Linda Rottenberg ’93 built Endeavor to back audacious builders—and prove talent is everywhere.
By Michelle Cheon, Yale College'28
Linda Rottenberg ’93 is redefining what global entrepreneurship looks like. Trained at Yale Law School after Harvard College, she co-founded Endeavor, a nonprofit that spotlights and scales “high-impact” founders in international markets often overlooked by Silicon Valley. What began with an insight in a Buenos Aires taxi grew into a movement that helped seed local role models, popularize the very language of entrepreneurship across Spanish and Portuguese, and champion the “Power of Elsewhere” as a driver of inclusive economic growth.
Under Rottenberg’s leadership, Endeavor has backed category-defining founders—from early bets on Wences Casares and the future Mercado Libre team to today’s AI builders—and built Endeavor Catalyst, a rules-based co-investment fund now managing over $540M+ assets with hundreds of portfolio companies. The model pairs ambition with access, capital with mentorship, and insists that durable impact requires durable businesses.
We asked Rottenberg a series of questions about her journey from Yale Law School to leading a global entrepreneurship network, the lessons she’s learned scaling Endeavor, and how she continues to empower founders who turn “crazy” ideas into world-changing ventures.
What first inspired you to co-found Endeavor? Did any experience at Yale influence that vision?
I went to Harvard for undergrad and then straight to Yale Law School (YLS). Most of my YLS classmates had their next decade planned clerking for judges, then joining banks, consulting firms, or law practices. I was interested in none of those paths. Professors took pity on me and sent me to Latin America, where I helped build the first joint law-business school with full-time faculty and then worked for Ashoka, which funded social entrepreneurs, including those in microcredit.
I kept asking: why isn’t anyone starting the next Microsoft here?
It was the mid-90s. Steve Jobs had just returned to Apple, Netscape and Yahoo! were going public, and yet in Latin America, no one was starting new companies. My ”Aha!’ moment came in a taxi in Argentina when I learned my driver had an engineering degree. We tried to discuss entrepreneurship but neither of us could find the Spanish equivalent: empresario meant an established business leader with political connections and a Swiss bank account. I thought, no wonder no one’s starting new ventures, there isn’t even a word to describe it. That was the spark for Endeavor. Professors Owen Fiss and Bo Burt at Yale Law School were instrumental in encouraging me. This was pre-Google, and I apparently racked up the highest phone bill in the school’s history, my first claim to fame.
In your journey to leading a global entrepreneurship movement, what moments most shaped your belief in crazy ideas and bold founders?
For many years, I was known as “Chica Loca” for suggesting there were high-growth entrepreneurs in places like Latin America and other emerging markets far from Silicon Valley—what Endeavor now calls “Elsewhere.” When we started, there wasn’t even a word in Spanish or Portuguese for “entrepreneur.” One of my personal favorite moments came when the Brazilian editor of Aurelia, the country’s dictionary, called our team to say they were adding empreendedor and empreendedorismo—entrepreneur and entrepreneurshipbecause of Endeavor’s work). Beyond Portuguese and Spanish, Endeavor has helped popularize the terms “entrepreneur” and “high-impact entrepreneurship” in Arabic, Turkish, Bahasa Indonesian, Tagalog, etc.
To prove naysayers wrong, I knew we needed local role models. In 1997, we met a 24-year-old sheep farmer from Patagonia named Wences Casares. He had an idea for the E*Trade of Latin America, but all 34 local investors had turned him down. We selected him as one of our first Endeavor Entrepreneurs, helped him raise capital, and hire a COO. Eighteen months later, he sold his company, Patagon.com, to Banco Santander for $750 million. (Wences went on to become “Bitcoin patient zero,” convincing Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Mark Zuckerberg, Mike Novogratz and many others to invest in bitcoin). Suddenly, all those investors who turned down Wences called asking if Endeavor had any more “crazy kids with crazy ideas.” We did. Two Stanford Business School graduates soon moved back to Buenos Aires to start the eBay of Latin America, what became Mercado Libre. Today MELI trades on the NASDAQ and reached a valuation of $130 billion, becoming the highest-valued company in Latin America.
Those early experiences proved what has defined Endeavor ever since: talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Part of Endeavor’s job is to bridge that gap.
The funny thing is, we seem to be “back to the future” in terms of many people now saying that the only BIG and relevant companies will come from Silicon Valley or China in the age of AI. We disagree. Endeavor is backing some tremendous AI founders, including Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski of ElevenLabs, who’ve built the world-leader in VoiceAI out of Poland.
When we talk about the “Power of Elsewhere” — phenomenal, bold entrepreneurs emerging outside of Silicon Valley and China — I have a new, very relevant story to tell: Our Managing Director of Endeavor Saudi Arabia is a female founder named Lateefa Alwaalan. When Lateefa came through Endeavor’s International Selection Panel in 2014, one of her selection panelists was Steve Case, the founder of AOL. Steve was so impressed with Lateefa (who was then building Yatooq, the “Nespresso of the Middle East)” that he became an investor in our second Endeavor Catalyst Fund. He said maybe he’d also invest directly in later-stage Endeavor companies through his Revolution Growth Fund — or maybe, one day AOL could even buy one of our companies. Earlier this week, on October 29th, 2025 Italian tech company Bending Spoons, led by Endeavor Entrepreneur Luca Ferrari, acquired AOL from private-equity firm Apollo Global Management for $1.5B. Two days later, Bending Spoons became Europe’s newest minted “Decacorn,” valued at $11.7B. “C’è posta per te,” anyone?
