Endeavor Miami is partnering with venture capital firm DeepWork Capital to funnel more capital into underrepresented early-stage founders.
Endeavor Miami and DeepWork Capital
Endeavor Miami was founded in 2013, with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as the first U.S. affiliate of Endeavor, an organization supporting entrepreneurs worldwide.
According to Biz Journals, Miami’s Endeavor entrepreneurs generated over $700 million in revenues and employed over 5,000 individuals in 2021.
Now the organization has partnered with DeepWork Capital, an Orlando-based early-stage venture capital firm that primarily invests in tech and life sciences companies in historically underrepresented U.S. regions.
“We believe that backing underrepresented founding teams often aligns with our thesis of investing in overlooked opportunities that can yield superior investment returns,” said Kathy Chiu, co-founder and managing partner at DeepWork Capital.
Since founded in 2015, almost half of DeepWork Capital’s investments have been allocated to underrepresented founders.
Endeavor Miami also hopes the partnership will enable South Florida to build a more inclusive technology ecosystem that champions women, Black, Hispanic and minority background founders.
Underrepresented Founders
Many small business owners need help with funding due to post-pandemic hardship, inflation and competition.
According to data from Pitchbook, companies led by female founders received just 2.1% of the capital invested in venture-backed startups in 2022.
Meanwhile, Black entrepreneurs receive less than 2% of all VC dollars, with Black women attracting less than 1%, Crunchbase reports.
Endeavor Miami hopes the partnership will help South Florida build a more inclusive technology ecosystem that champions women, Black, Hispanic, and other founders from minority backgrounds.
