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By Nikki Cabus

Endeavor Miami Announces Exciting New Latinx Cohort

Read Time 3 Minutes

Endeavor Miami has announced its latest EndeavorLAB Latinx cohort, showcasing the wealth of Latinx talent, its commitment to elevating underrepresented founders, and South Florida’s rise as a global innovation hub.

Tailored explicitly for underrepresented entrepreneurs in Florida, EndeavorLAB addresses a crucial gap in the startup ecosystem. EndeavorLAB focuses on Black, Latinx, and Women founders, whose businesses are often underfunded  and may face more struggles to access the resources they need for growth. EndeavorLAB fills this void, offering a sanctuary of community, knowledge, and support that reaffirms their potential and empowers them to persevere.

This year’s Latinx cohort is a vibrant mosaic of ten startups led by a diverse group of twenty co-founders from across Latin America – Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. This selection celebrates cultural diversity and spotlights the innovative spirit and scalable potential within the Latinx entrepreneurial community. From enterprise SaaS to fintech, consumer tech to CPG, and logistics, these startups represent a broad spectrum of industries poised for significant growth.

Within just a few years of founding, these ventures collectively achieved over $2.5M in revenue in 2023, with projections to surpass $10M in 2024. They are supported by an impressive $18M in external funding.

EndeavorLAB’s design reflects a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial journey, offering a structured yet flexible program that aligns with founders’ busy lives. Over two months, with a commitment of just four hours per week, participants engage in a curriculum focused on scaling up, tailored to integrate seamlessly into their schedules. This thoughtful approach ensures that learning and growth can occur without disrupting the ongoing momentum of their businesses.

“We are immensely proud to introduce these extraordinary startups to the world, ” said Claudia Duran, Managing Director of Endeavor Miami, as she expressed her enthusiasm for the cohort.

Their ambition and innovation embody the spirit of Endeavor Miami. This cohort underscores the vast potential within our community and the broader Latinx entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’re excited to facilitate their growth journey and look forward to the remarkable impact they will have.”

EndeavorLAB’s introduction of this year’s Latinx cohort, supported by JPMorgan Chase and in collaboration with DELL For Startups, is a milestone for Endeavor Miami and a beacon of hope and inspiration for underrepresented founders in South Florida. It highlights the organization’s role as a catalyst for meaningful change, fostering a more inclusive, diverse, and competitive entrepreneurial landscape. As these startups embark on their EndeavorLAB journey, their success stories will undoubtedly inspire future entrepreneurs, proving that the possibilities are limitless with the proper support and community.

Here is a complete list of the EndeavorLAB Cohort:

  • Casalú | A rum seltzer brand built to represent modern Latino Culture.
  • CodeGPT | Empowers businesses with a customizable, robust, and secure LLM as an Operating System (OS) for seamless business integration providing total control of the AI experience and the data back to the companies.
  • Highlights App | Helps fans stay connected to their favorite sports, teams, and athletes by leveraging their intuitive mobile interface and advanced AI to aggregate full highlights across all sports and leagues and personalize them to fans’ preferences.
  • iTruckr | Fueled by AI and smart algorithms, transforms independent trucking with automated operations, personalized scheduling, and real-time load booking, boosting financial control and profitability for owner-operators.
  • Kanto | A multi-platform interactive singing app. With Kanto Score, users experience the world’s most accurate scoring technology an a large library of songs and playlists.
  • Mavity | AI-powered tool that supercharges creative operations.
  • Neomoon | Revolutionizes financial access in LATAM, offering easy-to-use dollar accounts and empowering users with deep financial education, bridging the gap between technology and everyday finance.
  • Onyx Private | Empowering Small Business Owners to Thrive and Grow with a Unified Personal and Business App that Simplifies Financial Management.
  • Palla | A platform that enables people and companies to instantly send funds from the US to LatAm. Palla partners with Financial Institutions and Fintechs in LatAm to enable their customers to request and receive funds in seconds, instead of hours or days.
  • Securily | Company behind the World’s Easiest Pentest, it revolutionizes pen testing for small and medium-sized businesses by combining certified human expertise with cutting-edge AI, streamlining cybersecurity processes and ensuring compliance.

