On Friday May 20, following Endeavor’s International Selection Panel in London, BNP Paribas and L’Atelier, an incubator with the European bank, hosted a conference focused on creating and funding startups both in France and abroad. L'Atelier detects examples of "disruptive innovation" that bring about concrete changes for companies and their employees. It communicates these key trends through its various communication channels and helps position companies to catch these ideas early on. BNP Paribas’ clients are increasingly interested in the innovation taking place around the world for the purposes of investment, acquisition, strategic partnerships, and expansion. The afternoon session was devoted to Endeavor.
After a gracious introduction by the president of BNP Paribas, Allen Taylor and Karen Martell, both based in Endeavor’s San Francisco office, kicked off the session by presenting Endeavor’s model, history, and the programs and services Endeavor offers to its 603 entrepreneurs in 11 countries. Then six Endeavor Entrepreneurs presented their companies and their experience as high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets. The companies include:
APPI – Alexandre Pi (Brazil): POS payment systems
Pozitron – Firat Isbecer (Turkey): mobile apps e-commerce, payment, and remote access
Globant – Guibert Englebienne (Argentina): IT, gaming, mobile, and innovation off-shoring company
Colaboracion Virtual– Erik Torreiter (Chile): videoconferencing solution
Nada Debs - Nada Debs (Lebanon): furniture and home accessory designer
Proteus – Marcelo Romcy (Brazil): e-security company
The conference and the Entrepreneurs themselves attracted considerable media attention. In addition to journalists directly covering the event and interviewing Endeavor staff, Entrepreneurs Florence Martin, Erik Torreiter and Firat Isbecer participated in interviews which were then broadcast on France’s most popular radio station. Coupled with investor interest in innovation, the conference participants were excited about Endeavor’s exploration of Eastern and Central Europe as potential expansion targets.
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