For over 28 years, Endeavor has been at the center of the worldwide entrepreneurship story. The nonprofit, which has chapters all over the world, identifies and supports high-impact entrepreneurs—founders who create technology and innovative products, shape economic ecosystems, and inspire others to do the same.
Strengthening a network that powers entrepreneurship in Brazil
Endeavor’s Brazil chapter has seen its mission grow in complexity to where its team was supporting hundreds of entrepreneurs, each with different needs—from founders looking for mentorship to leaders of fast-growing companies expanding overseas.
“We had a strong vision for 2035,” says Paula Oliveira, chief of strategy and operations at Endeavor Brazil, “but we needed help making it real—connecting our strategy, operating model, and portfolio to that vision in a coherent way.”
That’s where McKinsey came in: to better understand what entrepreneurs need, streamline the organization’s offerings, build a structure fit for the next decade of growth, and help Endeavor Brazil connect all this to Endeavor’s global vision.
Listening to entrepreneurs to unlock change
McKinsey’s work began with deep listening. The team spoke with dozens of entrepreneurs across the Endeavor Brazil network—founders, mentors, and board members—to understand their challenges and aspirations.
“What we discovered was that entrepreneurs’ pain points evolve as their businesses grow,” says Bruna Losada, a senior engagement manager at McKinsey and coleader of the Strategic Growth & Innovation Practice in Brazil. “Early-stage founders need help building the business. Later-stage leaders need help building up themselves and their teams.”
Across every stage, one theme stood out: people. Whether finding the right C-suite talent, developing leadership skills, or building strong teams to support CEOs, human capital was the most consistent need. Entrepreneurs also sought support for scaling internationally, professionalizing governance, and accelerating their strategy—but leadership and team development remained top priorities.
Making Endeavor’s value clear
Endeavor Brazil’s mission was strong, but its many programs and services—mentorships, events, global networks, investment opportunities—had sprawled over time. McKinsey helped the organization bring clarity by mapping its full portfolio of offerings and aligning them to different types of entrepreneurs and companies in different stages of growth.
“McKinsey gave us an organized way to communicate to entrepreneurs how Endeavor Brazil's full portfolio of solutions supports them,” says Paula.
This portfolio has become a key tool, helping Endeavor Brazil communicate value clearly, ensure consistency across companies in different stages, and spot gaps in its support model.
Aligning Brazil’s ambitions with the global vision
At the time of the engagement, Endeavor was building its global Vision 2035, a plan to create more fast-growing companies that fuel economic growth in worldwide markets. McKinsey’s role was to help the Brazil office—one of Endeavor’s largest and most innovative—connect that global vision to local realities.
“Brazil’s ecosystem is unique,” Paula explains. “McKinsey helped us tailor the global vision to what success looks like here.”
McKinsey gave us an organized way to communicate to entrepreneurs how Endeavor Brazil's full portfolio of solutions supports them.
That included, in addition to working to support entrepreneurs at all levels, expanding support for fast-growing companies in mature stages of scale. The strategy ensured that as founders scale, Endeavor Brazil remains a trusted partner, keeping them engaged as mentors and investors for the next generation.
Internally, the partnership also prompted a major organizational redesign. Endeavor Brazil shifted to focusing on what entrepreneurs experience rather than how its teams are structured.
“It was a mindset shift,” Paula says. “We started organizing around the entrepreneur’s journey—not our internal processes.”
To bring that vision to life, Endeavor Brazil began breaking down silos between teams, especially by integrating its product and data groups more closely with leadership and client-facing teams.
“We’re building together,” Paula adds. “That has been a big cultural change.”
Expanding the definition of entrepreneurship
Another significant shift was in who Endeavor Brazil serves. Historically, the organization focused exclusively on founders and co-founders. While working with McKinsey, Endeavor Brazil recognized that for more mature scaleups, it needed to include some C-suite in its strategy.
“These leaders are entrepreneurs too,” Bruna says. “They may not have founded the business, but they’ve been crucial to its success. Including them along with the C-suite strengthens the entire ecosystem.”
Endeavor Brazil is putting those lessons into practice, using clearer offerings, a more agile structure, and deeper data insights to serve entrepreneurs better—helping realize its ambition to be among the world's top 10 global entrepreneurship ecosystems by 2035.
“We’ve supported entrepreneurs in Brazil for 25 years,” Paula reflected. “Now, we need to help companies grow further—so they can compete globally and shape the future of our economy.”
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