Endeavor’s Miami affiliate was established in 2013, with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as the first U.S. affiliate of the global Endeavor organization. Miami’s Endeavor Entrepreneurs generated over $900M+ in revenues and employed over 6,000 individuals in 2023. With the addition of its newest companies, the affiliate currently supports 35 companies and 60 Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

By Nikki Cabus

JPMorgan Chase deploys the first $2 million to advance tech equity in Miami

Read Time 4 Minutes

JPMorgan Chase announced the deployment of the first $2 million across four organizations to advance racial equity in the Miami tech sector.

BrainStation, a program of Miami Foundation, CodePath, Rebrand Cities, and YWCA of South Florida working with gener8tor, will each receive $500,000 to empower underrepresented Miamians to enter and thrive in the tech industry through technology workforce training, career services and support for small businesses.

In 2022, JPMorgan Chase announced it was committing $10 million toward the $100 million Tech Equity Miami initiative to support greater inclusivity in Miami’s growing tech industry.

  • BrainStation is building inclusive pathways into technology careers by offering 50 full-ride scholarships to underrepresented Miamians for their Software Engineering and UX Design programs.
  • CodePath is reprogramming higher education to create a more diverse generation of software engineers, CTOs, and founders. In Miami, CodePath will expand its Pathways to Tech initiative at local universities, offering courses in web development and coding.
  • Rebrand Cities will increase support for diverse founders in Miami by equipping them with the cutting-edge tools necessary to improve their digital footprint on the social web as well as digitize internal operations. The experiences will include web development and audit services, social media strategy, mentorship and exposure to AI and web3.
  • YWCA of South Florida, working with gener8tor, will provide additional workforce training and employment under the Miami Digital Skilling in Action project to help ensure that Miami’s booming tech ecosystem is equitable and inclusive.

“The strong growth of the tech industry in Miami represents a powerful opportunity for the local economy,” said Doug Petno, CEO of Commercial Banking at JPMorgan Chase. “Our commitment is targeted to help more people and businesses obtain the skills, insight, network and support needed to be successful in this rapidly growing market.”

Recognizing Miami’s growing status as a global tech hub, Tech Equity Miami was launched last year with The Knight Foundation and aīre ventures to help remove barriers to entry for people of color in the tech industry and to create more opportunities for underrepresented youth and small businesses. To measure community impact, all Tech Equity Miami projects will contribute information and statistics to a public database that tracks progress towards the initiative’s outcomes and impact goals.

“As the tech industry in Miami continues to grow, we’re focused on breaking down barriers to bring in previously untapped talent and support a competitive, diverse local sector,” said Demetrios Marantis, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase. “We are proud to announce these first commitments that will help more Miamians participate in the tech revolution and, in turn, advance a more inclusive economy for all.”

This announcement affirms JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to helping historically underserved groups and emerging talent attain equal access to skills training and career opportunities. Support for Tech Equity Miami aims to not only power economic growth, but also to help set Miami’s tech ecosystem on a path to greater equity and inclusivity.

“As a result of this investment from JPMorgan Chase, hundreds of Miamians will gain skills for in-demand, high paying careers in tech. In addition, dozens of diverse-owned small businesses will have access to the resources and tools they need to make their businesses successful. It’s that simple,” said Leigh-Ann Buchanan, president of aīre ventures. “This special partnership between Tech Equity Miami, JPMorgan Chase and the beneficiaries of designated projects demonstrates the power of investment to grow and strengthen not only an industry, but a city.”

Support for Tech Equity Miami is part of JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion racial equity commitment, which aims to help close the racial wealth gap and drive economic inclusion by providing more opportunities for homeownership, access to affordable housing, entrepreneurship and bolstering financial health.

JPMorgan Chase has been doing business in Miami and South Florida for more than 45 years and employs more than 2,400 people locally. The bank serves more than 1.7 million customers and 278,000 small businesses across South Florida.

Endeavor Miami Announces Exciting New Latinx Cohort
JPMorgan Chase deploys the first $2 million to advance tech equity in Miami