A new Endeavor: Why we chose Miami from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

Laura I. Maydón is managing director of Endeavor Miami, the first U.S. affiliate of Endeavor, a global nonprofit that promotes high-impact entrepreneurship.

Endeavor Miami organized its first Local Selection Panel last week; it’s a big step for local companies hoping to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs, part of a global network that expands their access to mentoring, talent and capital, among other targeted services to help them develop and scale.

Entrepreneurs have to be selected unanimously in order to advance to the next step, which is to present at an International Selection Panel where they could ultimately be selected to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

During the Local Selection Panel, the last step at the local level, three companies presented their leadership qualities and businesses to seven panelists. The process consisted of three interviews conducted by two or three reviewers who each assessed the entrepreneurs and provided feedback. After the interviews, panelists came together to deliberate and vote.

Throughout the day, the panelists were outstanding. Their questions and feedback set a high standard for entrepreneurs. In the end, the panelists chose two entrepreneurs to move forward and asked a third to meet some milestones and come back to a future local panel. It was a perfect example of the Endeavor model at work, which helps entrepreneurs think bigger, make better decisions and multiply their influence. Entrepreneurs start benefiting from these core values throughout the selection process.

The entrepreneurs were outstanding as well, and their interviews, and the feedback they received, made it more evident to me how much Endeavor Miami is needed in our community. We will help entrepreneurs reach their potential to become high-impact. Endeavor high-impact entrepreneurs ultimately grow faster and benefit our economy through job creation and by mentoring and investing in other entrepreneurs. This is what we call the multiplier effect – key for building an entrepreneurial community.

That spirit was shown in the people who came together to make the Local Selection Panel a success. I’m really thankful to my board and to all mentors in our network for their commitment, thoughtfulness and care to help these entrepreneurs. (And I’m grateful to Susan Amat and her team at Venture Hive for hosting the event and to My Ceviche for hosting lunch.)

We launched Endeavor Miami last September, thanks to the support of Knight Foundation and other leaders in the community who are now part of an extraordinarily engaged board of directors. Our mission mirrors that of other Endeavor affiliates in 20 countries; we seek to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem and transform the South Florida community. At Endeavor Miami we trust that selected entrepreneurs will inspire, become role models, mentors and investors for other entrepreneurs, while we provide them with targeted services to help them scale and take their companies to the next level.

In the past few months, we have been continuously searching for those high-impact entrepreneurs across all industries. Our pipeline looks strong and we will continue to search for more to join the three Endeavor Miami Entrepreneurs from KidoZen and My Ceviche.

Entrepreneurs may apply to become an Endeavor Miami Entrepreneur at endeavormiami.org.