Since the very first days of the global pandemic, Endeavor companies have been busy releasing new products and serving their customers, or even helping fight COVID-19.
The Endeavor network is filled with optimists, doers, changemakers, job creators, and hope seekers. People that work hard, grow and succeed. We take joy in one another’s successes and during the past few months, there have been many successes to celebrate throughout Endeavor’s global network.
On a global scale, three historic Endeavor Entrepreneurs’ exits were announced right in the midst of the pandemic: Softomotive in Greece, Peak Games in Turkey and InfoCorp in Uruguay.
During the 2-month lockdown in Greece, Blueground, the extended-stay apartment rental company, worked with the nursing community to provide immediate and flexible apartments that are move-in ready, furnished and located near major hospitals & healthcare centers. Also, the company offered 100 fully furnished and equipped apartments to employees and volunteers in the Healthcare sector.
While understanding that maintaining supply chain continuity during the pandemic is crucial, Centaur Analytics started a series of videos, articles and webinars, aiming to share knowledge and resources with agriculture and food businesses, thus assisting in dealing with these unprecedented challenges. Also, the company continued to offer new job opportunities, even during the lockdown.
Dust & Cream applied its technical knowledge and industrial capabilities to expand the impact of its resources. Since the very beginning of the crisis in Greece, the company produced hand sanitizers using their installed manufacturing capabilities for perfumes. Also, the company redesigned its online store, so that the products of its 76 physical stores are now available to everyone through the e-shop.
During the lockdown, Ergon Foods shifted from the brick and mortar model to an online delivery and e-shop service. Ergon has been serving daily the residents of the city of Athens and Thessaloniki, allowing them to shop from the butcher shop, the grocery store, the fish shop, and its liquor store as if they were physically there. Also, the company launched the “DIY Meal Kit”, a home-delivered, custom made box, including all the necessary material to prepare a meal of the customer’s choice.
Green Cola entered the US market and is now present in the retail chains of 7 States: Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island. Also, while expanding its presence in physical stores, the company’s products are now available through the Amazon platform, with the aim of covering the entire US market.
Hellas Direct, the online insurance company, offered 1-month free car insurance to all drivers in the country, during the lockdown. In addition, they announced a 1-month free roadside assistance to support all the workers who are fighting in very difficult conditions to care for everyone’s needs. The company also created a telephone line dedicated to the COVID-19 crisis, that allows its customers to contact Customer Support even just for a chat, aiming to support people, especially elder ones, who have been feeling lonely, after being separated from their families, their friends, even their neighbours due to the crisis.
Instashop has been supporting consumers, as its online marketplace has been providing a seamless delivery option to people who have been practicing self-isolation. The company has been working closely with their retail and brand partners to ensure product availability while optimizing its processes and technology in order to cater to the demand in the best possible way. The company’s pre-existing technology services proved particularly useful during the lockdown, which explains the impressive increase in the company’s turnover in the midst of the crisis.
UPS and CVS Health Corporation started utilizing Matternet’s M2 drone system to deliver medication to retirement homes in Florida contactlessly. Both the companies have been authorized to operate through the coronavirus pandemic, using Matternet’s system and to explore continuing needs as they arise once the pandemic fades.
Number AI temporarily waived all costs for its platform Numa for the first 2 months of the pandemic, in order to help businesses through the crisis. The business messaging platform enables communication with customers for businesses that are going to temporarily close or have impacted hours, by calling customers to sign-up for SMS updates about the business.
Orfium, the music management platform, was the second company that joined the Endeavor Greece network in the midst of the pandemic, right after Vivante Health. During the crisis, the company continued to feature job opportunities and to hire new employees.
Oseven, the telematics company, launched new partnerships during the lockdown, with insurance companies in Switzerland, Russia and the Middle East.
Pollfish, the online market research company, has been offering free credits to companies that use surveys for COVID-19 related topics. Endeavor Greece has partnered with Pollfish to run its first consumer sentiment survey, aiming to imprint the trends and changes in the behavior, the fears and expectations of Greek consumers.
Pnoe’s breath analysis device can potentially be used for people to monitor potential chronic lung problems caused by the hit of the virus. Also, given their cloud-based infrastructure, they can provide breath analysis devices to patients that have Covid-19 but cannot be accepted to a hospital due to lack of capacity. These patients can be monitored remotely by doctors (telemedicine).
Softomotive was acquired by Microsoft, facilitating the largest exit the Greek tech sector has seen in years. This record deal will bring many benefits to the Greek economy and the development of tech companies in our country. Softomotive, a member of the Endeavor network and one of the biggest Greek success stories, is considered to be one of the first companies to enter the market of Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
Project Agora, a Think Digital Group company, launched a specialised e-retail media platform that helps e-retailers increase directly their revenue, by creating a new (advertising) revenue stream. Correspondingly, they work with brands/manufacturers to enforce the latter’s presence in the digital shelf of the biggest e-retailers. The first vertical they launched in March is the Health & Beauty by partnering with almost all the market leaders and in the last few weeks they launched the Grocery vertical.
Vivante Health joined the Endeavor network, right in the midst of the pandemic, during Endeavor’s first virtual international selection panel. Also, Vivante’s platform has been very useful during the outbreak, since it can be used to provide information as well as monitor the health of people, personalized with respect to their condition. Through the content delivered via the platform, it informs people of the virus, suggests health steps to take, and provides support if needed.
Workable launched a free outplacement service, called Workable Bridge, that connects laid off employees with other Workable customers who are still hiring. Also, the online recruitment software offered free use of their new video interviewing software for all customers, and access to a library of COVID-19 response content including email and policy templates, insightful articles that can be useful for those looking for solutions and insights in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.