Issue link: http://endeavor.uberflip.com/i/88132
PART ONE: A GLOBAL MOVEMENT EMERGES poster children for the influence that high-impact entrepreneurs can have across an entire economy. Wences Casares, the son of a Patagonian sheep farmer, founded Latin America's first electronic brokerage, Patagon.com, in 1997. Like many other young Latin American entrepreneurs, Wences had unsuccessfully attempted to procure capital. He was denied by 32 investors, who turned him down because they did not know his family. Endeavor mentors worked with Wences to refine his business model; Gary Mueller advised Wences to hire a seasoned coo; Board Members set up a road show through which Wences secured usd $4 million in initial financing. Within two years, in a move that transformed him into the iconic entrepreneur of Argentina, Wences sold a major- ity stake in the company to leading Spanish bank Santander at a valuation of usd $750 million. Since then, Wences has founded additional companies in Argentina, Brazil (notably Lemon Bank) and the US, and is a leading investor and proponent of Venture Capital in Latin America. Arguably Wences's most significant contribution has been serving as a mentor to the next generation of Endeavor Entrepreneurs. In a recent Endeavor Insight study of over 200 tech companies founded in Argentina since 2000, 37 entrepreneurs cited Wences as their inspiration and/or role model. A frequent refrain among them: "If Wences can do it, I can too." Across town in Buenos Aires, two Stanford Business School grads returned home in 1999 to create MercadoLibre.com, Latin America's answer to eBay. Although modeled on the successful internet marketplace, founders Marcos Galperin and Hernán Kazah tailored the concept to local customers' needs. The following year, when eBay purchased a stake in the company, Endeavor mentors helped Marcos and Hernán negotiate the terms. Upon acquiring rival DeRemate in 2005, MercadoLibre.com became the market leader in Latin America. New York took notice, and, in 2007, the firm listed on nasdaq with a usd $400 million Initial Public Offering, a milestone for a Latin American company. While Marcos and Hernán made headlines in New York for the ipo, their impact at home was far greater. The two entrepreneurs commit- ted themselves to "paying it forward" for the next generation. They joined the board of Endeavor Argentina, fulfilling the dream of founding Board Member Eduardo Elsztain that the original board would be replaced over time by successful Endeavor Entrepreneurs*. In 2011, Hernán and MercadoLibre cfo Nicolas Szekasy * Today Endeavor Argentina is chaired by fellow Endeavor Entrepreneur Andy Freire of OfficeNet, a company acquired by Staples in 2004. HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE STUDIES HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL The first HBS Case Study on Endeavor, "Determining a Growth Strategy," was published in 2003 and examined Endeavor's initial efforts to expand beyond Latin America. A second case study, "Creating a Global Movement for High-Impact Entrepreneurship," followed in 2009 and covered Endeavor's launch in Jordan. The case was taught to all 900 first-year HBS students in 2012. 5