Marcell Haywood, founder and CEO of Encompass Onsite. Photos courtesy of Encompass Onsite.

Think on-site maintenance of facilities ranging from colleges to hospitals is a boring business? Think again. Okay, so Encompass Onsite is not a shiny new tech start-up, but its amazing growth and green emphasis makes it an impressive, even sexy, venture.

Founded by Marcell Haywood back in 2004 while he was a student at Florida State University, the little company was initially called Dirt Pros, and it provided basic upkeep services to various businesses, with a sustainable bent. Today, its clients include Apple, Jackson Health, University of Miami and CVS Health, to name just a few.

In August, Haywood was selected as an Endeavor Miami entrepreneur. Endeavor is a global nonprofit initiative that supports high-impact companies–ones that are deemed to have the potential to make a big impact on local economies and community development. In 2012, Knight Foundation awarded $2 million in funding to open Endeavor’s first U.S. affiliate in Miami, which would eventually include a nine-member board chaired by Adriana Cisneros, CEO and vice chairman of the Cisneros Group. Since then, through an intensive interview process, a diverse group of entrepreneurs and companies has been selected. Each will now benefit from the local, national and international connections of Endeavor mentors–the latter might provide access to new funding possibilities or markets, or offer advice and experience in particular fields.

Haywood was one entrepreneur that the Endeavor project isolated as a leader of a company with lots of promise.

Haywood himself is the first to admit that Encompass Onsite could at first be considered old-school–who goes into building maintenance as a fast-growing, modern industry? But Haywood, whose company is now based in Fort Lauderdale, saw incredible growth opportunities in institutions that had been simply drifting along in their facility maintenance and management, ignoring contemporary advances in upgrades and upkeep.

The young team starts out with early funding.

Haywood realized that providing an umbrella service, organizing and streamlining everything from basic housekeeping to code compliance and clean technology, would save companies and institutions tons of money. For instance, imagine a sprawling entity such as Miami-Dade College, with all its campuses and buildings; by contracting with Encompass Onsite, all of its maintenance needs would be bundled, and new solutions offered that an in-house staff may never even have imagined. Is the air conditioning consistent and updated in each building? How about new, efficient technology? The savings in energy costs alone can be huge.

But as Haywood points out, the streamlined site management of the grounds and facilities in a university has an impact that may be subtle. “When parents and students come for an initial visit to a campus, the behind-the-scenes updates we have implemented” can make all the difference as to where a new student will choose to go. The savings from the streamlined services, he said, allow an institution like a college to allocate money to other, outwardly attractive additions, such as large-screen TVs or a state-of the-art library.

And the eco-friendly expertise that Encompass has developed can’t be underestimated, he said. “Ironically, while many still think that ‘going green’ costs money, in the end it saves.” Efficient waste management, energy-saving equipment and biodegradable products are not just good for the environment, but have real monetary benefits, he said. But many of these large, entrenched institutions had not moved into the 21st century in terms of the management of their properties–and very few companies are out there to help them transition.

It’s full steam ahead for the Encompass Onsite crew.

That’s why a creative outfit like Encompass Onsite was able to pounce. “It’s an old, antiquated industry,” Haywood said of facility maintenance. “It’s been traditionally slow-moving.” But Haywood put it into rapid-speed forward. From his tiny start-up in a dorm in Tallahassee, Haywood said the company now employs “hundreds,” is operational in nine states and has numerous high-profile clients. Now, he would like to expand internationally, which is where the benefits of the Endeavor project come in.

Started in 1998 in Argentina and Chile, Endeavor has spread to more than 16 countries. It doesn’t provide direct financial support to companies, but rather connects up-and-coming entrepreneurs with established business leaders and new markets. The vetting process is long and intense, with candidates sitting through numerous panel interviews–Endeavor is serious about picking out the cream of the crop. “We are not looking at start-ups,” said Laura Maydón, managing director of Endeavor Miami. “We are looking at people who have an already proven business model.” In addition, she said, the Endeavor entrepreneur “should be engaged in the local community and have real leadership potential.…We are looking for the best.”

So far, the selected entrepreneurs have come from a diverse group of disciplines, said Maydón, such as new technology, education, food and beverage–and, in the case of Haywood, property management. “Marcell has been developing his talent in a labor-intensive, old industry, and with almost no capital [to begin], has taken it so far.” He shows, she said, how one entrepreneur can change an entire industry and also impact the local community in a significant way with new jobs and new ideas.

As for the possibility of growing too fast or stalling out, Haywood has no concerns at the moment. “The market is starved for what we provide,” he says.

Endeavor Miami will honor selected entrepreneurs at the Endeavor Miami gala on Nov. 18 at the New World Center, Miami Beach.