Five Questions with Endeavor's Claudia Duran

Claudia Duran is managing director of Endeavor Miami, a global network that selects, supports and invests in high-impact company founders to help their companies grow. It relies on financial support from board members, foundations and corporate partners.  

In 2020, Endeavor’s Miami entrepreneurs generated $340 million in revenue. It currently supports 26 companies. It also takes 40 companies a year — 10 at a time — through a two-month EndeavorLab program for startups and 20 a year — 10 at a time — through its four-month ScaleUp growth program. Notable Endeavor south Florida companies include Cameo, in which customers pay to get a personalized video message from a celebrity to mark special occasions; robot-assisted surgery company Memic Innovative Surgery; and blockchain-enabled Securitize, which provides liquidity for limited partners. 

Endeavor launched its first U.S. affiliate office nine years ago in Miami and Duran came aboard three years ago. Florida Trend South Florida Editor Mike Vogel recently had a chance to check in with Duran, who shared her insights on Florida’s fast-changing technology startup scene.  

What’s changing in Endeavor’s approach? 

We’re looking at the whole state now. We started very laser focused on Miami and south Florida. Our mission is to identify the founders that have these big ideas that are innovating, that are growing their companies fast. We come in and help them scale even faster and connect them with the right people, mentors and advisors. 

What sectors are in demand? 

Fintech is becoming really relevant here. I think health tech slowly is becoming a very important sector. Obviously, blockchain, crypto, is everywhere now. Web3 — you hear it a lot more than two years ago, a year ago. Logistics. B2B SaaS — there’s a lot of that too. 

Where are the founders coming from? 

Many from Latin America that choose Miami as their home. I see more founders from other states moving to Miami and building their teams. From California, there are so many young entrepreneurs that are moving here. You don’t have to be in an office and you can have talent all over the world. 

What does Florida lack? 

The No. 1 thing I hear from the transplants is, ‘Wow, traffic.’ They’re late to everywhere because they don’t know how to predict the traffic. 

You’re doing a market study?

There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the impact of all of this migration. Are they investing in local companies? Are they generating jobs? Are they just here because they want to pay less taxes and have a home? You have to interview many people. It’s a deep process. It’s going to probably take us about five months.