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After majoring in political science at university, Adrian Garcia-Aranyos worked in a variety of careers including finance, foreign trade and media. Just when he began to feel settled at JP Morgan 8 years ago, he was approached by Endeavor. For the last 3 years has been the President of Endeavor Global in New York City and in this podcast he shares the company’s mission to support entrepreneurs across the globe.
Endeavor's Mission
Founded in 1997, Endeavor is an organisation powered by entrepreneurship. Adrian explains that the company is of, by and for entrepreneurs and predominantly works in emerging markets and in-crisis economies. Today, Endeavor operates in 39 markets.
The company prides itself on creating a Multiplier Effect which enables business founders to dream bigger and scale quicker. The result of the Multiplier Effect, Adrian explains, is that when an entrepreneur is successful, they become a local and regional role model. Not only this, but they transform from founders to funders and are therefore able to breed future successful entrepreneurs. Through knowledge sharing and networking, vast wealth that can spring from one or two investors and trickle down through a community so much so that companies are essentially created off the back of others.
Endeavor Catalyst
Endeavor Catalyst is the company’s funding arm which supports its existence by investing in and leveraging the same high-impact entrepreneurs who are part of Endeavor. This means that although Endeavor Catalyst operates on its own, the two arms of the company have a symbiotic relationship.
Endeavor Catalyst is a world leading start-up funder and has seen an explosion in the number of unicorn businesses within its portfolio. Adrian is particularly excited about these unicorn businesses because of the emerging markets they are in. When a business reaches unicorn status in a market such as Chile, he explains, a spotlight is given to new markets and investors start to look at them in a new way. These unicorns demonstrate that talent, ideas and solutions are global – and that unexplored markets have huge potential. Adrian adds that with capital flowing into these markets, a great solution can be based out of anywhere in the world.
Working with entrepreneurs from across the globe:
Despite the expected cultural differences between entrepreneurs from across the world, Adrian argues that Endeavor’s entrepreneurs tend to be true global citizens who have vast life and business experience. ‘We are fighting the “hoodie culture”, Adrian says. “We always think that entrepreneurs are these twenty year olds that are dressed in hoodies. And the reality is that most of our entrepreneurs - they might be wearing hoodies - but they are not in their twenties.” Many of Endeavor’s entrepreneurs are also similar in that they left successful careers to launch their businesses after discovering an exciting gap in the market. Endeavor's mission is to bring these entrepreneurs together to learn, mentor and network with one another.
In terms of the entrepreneurial journey, Adrian says the pattern tends to follow a shift in focus from capital and funding only to culture and people as a business grows. Adrian shares that successful fundraising comes from relationship building and engaging with investors early on. Even if an investment isn’t given immediately, by building and maintaining a relationship you are able to keep investors posted on your journey. Adrian believes that this – more often than not - leads to successful outcomes. Once a business is established, creating a consistent atmosphere and common culture across markets takes over as top priority.
Looking to the future
Being President of Endeavor Global does not come without its challenges. One of which, Adrian explains, is ensuring Endeavor stays relevant and valuable for entrepreneurs. As well as this, he says, retaining and attracting the best people in the business can be a challenge in what is such a competitive market. Adrian believes the best way to do this is to maintain a strong culture with a degree of personal connectivity, especially after such a long period of remote working.
Looking to the future, he wants to tell the ‘well-kept secret’ of Endeavor, and continue to grow the company based on the wants and needs of entrepreneurs.
Successful qualities in an entrepreneur:
When asked what he looks for in an entrepreneur, Adrian responds, ‘someone who is willing to listen’. As Endeavor is a community of mentors, it is important that entrepreneurs are receptive to feedback and different points of view - even if it is not what they want to hear. Adrian shares that entrepreneurs who feel they can solve it on their own have often returned to Endeavor years later and joined as board members – for they have learnt over time how crucial a community can be. Having enough humility to learn from others is crucial, Adrian says, to entrepreneurial success.