What was the hardest early obstacle you faced in your entrepreneurship journey, and how did you push through it?
I faced two major challenges: starting up and scaling up. Once founders like Wences and the Mercado Libre team succeeded, calls started pouring in from Brazil and Mexico, then Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia asking how to find their own local innovators. Chica Loca became a carrying card and my motto (and book title) became “Crazy is a compliment!” I always tell people that if you’re NOT being called crazy when you’re starting something new, then you’re probably not thinking big enough!
But to me, the scaleup phase is even tougher than the startup phase. That’s why Endeavor focuses on founders that have entered the scaleup phase — on average newly selected Endeavor companies have $3M-10M+ in annual revenue — and are ready for our support to 10x their business. The scaleup phase is where things really start to get hard. When the world changes, pivoting can be difficult, especially when others resist change. One of Endeavor’s values is “Always Agile,” and I’ve learned how challenging that can be to live.
In 2011, I began working with my board members (LinkedIn founder) Reid Hoffman and (venture capitalist) Nick Beim on what became Endeavor Catalyst, a rules-based co-investment fund. Entrepreneurs loved the idea of Endeavor investing, but several board members feared we were drifting from our mission. I told them, “The entrepreneurs have spoken. We are an organization of, by, and for entrepreneurs.” Some board members left, which was for the best.
Today, Endeavor Catalyst manages $540 million across four funds, soon to be five, and has invested in more than 365 companies, with 33 exits and 66 unicorns (companies valued at $1B+). A third of our investors are Endeavor Entrepreneurs themselves. Building that hybrid model was the hardest transition of my career, but it’s proven essential to our success.
What have the founders you’ve worked with taught you about innovation that Silicon Valley often overlooks?
Silicon Valley tends to chase the next BIG thing: web3, blockchain, now AI. That’s part of what makes it so dynamic. Entrepreneurs in emerging and growth markets are different. They solve real-world problems at scale. Fintech companies like Flutterwave in Nigeria, Nubank in Brazil, and TymeBank in South Africa and Southeast Asia built unicorns by serving the underbanked. Careem, the ride-hailing company in MENA that sold to Uber in 2020 for $3.1B, actively recruited and trained the first female drivers, known as “capitainahs,” in Saudi Arabia. Even in AI, we believe innovation can come from anywhere. Foundational models may be concentrated in Silicon Valley and China because they require immense compute power, but the real breakthroughs will come from the next application layer, where entrepreneurs use AI to tackle local, practical challenges. That’s where the next wave of innovation will emerge, both B2C and B2B. The future, we believe, is Elsewhere.
You’ve remained involved in Yale’s innovation community. Why is it important for you to give back?
At Endeavor, we talk about the Multiplier Effect, the idea that a founder’s greatest impact comes not from building one company but from mentoring, investing in, and inspiring others. Paying it forward is core to our mission and to me personally. I owe a lot to Yale. Giving back feels like closing that circle.
There’s also so much raw talent at Yale. If I can share my lessons and experiences with students and faculty, it’s deeply rewarding. Josh Geballe and his team at Yale Ventures are doing phenomenal work expanding Yale’s role in innovation and entrepreneurship. Why should Stanford and MIT get all the credit?
Looking back to when you were just starting Endeavor, is there something you wish you had known then that you know now?
I wish I had known it was okay to take an unconventional path. There’s a lot of pressure at places like Yale or Harvard to follow traditional routes. What I didn’t realize was that having that education, and yes the brand name, gives you the freedom to take risks. You don’t need to collect more logos; you need to follow your gut. I was passionate and stubborn but still had moments of self-doubt. I’d tell my younger self: Lose the insecurity and take the leap.
I also wish I’d spent more time living abroad before I “settled down.” I lived in Buenos Aires for about a year and a half in my twenties, but part of me wishes I’d spent equal time on different continents. (I did get the opportunity to reside in Athens for a summer post COVID, along with my family, including Eden Feiler ‘27 and Tybee Feiler ‘27). Immersing yourself in another culture opens your eyes in ways short trips can’t. Even something as ordinary as grocery shopping or, yes, a taxicab ride, teaches you something new about the world.
Finally, what advice would you give to Yale students who want to build ventures that succeed and create lasting global impact?
Being an entrepreneur is not easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart. First, you have to focus on growth and sustainability: profits if you’re building a for-profit, mission-aligned revenue generation if you’re launching a hybrid or non-profit. If you emphasize impact without ensuring financial strength, then you won’t achieve long-term impact. You’ll simply die. When we say “high-impact entrepreneurship,” we mean growth, resilience, profit, and sustainability.
Second, take care of your people. Our Endeavor Entrepreneurs are often the first in their countries to issue stock options or employee ownership plans. At Endeavor itself, we aim to pay competitively and create an environment where everyone feels they’re building something meaningful together, even if they might forgo some upside. I think “psychic equity” is super important and too-often underrated as a retention tool. That’s how you retain great talent.
My colleague Allen Taylor, who leads Endeavor Catalyst, is someone I consider a late-stage cofounder of Endeavor. He has co-created so much value and trust within the organization. I believe in intrapreneurship, helping people grow, evolve, and take ownership. Without a great culture, you won’t achieve lasting impact, let alone global impact.
Finally, I’d repeat something I was told: take things one step at a time. Big dreams become real through small, deliberate goals. They don’t get achieved all at once!
