A gamified e-learning platform. An AI-powered video editing platform for creators. A peer-to-peer tutoring app founded by a teen. These are some of the 10 startups that Endeavor Miami announced today were selected for its upcoming EndeavorLAB cohort for Latinx Founders. The cohort, like Endeavor Miami’s other EndeavorLab cohorts, is designed to support underrepresented founders in Florida in building a foundation for scale.
To be eligible for the 10-member cohort, the companies must be based in Florida, have found product-market-fit, and are generating $50K to $500K in annual revenues. The program is free for the startups because scholarships are paid by the sponsor, VensureHR. Through participation in this 5-week cohort, founders will receive one-on-one mentorship, participate in group modules on scaling up, and will conclude the program by pitching to the Endeavor community for feedback and potential growth opportunities. “EndeavorLAB’s Latinx Founders Cohort is an incredible opportunity for Latinx entrepreneurs in Florida to gain support and access to tools and resources they need to grow their businesses,” said Claudia Duran, Managing Director of Endeavor Miami.
Latino founders receive less than 2% of all venture capital and private equity funding, despite being 1.7 times more likely to start a business than other demographic groups, said VensureHR Sales Enablement and Engagement Specialist Alexandra Blaco. “Vensure believes partnering with Endeavor Miami can help bridge that gap.”
Endeavor reports that the selected startups operate in verticals such as Enterprise SaaS, Fintech, Smart Cities and Healthcare, and a significant 40% are in the Edtech space. In total, the 10 companies employ today a total of 92 individuals and have raised over $6 million in funding to date.
The selected companies are (descriptions provided by Endeavor Miami):
- Aument: Aument helps e-commerce brands power their marketing messages. Entrepreneur: Emilio Di Marco, Founder & CEO.
- Bonum Coaching: Bonum is a digital executive coaching platform that is democratizing coaching in Latin America. Bonum connects coaches from their network with employees from companies at all levels of the organization in order to help them improve their skills at affordable rates. The company offers a model for leadership development that is typically known only to those at the top of the pyramid to everyone in the organization. Entrepreneurs: Daniel Bittner, Co-Founder & CEO and Jose Hernandez, Co-Founder & Chief Coaching Officer.
- EducUp: EducUp is a gamified e-learning platform with 1M+ students where educators create engaging and gamified courses in English, Math, Personal Finance, and much more. Entrepreneurs: Carlos Raul Garcia, Co-Founder & CEO, Yusnier Viera, Co-Founder & VP of Education, and Yamel Barroso, Co-Founder & VP of Business.
- illow: illow helps SMEs to automate their privacy operations. illow makes these businesses’ websites privacy compliant and automates the deletion of data once their users request it. Entrepreneurs: Rodrigo Irarrazaval, Co-Founder & CEO, and Daniel Fernandez, Co-Founder & CTO.
- Lazarillo: Lazarillo is a mapping platform and mobile app that improves customer experience for company clients with & without disabilities. Entrepreneurs: Rene Espinoza, Co-Founder & CEO, Jonathan Taivo, Co-Founder & COO, and Jorge Ampuero, CoFounder & CTO.
- O-lab: O-lab is the all-in-one platform that offers personalized and interactive learning experiences, engaging communities and the ability to unlock the potential of individuals. With O-lab’s intuitive web and mobile app, customizable animated content, and daily practical learning approach, the company sets a new standard for online training solutions for all types of users and training needs. Entrepreneurs: Tania Rosas, Co-founder & CEO, Daner Aguilar, Co-founder & CTO, and Jesus Rojas, Co-founder & CPO.
- Pana: Pana is a digital Bank for the 62 million Hispanic-Latinos living in the USA. Opening a bank account with Pana is 10x easier, as customers just need a passport, and they can send remittances with zero fees instead of paying the standard 7%. Entrepreneurs: Piero Nunez del Risco, Co-Founder & CEO and Luis Miguel Pena, Co-Founder & CTO
- RookMotion: RookMotion is an API-first company that connects apps and software with useful, usable health data and valuable insights from their users’ wearables. Entrepreneurs: Marco Benitez, Co-Founder & CEO, Jonas Ducker, Co-Founder & COO, Daniel Martinez, Co-Founder & CTO, Pepe Esquivel, Co-Founder & QA, and Oscar Garcia, Co-Founder & CFO.
- Wisecut: Wisecut leverages generative AI and speech recognition to automatically edit videos, transforming hours of footage into captivating clips. Wisecut’s cutting-edge technology empowers content creators to share engaging videos with automatic editing decisions, such as removing pauses, creating subtitle translations, adding background music, auto reframing, and more. Wisecut is dedicated to providing clients with the best video editing solutions available, allowing them to focus on what they do best – creating exceptional content. Entrepreneurs: Ivo Machado, Co-Founder & CEO and Vicente Machado, Co-Founder & CTO.
- YTeach: YTeach is a peer-to-peer tutoring and scheduling app that taps into the power of connection by working together with schools to bridge students and peer tutors who can provide academic support in exchange for community service hours. It’s like Uber for tutors. Entrepreneurs: Lourdes Aviñó, Co-Founder & CEO, and Matias Aviñó, Co-Founder.
This cohort is EndeavorLAB’s 9th since first launching in July 2020, when the City of Miami sponsored the debut cohort with a focus on women founders.
Later this year, Endeavor will run EndeavorLAB cohorts for Women and Black founders.
Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected]
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