Trailblazer Linda Rottenberg

Linda Rottenberg helps put entrepreneurs in developing countries on the map — and in the dictionary, literally. When Endeavor, her global non-profit group, first started, the Spanish word for entrepreneur was not even in the lexicon of many parts of South America.

“My favorite moment at Endeavor came about five years ago when the editor of the Brazilian Portuguese Dictionary called and said that because of Endeavor’s work they were adding the words, emprendedor and emprendedorismo.”

Sourcing Equity, Building Infrastructure

“Living in Latin America in the mid ‘90s, I noticed that all the private equity was going to the same 10 companies run by the same 10 families. If you were a kid with a big idea and ambitious plans and wanted to change an industry and create thousands of jobs, there was nowhere to go.”

But it really began when Linda found herself in the back of a taxi in Buenos Aires. Never too shy to strike up a conversation, she quickly discovered her driver had a PhD in engineering. Politely, she quizzed him on why he was driving a cab and not starting a business — not becoming an emprendedor. He simply replied, “Who would support me? Who would mentor me? How can I get access to those networks?”

In that instant, Endeavor became a vision: to identify and support high-impact entrepreneurs from emerging countries and to help them establish and scale their business. This, in turn creates jobs and wealth, transforming corporate cultures, communities and entire countries.

From an entrepreneur in South Africa who brings ergonomic school desks to four million children, to two digital animators from Mexico who took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, Endeavor seeks out big thinkers around the globe.

Since co-founding Endeavor in 1997, Rottenberg has helped some 400 entrepreneurs in nine countries who’ve created nearly 100,000 jobs in their communities. In 2008, these same Endeavor entrepreneurs generated $3.15 billion in revenues.

Growing Businesses, Growing Pains

It’s never easy. Each business faces unique challenges. Just getting a business off the ground is a particular challenge, as is scaling it to critical mass. “Technology helps,” says Linda. “These countries have infrastructure issues, and technology can help them leapfrog some of these issues.”

Dell Technology and Business Expertise

“The right equipment helps them grow, helps them overcome a lot of the infrastructure problems,” Linda says. Once they’ve acquired the technology they need to get started, Dell’s expertise can also help ease the growing pains.

“It’s not so much starting a company that’s hard. It’s taking it to the next level. That’s actually why we’re partnering with Dell to do technology assessments of our companies to see what they need on the technology front.”

Endeavor chose to work with Dell because of their unique qualifications in meeting many of these challenges: an entrepreneurial culture, a global presence, on-the-ground expertise and an understanding of small and medium business needs.

“Dell helps them understand what their company is going to look like in five years. Today you have 50 employees. But what happens when you have 500? And Dell consultants help them think strategically about their IT needs so they can budget smart today for tomorrow’s company. That’s been a huge win in the Endeavor/Dell partnership.”