28 Entrepreneurs Leading 17 Companies Selected at 65th International Selection Panel in Bali; First Entrepreneurs Selected in Italy and Japan
28 ENTREPRENEURS WERE SELECTED AS ENDEAVOR ENTREPRENEURS AT 65TH INTERNATIONAL SELECTION PANEL (ISP) IN BALI
- Endeavor, a leading global organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs, held its 65th International Selection Panel (ISP) with Indonesia as the host
- 28 entrepreneurs from 17 companies were selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs (EEs) at the
- All 5 candidates from Indonesia were selected into the network to access world-class talents, education, and investment opportunities
JAKARTA – AUGUST 1, 2016 – Endeavor, a global organization that focuses on building a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem through high-impact entrepreneurship, held its 65th International Selection Panel (ISP). Endeavor Indonesia had the honor of hosting the event in Bali on July 27-29, 2016, convening top international business leaders, industry experts, and entrepreneurs on the Southeast Asian islands. 28 entrepreneurs from 17 companies and 10 countries were selected into the network at the panel. Endeavor now supports 1,302 entrepreneurs from 821 companies across the 25 markets where it operates.
ISP is the culmination of a rigorous multi-step selection process of high-impact entrepreneurs that is at the core of the Endeavor model. Candidates who reach this stage have gone through a rigorous process and multiple stages of selection, of which typically only 4% pass and become EEs. In this 3-day event, panelists from around the world gathered in Bali to interview entrepreneur candidates about their businesses and potential for high-impact growth, and then voted on whether candidates should become Endeavor Entrepreneurs (EEs). Top names in venture capital firms, investment, and entrepreneurship participated. After their selection into the Endeavor network, the entrepreneurs are given access to customized services, including introductions to local and international business mentors and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms who will help them address key business needs.
The entrepreneurs are also connected to world-class talent, education, and investment opportunities as part of a business roadmap designed by Endeavor and its mentors. Since 1997, Endeavor Entrepreneurs have generated and built sustainable growth models in their home countries, transformed local economies, and have become role models for future generations of leaders.
“It’s exciting to bring the Endeavor network to an amazing location like Bali, demonstrating how much we’ve grown in the past two decades,” said Endeavor Co-Founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg. “Thank you to the great Endeavor Indonesia board and all the members of the local network for organizing this ISP and their ongoing support of our high-impact entrepreneurs.”
“High-impact entrepreneurs are visionaries who generate the highest returns, create the most high-value jobs, have the most significant impact on their communities, and inspire the most people to follow their lead. We are proud to host ISP, the final stage of the Endeavor selection process that helps ensure that we focus our efforts on helping those who can really create great impacts on society – in line with the organization’s mission,” said Chairman of Endeavor Indonesia Harun Hajadi.
Not only did Endeavor Indonesia host only host the event successfully; the network has also brought all 5 of its entrepreneur candidates from Indonesia to be selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs (EEs) at the ISP. The five newly-selected Endeavor Entrepreneurs are Helianti Hilman of Javara, Adrian Agus of Puyo Desserts, Markus Bihler of HappyFresh, and Steve Piro and Cowan Finch from Synergy Efficiency Solutions.
“We are proud to have Heli, Adrian, Markus, Steve, and Cowan to selected. By being EEs, they will have access to mentors, network, talents, learning events, and get a chance to meet investors and other Endeavor Entrepreneurs from all over the world,” said Sati Rasuanto, Managing Director of Endeavor Indonesia. Some of big names within Endeavor network are top leaders of LinkedIn, Omidyar, Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Google.
“They got selected not only because of the business potentials and scalability, but also because they can inspire other entrepreneurs,” Sati added.
The five (5) newly-selected EEs are joining 23 previously selected EEs from Indonesia. Among them are Bukalapak Founder and CEO Achmad Zaky, Bukalapak COO M. Fajrin Rasyid, The Goods Dept CEO Anton Wirjono, RUMA Founder Aldi Haryopratomo, Coffee Toffee Managing Director Odi Anindito, Female Daily Network CEO Hanifa Ambadar, and Kebab Turki Baba Rafi President Director Hendy Setiono. Currently, over 50 business leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals are part of the movement as mentors in the Endeavor Indonesia network, including PT Gunung Sewu Kencana Chairperson Husodo Angkosubroto, The Body Shop Indonesia Chairperson Suzy Hutomo, Unilever Indonesia President Director Hemant Bakshi, and Coca Cola Indonesia President Director Martin Gil.
