Lil Roberts, founder of the fast-growing Xendoo online bookkeeping and accounting company, says South Florida also is poised for explosive expansion as an entrepreneurial, technology and start-up hub like never before.
The serial entrepreneur launched her own Fort Lauderdale-based financial technology “fintech” company in 2017 and has seen dramatic growth in her own business and the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially in technology, since then.
Xendoo’s revenue has steeply risen since inception, even during the pandemic, and its staff has increased to 28 employees. The company is currently looking to fill seven new positions to further develop and support its cloud-based subscription financial services for small businesses.
So far, Xendoo has attracted $3.5 million in venture capital including funding and awards from major start-up investors including Jason Calacanis, as well as winning Steve Case’s “Rise of the Rest” competition and the VilCap Finance Forward award. This high-profile support affirms Roberts’ confidence that Xendoo can be a “billion-dollar company.”
She expects this year to be transformational, an inflection point for both her business and South Florida.
COVID-19 is one factor that will help permanently propel South Florida’s growth, according to Roberts. She points to the unprecedented numbers of tech entrepreneurs, financiers and others who continue to flock to South Florida from California, New York and other dense hubs hit hard by the broad health and economic effects of the pandemic.
But there is much more to it than that, Roberts says. South Florida has long been a global gateway for commerce and diverse business talent; the region’s numerous colleges and universities educate 250,000 students a year; and there has been a proliferation of incubators, organizations, events and overall entrepreneurial culture. Xendoo made its first big splash winning the start-up competition at Miami’s annual eMerge Americas conference, and aspiring entrepreneurs can find dynamic events and support almost every day of the week now.
Roberts supports and stays engaged in this community through mentoring, speaking and judging at start-up events such as Start Up Grind, Sup-X, Coral Springs Innovation Day, and the Nova Southeastern University State of Innovation panel. She’s also a contributing writer on Entrepreneur.com
The most impactful relationship for Roberts has been with Entrepreneurs’ Organization South Florida (EO SOFLO), one of the world’s largest EO chapters, with more than 200 members who run businesses with 10,000 employees and more than $2 billion in annual revenue in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
A member of the organization for 12 years, she says the peer-to-peer experience sharing, learning and support has been invaluable to the launch and success of Xendoo. “I bleed EO,” says Roberts who will become the chapter president in 2022.
“Lil has profoundly sharp vision and drive,” says Jason Loeb, current EO SOFLO president and founder of Sudsies Dry Cleaning & Laundry company. “She’s everything an entrepreneur and leader should be, and personifies the core principles of EO.”
Innovation, collaboration and cooperation are part of the organization’s mantra. As an example of this, Xendoo has entered into a strategic partnership with Biller Genie, founded by fellow EO member Tom Aronica. Biller Genie provides cloud-based accounts receivable solutions for other businesses.
“Biller Genie is one of many amazing tech-based EO member companies on the rise. Our friend and member Shipmonk just scored more than $300 million in new venture capital, and there are so many other exciting examples just in our EO chapter, let alone the broader South Florida tech sector,” Roberts says. We’re in a unique moment for our regional business community and overall economy, writing a special chapter that will define this area for generations.”
For more information on Xendoo, go to www.xendoo.com.
For details on EO SOFLO, visit www.eosoflo.com.
