Ankur Gopal Joins Endeavor’s Midwest Board Of Directors

Louisville, Kentucky | Indianapolis, Indiana | Cincinnati, Ohio – Endeavor welcomes Ankur Gopal, the founder and CEO of Interapt, to the Board of Directors in the Midwest. Selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2020, Ankur Gopal will support the next generation of high-impact founders across Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.

“We are beyond thrilled that Ankur is joining the Endeavor Midwest board,” said Founding Endeavor Managing Director, Jackson Andrews. “Ankur is the epitome of an Endeavor Entrepreneur – building a high-growth company, creating meaningful jobs, and now paying it forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs by joining the board. Ankur continues to build an amazing company that is true to his bold vision.”

A High-Impact Entrepreneur: Ankur Gopal’s Endeavor Journey

When Endeavor launched its Midwest office based in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2015, Ankur Gopal became one of the first entrepreneurs to engage with the global entrepreneur network. Having founded Interapt in 2011, Gopal began Endeavor’s rigorous, multi-step process to join the global network of high-impact entrepreneurs as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.

As with many entrepreneurs, Gopal’s journey was dynamic and full of challenges to overcome. Early on in the Endeavor selection process, he was mentored by other seasoned entrepreneurs, including Guibert Englebienne, the co-founder of Globant (GLOB on NYSE), one of Latin America’s most successful tech companies, and an Endeavor Entrepreneur and Board Member.

After continuing to scale Interapt, Gopal neared the last stage of Endeavor’s selection process: the International Selection Panel. Endeavor’s International Selection Panels are the culmination of a competitive process to identify high-impact entrepreneurs who demonstrate the highest potential to create large-scale wealth and jobs, and are committed to reinvesting their own time and resources into their entrepreneur ecosystems to help others scale.

In 2017, Ankur Gopal traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to present at Endeavor’s International Selection Panel. After two days of intense conversations with panelists, including Scott Wu from Omidyar Network, Fadi Ghandour of Aramex and Wamda Capital, and four other global business leaders from Endeavor, the results were in. Interapt was not selected. Gopal was given concrete, tactical feedback to address and asked to pitch again after meeting key business milestones.

Gopal shared that “not getting selected may have dissuaded some entrepreneurs, but when I was told that I was not selected, they gave me the key reasons why – and the reasons were extremely valid. I looked at the feedback not as a disappointment, but instead as honest, world -class consulting on how to get my business in a much better position to scale. The [Endeavor] selection journey gave me the confidence that I am a world-class entrepreneur, inspired me to help others just like others helped me, and is a fundamental reason why our business is succeeding instead of being a casualty.”

 

Gopal Selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur

Through the subsequent few years, Endeavor continued to work with and support Gopal as he built and strengthened Interapt. Gopal’s vision remained bold – to build a high-growth technology business in his home state, Kentucky, that addresses the technology skills gap and gives people the chance for meaningful employment.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and changed how the world worked and operated, Gopal and Interapt were ready. They had built strong partnershipsand training programs with leading global companies like Humana, EY, GE Appliances, and many more. As talent and supply chains were disrupted, Interapt stepped up to fill the gap and provide IT services, training, and support to many major companies.

With Interapt’s model taking off, the company was finally at an inflection point in its growth, and Gopal was ready to present again at an International Selection Panel. This time, in December 2020, Gopal was successfully selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur – demonstrating to a panel that included Lynda Applegate from Harvard Business School and Diego Piacentini, a former Amazon exec, that Interapt was on its way to making an exponential impact.

“Through the Endeavor network, I’ve met some of the most accomplished entrepreneurs and board members around the world who have been generous with their time and knowledge, helping me navigate parts of my business whenever I needed guidance and advice. When we were looking at expanding operations overseas, a few email exchanges led to a few video calls that led to the information we needed – in just a few days, not months,” explained Gopal.

 

Coming Full Circle: Ankur Gopal Joins the Endeavor Board

Just over a year after being selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur, Gopal is already taking the next step in his Endeavor journey by joining the Board of Directors.

Interapt has continued its breakneck growth, recently announcing a nationwide partnership with Fifth Third Bank to train 100 participants in areas like software development and data science – all from nine under-invested communities in cities like Indianapolis, Louisville, Cleveland, and more. Interapt also expanded their work with global professional services firm, EY, through a collaboration with the City of Frankfort, Kentucky to train and hire local residents for Interapt’s apprenticeship program with EY.

“Being in the business of disruption, it is inspiring and exciting to be part of this extraordinary group of people. And now, I get to be part of it, contribute where I can, and surround myself in real-time with the people that have the power to change the world. Endeavor isn’t a club: it’s a tribe,” Gopal shared about his Endeavor experience.

Gopal becomes the third Endeavor Entrepreneur to join the Board of Directors in the Midwest, along with Stacy Griggs (CEO of El Toro Marketing) and Brian Brackeen (General Partner of Lightship Capital). The remainder of the board is comprised of Matt Thornton (Chairman of the Board & Founder of Thornton Capital), Jackson Andrews (Founding Managing Director), Bryce Butler (Founder & Managing Partner of Access Ventures), Joe Kelley (CEO of Kelley Construction), Brook Smith (Founder & CEO of Smith-Manus), and Greg Pope (Office Managing Partner at EY). Endeavor encourages successful entrepreneurs to join their regional board as a way to pay it forward and support the next generation of high-growth entrepreneurs.

“Part of Endeavor’s mission is to drive not just high-growth entrepreneurship but also reinvestment. We are eager to see that virtuous cycle continue in our region with the addition of Ankur to our board,” said Jackson Andrews.

Endeavor congratulates and thanks Ankur Gopal for his tenacity, commitment, and generosity as a high-impact entrepreneur. Gopal embodies Endeavor’s goal to support and facilitate entrepreneurs who scale up, go big, and give back.

 

About Endeavor

Endeavor is the world’s leading community of high-growth entrepreneurs. Founded in 1997, Endeavor unlocks the transformational power of entrepreneurship by selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders to help them achieve large-scale growth. Today, Endeavor’s network spans over 40 countries and supports more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, whose companies generate combined revenues of over $28.7 billion, employ more than 4.1 million people, and, in 2020, raised over $4 billion in capital including from Endeavor Catalyst, our rules based venture capital fund. Endeavor’s unique entrepreneur-first model, peer-to-peer community, and trust-based network provides a platform and resources for founders to dream big, scale up, and pay it forward to the next generation. Learn more at www.endeavor.org.

 

About Interapt

Interapt, based in Louisville, KY, offers solutions that bridge the gap between business, technology and the people who make it happen – with expertise in innovation, business process outsourcing, and IT workforce apprenticeships. Interapt launched its workforce development program, Interapt Skills, in 2015 to empower humans with the technical, business, and life skills needed to meet the expectations of today’s employers. To find out how we can help your business, visit www.interapt.com.