Louisville, KY / Indianapolis, IN / Cincinnati, OH (June 21, 2021) – After five months of strategic mentorship and curated resources for scaling a business, Endeavor celebrated the conclusion of its first cohort of Scale Up 2021 Entrepreneurs. The program, which launched in February of 2021 with a workshop from nationally-recognized venture capital firm, GrowthX, provides tailored support and mentorship to high-potential entrepreneurs in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.
About Endeavor Scale Up
In partnership with EY, Scale Up is a non-dilutive growth accelerator that supports high-potential, fast-growth entrepreneurs by giving access to the resources, successful founders, and mentors in Endeavor’s regional network to scale to the next level. In 2021, there are two cohorts of Scale Up Entrepreneurs: from February to June, and from August to December.
Through the first cohort of Scale Up 2021, entrepreneurs received curated, direct mentorship from current Endeavor Entrepreneurs and successful mentors from Endeavor’s regional network. In addition to the GrowthX workshop, each company received an in-depth financial review from Endeavor partner, EY. Scale Up Entrepreneurs also had access to EY’s 7 Drivers of Growth assessment framework, a partnership package with discounts from companies like Hubspot, WeWork, AWS, and Zoom, and workshops with Endeavor partners like Innovatemap and Dell.
“Through Scale Up, early-stage entrepreneurs in our region get access to incredible resources from EY, GrowthX, and Endeavor Entrepreneurs – becoming part of Endeavor’s strong regional network,” explained Jackson Andrews, Endeavor’s Managing Director. “We are so excited to have supported Kare Mobile, Nymbl Systems, Hopewell, and Spiritless in the first cohort of Scale Up 2021.”
Scale Up Acceleration Panel
On Wednesday, June 16th, the Scale Up Acceleration Panel served as the concluding event of the first cohort of Scale Up 2021 entrepreneurs. Endeavor Entrepreneurs and Mentors spent a day interviewing the Scale Up Entrepreneurs in an effort to provide strategic feedback from different perspectives, challenge the entrepreneurs to think bigger, and build each entrepreneur’s regional network.
The Acceleration Panel was hosted at Hopewell’s Louisville Lab, and brought together founders and mentors from Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Lexington. The day concluded with a Scale Up Celebration Happy Hour, coalescing Scale Up Entrepreneurs, Endeavor Entrepreneurs, Mentors, and Board Members to celebrate high-impact entrepreneurship across the region. Scale Up 2021 Entrepreneur and CEO of Kare Mobile, Dr. Kwane Watson, celebrated completing the program with “four great high-impact companies”
Apply for Scale Up 2021 Cohort #2
Applications are currently open for the second cohort of Scale Up 2021, which will run from August to December of 2021. Entrepreneurs and founders of high-potential, fast-growth companies across Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio are encouraged to apply here.
Endeavor will select companies based on their global selection criteria:
- Entrepreneur: founders willing to learn, listen, and grow from feedback, entrepreneurs committed to going big and giving back
- Business: high-growth companies with the potential to be the next regional success story with an exponential impact
- Timing: post-revenue companies in any industry, typically Seed to Series A stage with ideally $1M-$3M in projected annual revenue
The cost of the program is $3,000 per company (a 501(c)3 deductible donation) and 50% of Scale Up slots are prioritized for companies with a female or minority founder.
