PART ONE: A GLOBAL MOVEMENT EMERGES
SCALING SIRVE, SCANNTECH, SPOLETO... AND EVEREST
AFTER LAUNCHING in Argentina in 1997, Endeavor soon opened an affiliate in nearby Chile. Though the Chilean economy is known internation- ally for its mining and fishing sectors, Endeavor found entrepreneurship springing up in a wide variety of sectors. One dynamic Endeavor Chile Entrepreneur, Juan Carlos de la Llera, founded SIRVE, a provider of seismic protection devices that has literally saved lives by protect- ing buildings during catastrophic earthquakes, including the 8.8. magnitude earthquake that hit Concepción, Chile in 2010. As a nod to this achievement, Llera was voted the 2011 Endeavor Entrepreneur of the Year by his peers. From Chile, Endeavor quickly leapfrogged
to Uruguay, a small country with some big-time entrepreneurs: In 2012, Scanntech, an Endeavor Uruguay company, became the first Latin American business to receive funding from Silicon Valley-based venture firm Sequoia Capital. In 2000, Endeavor turned to Brazil, where the organization's impact has been dramatic across what is today the sixth largest economy in the world. Endeavor Brazil's high-impact
CLICK HERE TO WATCH LEILA SPEAK AT THE 2012 MILKEN GLOBAL CONFERENCE
ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT
LEILA VELEZ
CO-FOUNDER & FELLOW ENDEAVOR ENTREPRENEUR: HELOÍSA HELENA ASSIS
COMPANY BELEZA NATURAL
INDUSTRY CONSUMER GOODS & SERVICES
SELECTED 2005
COUNTRY BRAZIL
Each month, 87,000 Brazilian women flock to Beleza Natural salons to have their hair straightened with the company's patented, natural Super Relaxer product. Upon arriving, they are seen by one of Beleza Natural's 1,400 employees, 70% of whom are former clients and women from underserved communities. To ensure superior customer experi- ences, the 12 salons
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entrepreneurs include Leila Velez, the co-founder of Beleza Natural, today a usd $70 million chain of beauty salons catering to women in Rio de Janeiro state; Mario Chady, co-founder of Spoleto, a casual dining chain with over 400 locations and 5,200 employees; and Wilson Poit, a serial entrepreneur whose Poit Energia, a generator leasing and logistics company, was sold in 2012 to Scottish industry-leader Aggreko for over usd $200 million. Wilson worked with Endeavor for ten years before the Aggreko acquisition and credits the organization with help- ing him to "think big." [See p. 44 for information on Wilson's donation to Endeavor Brazil]. Endeavor Brazil's 101 active entrepreneurs
have created over 58,000 jobs and have been involved in mentoring entrepreneurs from over 150 companies in diverse sectors of the economy. Endeavor Brazil has extended the knowledge gained from working with these companies through educational outreach that has touched more than 1.5 million Brazilians. After launching in Brazil, Endeavor looked
north to Mexico City. In addition to its Mexico City headquarters, Endeavor Mexico has since opened nine regional offices across the coun- try, helping entrepreneurs like Pablo Cid of Café Punta del Cielo — a chain of coffee shops that
