Linda Rottenberg is an expert on entrepreneurship and leadership. For years she was known as "La Chica Loca” (the crazy girl) for insisting that high-impact entrepreneurs exist in emerging and developing markets. And in 2014, she published her best-selling book, Crazy is a Compliment.
As co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, Linda has led the global entrepreneurship movement for over two decades. With 60 offices spanning the world, Endeavor rigorously selects, mentors, and invests in high-impact entrepreneurs leading the fastest growing companies in underserved markets. Today, 1800 Endeavor Entrepreneurs generate over $15B in annual revenues and produce more than 2 million jobs.
We had a high-octane discussion about what it takes to scale up your business: from markets to talent to mentors to equity. Linda shared a number of powerful strategies that work for Endeavor entrepreneurs, from having a “start-up prenup” to executing “minivations” to leveraging economic downturns to stalking! And finally, we discussed what it means to be a great leader.
My favorite quotes included: "When economies turn down, entrepreneurs turn up", and "Stalking is an under-rated start-up strategy"! And Linda made two book recommendations: "Blitzscaling" by Reid Hoffman and "Manhattan Beach" by Jennifer Egan.
If you would like to follow Linda, you can find her on Twitter or at endeavor.org. You can also get her book Crazy is a Compliment, and listen to her episode on Masters of Scale.