Endeavor Launches “Edge”, A Fundraising Guide To Help Bridge The Capital Access Gap For Entrepreneurs In Middle America

Endeavor, the leading global community that selects, supports and invests in the fastest-growing entrepreneurs located in overlooked markets around the world, has launched Endeavor EDGE, an open source fundraising guide that offers concepts, primers, instructions and best practices for accessing seven financing options for companies – angel investment, seed, series A and B, growth capital, private equity, equity crowdfunding and venture debt.

The purpose of the tool is to help entrepreneurs save time by making better, more informed decisions around accessing capital and leveraging smart tools and templates to get them funded!

“We are thrilled to launch Endeavor EDGE as a step-by-step fundraising resource for entrepreneurs across the region.” said Founding Endeavor Managing Director Jackson Andrews. “Fundraising can be difficult, and early capital decisions can define the future of a company. By supporting entrepreneurs through EDGE, they can become better equipped to make smart capital decisions throughout their entrepreneurial journey.”

A new era of entrepreneurship and venture capital has emerged around the world, driving the high growth of scale-ups and the global economy. This is reflected by the unprecedented year for venture capital in 2021 where we witnessed more than $300 billion deployed across the U.S. We also witnessed the tailwind impacts of the pandemic which resulted in the migration, resignation, and relocation of high-growth talent outside of major tech hubs, thus opening up the aperture for more capital to follow the talent and benefit many emerging tech hubs outside of the coasts.

Despite this VC boom and the dissemination of capital and talent from the coasts, capital continues to be concentrated in few companies, and for most entrepreneurs in Middle America, access to capital remains challenging.

“For many founders, the venture ecosystem remains complex and difficult to understand, particularly due to the imbalance of industry knowledge and information between all involved: entrepreneurs, investors, fund managers, etc. Because our role at Endeavor is to expand and facilitate access tofounder-friendly capital, we launched this tool to help founders demystify fundraising and promote the long-term growth of the scale-ups of our region.” Raechele Smalls, Manager of Selection and Growth

Endeavor built the EDGE tool with the support of mentors, entrepreneurs, and experts from the network – and with insights gathered from over 200+ mentorships carried out in the last five years.

WHATS RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE IN ENDEAVOR EDGE 

Within the platform, entrepreneurs can explore the following sections:

  • Capital Access Guide: Endeavor has curated a comprehensive guide that offers primers, instructions, and best practices for accessing seven financing alternatives for companies – angel investment, seed, A / B series, growth capital, private equity, equity crowdfunding (coming soon) and venture debt (coming soon).
  • Capital Access Map: Contains 150+ VC funds, financiers, and lenders, both early and late stage, which can be filtered and compared by capital type, investment range, sectors focus, and location.
  • Resource Library: Over the years, the Endeavor team has compiled some of the best resources from the Network to help founders become more knowledgeable around fundraising. You’ll find videos, blog posts, podcasts and more, filled with the best practices, investor insight, self-guided templates, and more, to help prepare you to raise money.

 

“This tool is now part of the continuum of support we’ve provided to entrepreneurs over the 20 years of Endeavor: providing valuable mentorship, guidance and connections to support fundraising efforts.” says Smalls. With capital being the fuel for scale up growth, my hope is that this work catalyzes others in the venture ecosystem to deploy smarter capital, which results in better deals, better returns, and a more efficient, founder-friendly ecosystem!”

Access the Endeavor Edge here: http://edge.endeavor.org/

 

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. In 2015, an Endeavor office was launched in Louisville, Kentucky as one of the first in the U.S. Our office supports Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio entrepreneurs.

About Endeavor EDGE

Endeavor EDGE is the ultimate capital raising guide offering concepts and best fundraising practices based on the experience of entrepreneurs, advisors, and mentors from the Endeavor network. We’re here to help entrepreneurs save time by making informed decisions around accessing capital and leveraging smart tools and templates to get you funded!