Endeavor for entrepreneurs | EXPANSIÓN
In 2008, Jaime Cater visited a public hospital in Mexico City, where he found a woman carrying her son with a fractured femur. She had more than six hours to wait to be seen and when it was her turn, it took her another 30 minutes to dictate her information to a receptionist.
That night, the entrepreneur perfected the offer of Health Digital Systems (HDS), the company he founded in 2003. He then created an online information system so that any institution or doctor in the health sector has access to a single clinical record in line.
A year later, the business increased its sales 30% and reached 5 million pesos (MDP), he was also invited by Endeavor México to enter its selection process. For six months after first contact, Cater did everything she could to break into the network. He passed the national panel and "in record time", he says, also the international one.
From that moment on, HDS multiplied its sales by 10 (it will close the year with 50 million dollars), entered 70% of the health system and reached new markets, such as Colombia and Venezuela. "They didn't sell for me, but the recommendations of the Endeavor advisory board have been key to my growth," he says.
The Deserters
Selecting entrepreneurs who revolutionize their industries is a challenge. "In the early years, Endeavor Mexico made many mistakes when choosing candidates," accepts César Pérez, the network's first director.
An example is the refusal received by the founders of companies such as the children's entertainment firm Kidzania or the Sportword gym chain to obtain the Endeavor seal. "We thought that they didn't need us because they were already very big. Now we would have more companies that would help meet the goals," says Pérez.
Today, among the accepted companies are Intellego, Vicky Form and Mr. Tennis. Three companies that this year made their debut on the list of 'The 500'. "The selection criteria have become tougher", says Pablo González Cid, founder of Café Punta del Cielo. This change could become its weakness: "At some point the good entrepreneurs are going to run out", says Marcus Dantus, director of Wayra, Telefónica's business incubator and member of the network.
The contribution of the entrepreneurs represents 38.5% of the donations made to the network. HDS, for example, donates between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars annually, others only meet the minimum of 10,000. In addition, if a company in the network is sold, the entrepreneur contributes 1% of what he receives from it.
Opinions are divided, for some quotas dilute the altruistic mission of promoting entrepreneurship. Others affirm that they would contribute more if they received more support from the directors – such as special prices for advertising on Televisa –, strengthen the internal team and not reduce support to those who have more time, to serve the new ones.
63 Mexican companies belong to Endeavor (83% are SMEs). However, 83 entrepreneurs form the network.
149 Endeavor entrepreneurs around the world have had a second venture endorsed by the organization.
900 Patents have been filed worldwide by Endeavor entrepreneurs.