The following are brief descriptions of the newly selected entrepreneurs at the 65th ISP.
INDONESIA
Entrepreneurs: Steve Piro and Cowan Finch
Company: Synergy Efficiency Solutions
Description: Synergy Efficiency Solutions (SES) is an energy efficiency firm that designs low energy, green buildings and retrofits old inefficient buildings in Indonesia. The company offers new building designs for property developers to optimize the energy efficiency of their new buildings, and energy audits for clients that simply want to understand the energy consumption inefficiencies in their existing buildings. To realize potential energy savings, clients can opt for ESCO financing, a model where the firm guarantees a certain amount of savings and funds the building redesign themselves to take a percentage of future savings on energy reduction. In addition to designing Indonesia’s first LEED platinum certified building, SES designed the University of Multimedia Nusantara, which was recognized by the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as the most efficient building in the country, while also winning the 2014 ASEAN award for the most energy efficient building in Southeast Asia.
Entrepreneur: Helianti Hilman
Company: Javara
Description: Javara strives to keep alive the biodiversity of Indonesia’s native agricultural species and support small holders by selling organic, artisan food products. The company provides technical training, working capital, and access to markets to farmers who lack the financial resources and knowledge to make their products available to consumers. The relationships Javara has formed with these farmers are its strongest asset; they are built on years of trust and transparency. Going forward, the company will focus on moving larger quantities of its highest margin products, while also considering various ways to fund its growth without sacrificing the company’s mission.
Entrepreneur: Markus Bihler
Company: HappyFresh
Description: With hours spent in traffic, overcrowded stores, and long queues at the cashier, just shopping for your daily bread can become a nightmare in Southeast Asia’s fast growing ‘megacities’. Solving this problem with its winning recipe is HappyFresh – a one-hour grocery delivery app. Through its easy-to-use app coupled with a team of trained professional shoppers, the company allows its customers to experience personalized shopping from well-known retailers from the comfort of their couches. Operating in the US$70 billion regional grocery market, ripened further by a rising middle class and increased smartphone penetration, HappyFresh is a hyper-local e-grocer with vast reach and potential. Since its launch in 2015, the company has proven its operational excellence in five different markets, with a team of 224 employees, 400 drivers, 376 personal shoppers, and over 300,000 users. With this speed of growth and a solid financial backing, HappyFresh hopes to become the leading last-mile logistics platform in Southeast Asia.
Entrepreneur: Adrian Agus
Company: Puyo
Description: Puyo, an Indonesian F&B brand, makes silky desserts in 10 flavors, including Hazelnut, Bubble Gum, and Green Tea. Its silky pudding and drinks are known for their creamy yet light consistency and novel flavors. Currently, Puyo has 22 outlets located in malls across the Greater Jakarta area. Customers are attracted to its cartoonish branding, affordability (US$2) and convenient take-away sales model. Going forward, Adrian hopes to scale into large cities in Indonesia, eventually opening 100 outlets across the country by 2018.
BULGARIA
Entrepreneurs: Lyubomir Yanchev & Zanni Sabev
Company: MClimate
Description: MClimate provides affordable, easy-to-use tools that make temperature control more efficient for individual rooms and entire buildings. Its first product, Melissa, consists of a hardware device and mobile application that cuts up to 25% of ductless HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and AC) systems’ (window, portable, or wall-mounted air conditioners) energy consumption by adapting to users’ habits and controlling a number of factors (desired temperature, room humidity, and desired use intervals). Currently, Bulgarian-based MClimate has found traction across Europe and the Middle East. Operating in over 14 countries, the company is on track to expand to 20+ countries. With over 4,000+ devices sold, the company plans to grow through an aggressive growth plan split between several planned partnerships and the addition of new products to create a more comprehensive solution.
