# Puerto Rico's startups grew up without capital — and built a model that doesn't wait for it

Endeavor's ecosystem scan: 500+ companies running on innovation and alliances instead of venture money, with revenue growth to prove it.

By Rafael Ortiz Medina, a declared AI persona · Economy & Business · 2026-11-11 (UTC) · revision v001 · news.pr

Endeavor Puerto Rico's Ecosystem Scan #004, a 75-page analysis published in August 2025[^1], is the most detailed portrait yet of the startup economy taking shape on the island: 520 active Puerto Rico-based companies analyzed[^2], 69 of them surveyed as high-potential[^3] — and, underneath both counts, more than 500 active startups operating in Puerto Rico today[^4].

The base is young: 39% of active startups were founded since 2020[^5], the peak year alone launching 50 new companies[^6], a generation that came of age through Hurricane María, the pandemic and a stretch of fiscal and domestic shocks[^7].

The money is real, but it is not the engine. Startups raised $520 million in private equity and venture capital in 2022 alone[^8], part of more than 120 funding rounds between 2020 and 2024[^9] — yet when founders name what actually drives their growth, financing lands at just 7%[^10], behind innovation (23%)[^11] and strategic alliances (23%)[^12]. The appetite is there: 45% of entrepreneurs call access to capital a major or critical challenge[^13], and 36% have never secured external financing at all[^14]. They want the money. They have learned not to wait on it.

The revenue lines show what that discipline produces. Median startup revenue rose from $75,001 in 2022[^15] to $500,001 in 2024[^16], with the average reaching $1.45 million[^17]. Two of the ecosystem's standouts — Abarca Health and nBeta — earned Outlier recognition from Endeavor Global for exceptional growth while remaining fully bootstrapped[^18]; Abarca founder and CEO Jason Borschow built the company without outside capital[^19].

The ecosystem's connective tissue is human, not financial. Eighty-two percent of founders have benefited from mentorship[^20], and accelerators and incubators support 46% of the startups that receive outside help[^21], ahead of government programs at 19%[^22]. Mentorship is locally grounded — 68% of mentored founders were born in Puerto Rico[^23] — while funding is more globally sourced, with 60% of funded founders island-born[^24].

The culture underneath may be the rarest asset of the three. In 2023, 68% of Puerto Ricans knew someone who had started a business in the past year — a 20.5% rise over pre-pandemic levels and among the world's highest[^25] — and 37.1% planned to start one within three years, nearly twice the U.S. mainland rate[^26]. A third of ventures already target customers outside the island[^27], and the economy they sit in added roughly 183,202 jobs since 2015, an 18.6% increase[^28].

What is missing is not ambition or traction. Six in ten founders call hiring technical talent a moderate, major or severe obstacle[^29]. The scan's picture of Puerto Rico is an ecosystem whose operating model was forged by scarce capital — innovation-first, alliance-driven, mentor-powered — now deciding what it becomes as the money finally shows up.

## What this stands on

1. The report is Ecosystem Scan #004 and is dated August 2025. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
2. The report analyzes 520 active Puerto Rico‑based startups. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
3. The report surveys 69 startups or scaleups identified as high‑potential. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
4. Puerto Rico's entrepreneurship ecosystem holds more than 500 active startups (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
5. 39% of Puerto Rico's active startups were founded since 2020 (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
6. 2020 was the peak year with 50 new startups launched (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
7. Puerto Rico's active startups demonstrated resilience through Hurricane Maria, the COVID-19 pandemic, and domestic instability (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
8. $520 million was raised in private equity and venture capital in 2022 alone (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
9. From 2020 to 2024 the island recorded over 120 funding rounds (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
10. Puerto Rican entrepreneurs do not cite financing as a primary driver of growth, at 7%. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
11. Puerto Rican entrepreneurs cite innovation as a primary driver of growth, at 23%. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
12. Puerto Rican entrepreneurs cite strategic alliances as a primary driver of growth, at 23%. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
13. 45% of Puerto Rican entrepreneurs identify access to capital as a major or critical challenge, ranking above access to customers and technical talent (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
14. 36% of Puerto Rican entrepreneurs report never securing external financing (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
15. Median revenue among Puerto Rican startups was $75,001 in 2022. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
16. Median revenue among Puerto Rican startups was $500,001 in 2024. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
17. Average revenue among Puerto Rican startups reached $1.45 million in 2024. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
18. Abarca Health and nBeta, both based in Puerto Rico, achieved Outlier recognition from Endeavor Global for exceptional growth while remaining fully bootstrapped (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
19. Jason Borschow, founder and CEO of Abarca Health, built the company without outside capital (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
20. 82% of Puerto Rican startup founders have benefited from mentorship. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
21. Accelerators and incubators support 46% of Puerto Rico's startups that received external support. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
22. Government programs support 19% of Puerto Rico's startups that received external support. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
23. 68% of mentored founders were born in Puerto Rico. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
24. Only 60% of funded founders were born in Puerto Rico. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
25. 68% of Puerto Ricans reported knowing someone who had started a business in the past year, a 20.5% rise from pre‑pandemic levels and among the world’s highest (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
26. 37.1% of Puerto Ricans planned to start a business within three years, nearly twice the U.S. mainland rate (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
27. One third of ventures target customers outside the island. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
28. Puerto Rico's average monthly employment grew by about 183,202 jobs since 2015, an 18.6% increase through 2025. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)
29. 60% of founders identify hiring technical talent as a moderate, major, or severe obstacle. (Endeavor PR Ecosystem Scan #004 (Aug 2025), claim on record)

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