The world of entrepreneurship is more harrowing, thrilling, and rewarding as ever, but the past year and a half has been especially exciting for Florida investors. With the influx of people from New York, California, and even from Latin America, the area has experienced an incredible boom that has benefited investors and entrepreneurs alike. One such industry growing exponentially from all of this? Organizations that are designed to incubate entrepreneurs like Endeavor, where Claudia Duran serves as the managing director.

Claudia works with Endeavor Miami, a global organization in over 30 markets, to identify high-impact entrepreneurs—those who have big ideas and are taking their ideas to the next step. Endeavor then works with those entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth by creating connections with mentors and investors.

We talk about what Endeavor is doing to encourage and stimulate start-ups, and Claudia takes me through her personal history, from her roots in El Salvador to her time as a finance major at Penn State. Claudia also tells me what it takes for a company to be selected by Endeavor, what their mentorship program looks like, and how once you’re an Endeavor entrepreneur, you’re part of that global network for life.

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Some Questions Asked: 

• Can you tell us a little about Endeavor Miami’s mission?  (02:47)
• How did you get from El Salvador to the United States? (04:46)
• What are you looking for in these companies you choose to take into a cohort? And what does that process look like? (07:21)
• How many companies will apply for you to get to your 10? And what are you looking for in those 10 companies that you end up choosing? (12:02)
• How many companies have you seen go through your program since you’ve been in Miami?
• Are there any portfolio companies you want to highlight? That you’re very excited about? (20:42)

In this episode, you will learn:

• A bit about Claudia’s personal background (03:51)
• What the cohort experience looks like for companies that are selected by Endeavor (09:41)
• How some companies end up pivoting their business model as a result of their time with Endeavor (13:44)