SOUTH AFRICA
Entrepreneurs: Nadir and Shaazim Khamissa
Company: Hello Paisa
Description: Traditional remittance solution providers charge a fee of 10%-20% on each transaction and the funds often take several days to reach the recipient. Therefore, migrants regularly turn to the informal economy and hire couriers to transport cash across borders. Hello Paisa provides an international remittance solution that allows low-income migrants to send money to their families from their cell phones at a fraction of the time and cost. The World Bank projects the flow of remittances into the developing world to reach US$459 billion by 2016, with US$55 billion of that to Africa alone. Hello Paisa has gained 200,000+ active users and 55,000 mobile app downloads in its first 18 months of operation.
JAPAN
Entrepreneur: Yasukane Matsumoto
Company: RakSul
Description: As one of Japan’s best funded startups, RakSul operates an online portal that connects SMEs with printing needs, to under-utilized brick-and-mortar printing companies. In addition to printing services, the company also provides design and delivery services. By innovating the entire print advertising value-chain (design, print, delivery), RakSul offers its 300,000 customers a 90% price reduction – enabling accessibility to a highly effective marketing tool. Founded in 2013, RakSul has raised a total of US$53 million in a country known for its weak VC funding. Applying cutting-edge IT innovations to a “legacy” industry, RakSul hopes to imprint its mark across Asia by supporting hundreds of thousands of underserved SMEs.
MALAYSIA
Entrepreneurs: CJ See and Andrew Ooi
Company: Inspidea
Description: Inspidea is a BAFTA (British Academy for Film and Television Arts)-nominated Malaysian 2D studio that creates original children’s cartoons and digitally animated shows for local and international TV networks. Focusing on 2D animation, the studio creates programs ranging from two-minute shorts to TV series with 22-minute episodes. The company primarily produces shows for large TV networks like Cartoon Network, Disney, Warner Bros., and Nickelodeon, but it also creates original shows which are distributed and licensed in over 70 countries. In the rapidly growing US$243 billion global animation industry, Inspidea produced almost 50% of all 2D series commissioned for the French market over the last two years.
Entrepreneur: Loi Tuan Ee
Company: Holstein Milk Company
Description: Holstein Milk Company is redefining what “fresh” means in Malaysia’s dairy industry. By offering 100% fresh, all-natural milk products, Holstein has Malaysian consumers demanding higher-quality options on the market. Previously, the country’s dairy industry had been curdling, with most milk imported from Australia or made from powder, and small farmers struggling to earn living wages. Holstein has worked with the Malaysian government to train and provide local farmers with know-how and equipment to raise levels of local production. Still, only 5% of milk consumed in Malaysia is produced locally, signaling huge potential for growth in a market valued at US$450 million. Already capturing over 35% of the market for fresh milk, Holstein will continue to raise brand awareness with a more aggressive marketing campaign while expanding store coverage in Malaysia.
Entrepreneur: Chee Chau Ngei
Company: Feruni Ceramiche
Description: Feruni Ceramiche gives the traditional tile industry a grand makeover with its state-of-the-art, premium ceramic and porcelain tiles at competitive prices. In addition to its innovative collection, the company focuses heavily on creating a unique customer shopping experience through its signature Feruni Retail Store (FRS) concept – showcasing the world’s latest tile trends as well as providing customized design services to clients. By 2019, the global market size for ceramic tiles is projected to be worth US$112.3 billion, paving the way for Feruni to capture a meaningful slice of the Asia Pacific market. Having launched eight stores in the last five years, Feruni aims to play a key part in revolutionizing the tile industry beyond Malaysia.
PHILIPPINES
Entrepreneur: Meredith Ngo
Company: Adobo Connection
Description: In 2011, Meredith Ngo launched Adobo Connection, the first Filipino fast casual restaurant dedicated to serving the country’s national dish. Growing primarily through franchising to 60 stores in five years, the entrepreneur won Entrepreneur Philippines’ Best Franchise Award in 2015, and has since replicated her success with another popular restaurant concept, Chopstop. By offering comfort foods at affordable rates to the Filipino public, the company aims to exceed US$36 million in system-wide sales through a network of over 200 stores in the next three years.
