Endeavor

Today, on my last day in the office and my last day in Madrid in general, I realized that many (most?) of my friends may not even know what I’m actually even doing here. I guess it’s hard to pick up the details through sporadic photos of graffiti and me gooning around in Europe. Well. Let’s rectify that. Long story short, I knew that I wanted to do my project for Ingram this summer, and I knew I wanted to focus on microfinance or some sort of economic development. I began my research in September and literally spent the entire school year researching and developing a project that ended up being a 67-page proposal for the Ingram board to review (don’t worry; there were plenty of graphs and citations). Anyways, my proposal essentially stated that I would come work with an international non-profit, known as Endeavor, in their Madrid office in order to conduct research and interviews and end up with a large report that could be published.

As the leader of the high-impact entrepreneurship movement, Endeavor has offices in 25 countries, and each office is locally staffed and fairly autonomous. To support entrepreneurs and develop the regional ecosystem, each office selects local entrepreneurs, who then go through a rigorous process of local and international boards before they can become official Endeavor Entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs are then privy to the entire Endeavor network, which includes successful business leaders, other entrepreneurs, and staff. The entrepreneurs also have a customized board to support their development and growth, access to various special events, externships, and capital through venture capitalists.

One of the reasons I was so drawn to Endeavor is because of the way they balance “non-profit” goals of job creation and poverty reduction with “for-profit” methods of business development and networking. Although strict charity definitely has its place in the world, I’ve often found myself frustrated with patronizing or ineffective poverty reduction efforts. At Endeavor, we support companies that will naturally expand to hire more people, inspire spin-offs, invest in future entrepreneurs, and eventually change an entire market. In fact, 587K jobs have been created by Endeavor entrepreneurs since the company’s founding in 1997. That’s right. The K stands for thousand. Definitely preferable to throwing a few hundred or even thousand dollars at a cause and then blaming the recipients whenever their situation doesn’t improve in a few years.

As far as my personal role, this experience has been absolutely incredible. Since the Spanish office actually hosted the International Selection Panel back in May, I was able to be a part of the magic from the inside. Potential Endeavor Entrepreneurs from all of the global offices came to Madrid to present their companies to a review board; it was hectic and inspiring, and I was honored to become friends with so many impressive people. I was also able to be a part of the Local Selection Panel just a few weeks ago in Madrid, where we selected the Spanish entrepreneurs for the next International Selection Panel. I’ve also been able to sit-in on many mentoring sessions with our entrepreneurs to get the full picture of what Endeavor does. Besides all of this, Amy (my roommate and co-worker) and I have done tons of research on startups in Spain, venture capitals in Europe, funding etc.

Originally, I had written my (massive) Ingram proposal to create a more general report for the Madrid office in order to identify the best verticals to find new entrepreneurs, avoid pitfalls in the ecosystem etc. However, I ended up changing my direction a bit. While living here and making local friends, I started to put faces to the horrific youth unemployment statistics I had researched prior to my arrival. Instead of just knowing that about half (45%) of all Spanish youth (under age 26) are unemployed, I saw it. I saw friends looking for jobs abroad after graduation (a phenomenon known as the “brain drain”). I saw acquaintances desert the city in a few days notice because they’d received a job offer elsewhere and couldn’t afford to second-guess it. The whole thing just became tangible for me. So, I switched my research efforts to more specifically look at youth unemployment in Spain and possible solutions. I interviewed a few of the local friends I’d made here, looked at just about every study and statistic that exists about the unemployment crisis in Spain, and ended up creating a report that Endeavor can publish on their website.

My end conclusion was that re-engaging the Spanish youth domestically through exposure to entrepreneurship could be a really interesting way to mimic the global success that Endeavor has had as an organization on a much more specific scale. My vision is that Spanish entrepreneurs, incubators, and accelerators can begin to engage in some of the entrepreneurial programs that exist at local universities to actually give real-world examples to students. Maybe creating an interdisciplinary network like that can yield internships, mentorships, and exposure that would benefit all involved parties. Especially after being so closely involved with all the interesting and exciting entrepreneurs at Endeavor, I feel like anything in the world is possible with the right approach and support system. I would love to give discouraged Spanish youth the same feeling.

Beyond all of my research and general work in the office, this summer has been an amazing one of growth, learning, and fun. The Endeavor Madrid staff are incredible people, and I feel more like part of a family than an office. In fact, Amy and I had everyone (there’s only 4 others in our office) over to our apartment last night so we could cook a mediocre meal for them and celebrate a successful summer. It was partially a rite of passage to show that Amy and I know how to turn on a stove (which was questionable based on the microwave meals we brought to lunch every day), but it also became symbolic of our close-knit spirit when we had to sit on the ground and share silverware because of our *tiny* apartment! Anyways, all that to say that the team is passionate and hilarious, and my time here would not have been the same without them. Even though it’s weird to think that I’ll be leaving tomorrow, I’m so thankful for everything I've experienced and learned here. I'm sure I'll be back.