Lula passes elite network’s pressure testing, advancing to final hurdle before full Endeavor access 

Advancing through Endeavor Heartland’s national selection process not only gets Kansas City-built property maintenance platform Lula one step away from joining Endeavor’s global entrepreneur network, said founder Bo Lais; it helps put the venture’s hometown on a bigger stage.

“Lula is a Kansas City company, and we’ve benefited enormously from this ecosystem,” said Lais, who founded Lula in 2016 and gained traction thanks to programs like Pipeline Entrepreneurs, as well as local investors and talent recruited in the region.

Bo Lais, founder of Lula, speaks in February 2025 during the Pipeline Gala at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“The flip side of getting selected by Endeavor is the obligation to pay it forward,” he continued. “I want Lula to be one of the companies that proves you can build a category leader from the Heartland and then helps the next generation of Kansas City founders do the same.”

Endeavor Heartland supports high-impact entrepreneurs as they scale their businesses. Leaders are selected through a robust, competitive process in hopes of connecting later-stage founders with mentorship, strategic resources, and access to capital.

Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the organization operates across a broad “super region” that includes Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Its local office is located in the Crossroads at Keystone Innovation District’s CoLab space, led by senior manager Craig Moore II.

Lula passed Endeavor Heartland’s National Selection Panel (NSP) this spring during a panel hosted at Union Station. The NSP is an invitation-only, multi-hour evaluation by Endeavor board members, investors and top mentors, and candidates must receive a unanimous vote to advance.

“The National Selection Panel isn’t a pitch competition,” Lais said. “It’s two days of being put under a microscope by senior operators and investors who have already scaled companies through the stages we’re entering now.”

“They pressure-test your model, your unit economics, your org design, your moat, and your long-term vision — not to grade you, but to sharpen you,” he continued. “Walking out of the National Selection Process, I had clearer conviction on a few strategic priorities and a more honest read on where we needed to push harder. That kind of feedback is hard to buy, and it’s even harder to get from people with no agenda other than helping you win.”

Bo Lais, founder of Lula, stands with Clete Brewer, board chair for Endeavor, during an event at CPKC Stadium as part of the National Selection Panel; courtesy photo

Endeavor Heartland was impressed with Lula’s track record, the organization told Startland News.

The company raised a $28 million Series A in February 2025, operates in 50-plus markets, ranked No. 373 on the Inc. 5000 for its third consecutive year, and is on track for profitability and 60% revenue growth in fiscal 2026.

“We’re not in startup mode anymore — we’re in scale mode,” Lais said. “The muscles you build to go from $0 to $15 million are not the same muscles you need to go from $15 million to $100 million and beyond. That’s a gap Endeavor can help fill for us.”

Operationally, 2026 is all about three priorities for Lula, Lais explained: continuing to grow the core services business; scaling products like Lula’s Foresight and its SaaS layer as a real second growth engine; and deepening the company’s embed into the property management software stack so Lula becomes infrastructure, not just a vendor. 

“Endeavor is a force multiplier on all three — better mentors, better board-level guidance, better intros to the right capital partners and corporate counterparts when we need them,” he said.

Lais is excited to eventually jump into resources like Endeavor’s peer network of “founders who’ve actually done it,” he said. 

“Endeavor’s portfolio includes founders running businesses at the next stage of scale — leaders who’ve already navigated the inflection points we’re hitting now,” Lais explained. “Being in a room with people who’ve worked through the messy middle — board dynamics, leadership transitions, category expansion, geographic scale, exits — is worth more than any conference or accelerator. I want Lula’s leadership team plugged into peers who can shortcut our learning curve.”

Lula’s growing team in Paraguay; courtesy photo

That team at Lula remains top of mind for Lais, who credited the company’s success — “the growth, the recognition, getting through NSP, the next chapter we’re building” — to those supporting the business through highs and lows.

Lula’s US team during a gathering at the company’s Overland Park headquarters; courtesy photo

“At the end of the day, it’s all about the people — our employees, our Lula Pros in the field, our customers, and the partners who believe in what we’re building,” he said. “The foundation is and always will be our team.”

Lula now moves to Endeavor’s international selection panel (ISP), which is the final hurdle to joining the network.

“If we get through it, we join a global community of Endeavor Entrepreneurs — and that’s where I think the compounding really kicks in,” Lais said, noting he’s specifically interested in the organization’s global mentor and operator bench. 

Endeavor’s network spans 45-plus countries and thousands of mentors who pay it forward, he noted. 

“As we expand Foresight, deepen our strategic partnerships, and continue rolling out nationally, having on-call access to operators who’ve solved specific problems — pricing transformations, marketplace dynamics, AI-driven product launches, GTM shifts — accelerates good decisions and helps us avoid expensive mistakes,” Lais said. “I’ve already been introduced to several great connections through the process that could turn into meaningful partnerships and ongoing support.”

One example is David Willbrand — former executive advisor at Techstars San Francisco and chief legal officer and executive vice president at Pacaso for nearly five years, a company operating in the same space as Lula. 

“We’ve had several great conversations, and I continue to lean on David for strategic and legal guidance,” Lais said. “That kind of access is exactly what Endeavor unlocks.”