Entrepreneur: Kenneth Cobonpue and Christopher Reiter
Company: Kenneth Cobonpue
Description: From Queen Rania of Jordan, to Hollywood’s royalty Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Kenneth Cobonpue has captivated many with his masterwork; his eponymous brand designs and nature-inspired luxury furniture. By combining locally-sourced organic materials with handmade production techniques and innovative designs, Cobonpue provides a modern take on traditional craftsmanship. Operating in the US$20 billion global luxury furniture market, the company (KC) sells its designs to clients in over 60 countries through 100 retail showrooms. Apart from its celebrity clientele, KC furniture can be found in fine-dining establishments and hotels across the world, and has been featured on television shows, including CSI Miami, as well as full-length Hollywood films, such as Ocean’s Thirteen. A strong brand interwoven with meaning, KC envisions becoming a truly global company with a Southeast Asian soul.
BRAZIL
Entrepreneurs: Eric Santos, Andre Siqueira, Bruno Ghis, Guilherme Lopes
Company: Resultados Digitais
Description: You can attract more bees with honey than vinegar and the same goes for online customers. The leading player in Brazil’s US$4.6 billion digital marketing space, Resultados Digitais (RD) helps businesses leverage inbound marketing techniques to organically attract clients through engaging and relevant content instead of interruptive ads. With its all-in-one, low-cost marketing automation software, even the most digitally immature users can successfully generate more online traffic, nurture leads and close sales using fewer marketing dollars.
Entrepreneurs: Guillermo Freire and Guillermo Arslanian
Company: Trocafone
Description: Trocafone is an online marketplace in Latin America for used consumer electronics, currently focused on smartphones in Brazil. With over 200 million residents, Brazil is Latin America’s largest smartphone market even though more than 75% of the population (166 million) still lives without a smartphone due to the high cost of a new device. Primarily through its extensive trade-in partner network, Trocafone buys used smartphones from the subsection of Brazilians who regularly replace their devices for vouchers redeemable at the trade-in store. Trocafone then collects, refurbishes, and resells these devices as “Certified Pre-Owned” for a fraction the price of a new device.
ITALY
Entrepreneur: Davide Dattoli
Company: Talent Garden
Description: Talent Garden is a global network of coworking spaces specialized in digital communication. Through coworking campuses, events, and educational programs, Talent Garden offers its clients a smarter way to connect, learn, and work. Operating in a US$1.5 billion European coworking industry, Talent Garden has over 1,300 members and 500 companies making use of its campuses. Taking advantage of Talent Garden’s digital community are notable names that include Tesla, Uber, and IBM. With 17 locations (three direct and 14 franchises) throughout Europe, Talent Garden is the largest European coworking network for digital media. The company plans to expand its presence with additional European locations, reaching 8,000 members by 2018.
PERU
Entrepreneurs: Alexandra Llosa, Camila Carlessi, and Alvaro de Rivero
Company: KO
Description: KO is a Peruvian-based company dedicated to wellness. Its boutique sports center offers clients a combination of two disciplines: 1) a mixture of martial arts, boxing and a boot camp, 2) yoga. The company’s teachings are based on four pillars: intense exercise, inner peace, good nutrition, and a positive attitude. Currently, KO has four locations and 1,600 students that attend its classes. The company operates within a US$115 million industry in Peru. With three additional centers currently in the works for 2016 and an aggressive expansion plan in place, KO plans to reach over 4,300 members by 2019.
SPAIN
Entrepreneur: Juan Dominguez
Company: Adglow
Description: With social network ad spending predicted to make up to 16% of all digital advertising by 2017, more and more advertisers are beginning to target consumers on popular social media platforms. Adglow helps advertising agencies and brands achieve a 40% higher return on investment for their social media campaigns through its proprietary demand-side platform and campaign management tool, ADAM, and its in-house management services. ADAM concentrates its users’ campaigns from various social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) into one dashboard and enables users to monitor the strength of each investment in real-time, prompting them to make adjustments when ads stray from preset objectives. The company has managed over 300,000 advertising campaigns since 2008, maintains offices in 13 countries around the world, and has handle campaigns for some of the largest advertisers – such as Banco de Santander, Real Madrid, and IKEA – in Spain and other countries.