midwest now supports 50 companies across its three platforms including 20 companies that have been selected as Endeavor Global Entrepreneurs. These include high-profile names like El Toro, Handle Global, Interapt, LISNR, Rabbit Hole, Rivera Group, RxLightning, SkuVault, and SoLo Funds. Endeavor Entrepreneurs get access to extensive education and networking opportunities, as well as direct support from Endeavor’s global network of advisors, investors, and peer entrepreneurs. The organization also selects cohorts of early-stage companies for its “Scale Up” program where founders receive intensive mentorship while being evaluated for the global Entrepreneur network.

"Great businesses support their local communities by providing jobs, professional development, tax revenues and philanthropic donations,” said Entrepreneur and board member Brook Smith. “Endeavor Midwest enhances the capabilities of local and regional entrepreneurs, resulting in the broad benefits their businesses contribute to the local communities. The outcomes are notable and long lasting."

In 2023 alone Endeavor Midwest conducted 4,575+ hours of entrepreneur activity driving network effects, activity, and opportunity.

In just the last year, Endeavor Entrepreneur-led companies in the Midwest generated $345 million in revenue, resulting in nearly 2000 high-quality jobs. Meanwhile, Endeavor Midwest continues cultivating the next wave of founders driving job creation, wealth creation, and inspiration across the region.

Looking to the future, Endeavor will remain focused on providing access to talent, markets, and capital but with an increased focus on ‘capital’. With a decade of data and experience the organization will put significant emphasis on increasing venture capital across the region. Encouraging outside capital (namely from “the coasts”) is important but a one-way strategy. As the network of entrepreneurs continues to grow, the natural result is the emergence of greater regional venture capital.

In April, Endeavor Midwest will host a national selection panel for Endeavor, showcasing Louisville to some of the country’s top founders, investors, and most promising companies. All the while, the organization will continue to build the “network effects” that drive the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In December, Endeavor Midwest will host an event celebrating 10 years of impact supporting high-growth entrepreneurs regionally, nationally, & globally.

“It’s fitting Louisville was chosen to host the National Selection Panel given all that’s been accomplished in the first 10 years, said Board Chair Matt Thornton. “The event also provides the perfect backdrop to celebrate the dedication and leadership of Jackson Andrews.”

The beginning of Endeavor’s second decade will also mark the passing of the torch as the organization launches a search for its next leader. After a successful career in finance, Andrews helped launch Endeavor Midwest in Louisville, KY and will be supporting the organization as it looks toward the next 10 years.

“Everything Endeavor has achieved to date is a testament to the strength of the entrepreneurs, board, and team in our region” Andrews said. “It is time to double down on entrepreneurs and build the future. There will never be less opportunity, only more.”

Interested parties can learn more about the leadership search, as well as other ways to support the endeavor movement, at https://us.endeavor.org/office/louisville/.

About Endeavor:

We are the Leading Global Community Of, By, and For High-Impact Entrepreneurs. High-Impact Entrepreneurs are those who dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward. Driving job creation, wealth creation, and reinvestment.

Our Core Belief: High-Impact Entrepreneurs transform economies.

What We Do: We create a Multiplier Effect by inspiring high-growth entrepreneurs to dream bigger, supporting and investing in them to scale faster, and providing a platform to pay it forward.

Why We Do It: To build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems in overlooked markets around the world.

Bill Shory
Fleur de Lis Communications
+ +1 502-974-4332
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