Global Entrepreneurship Institute

Posted by: Robert W. Price

How many technology companies are confident enough to venture outside the sheltered environment of their home country to compete against the market leaders in their own turf? Not many, especially for the new or young business ventures. Many avoid entering “the lion’s den”, so to speak, for fear that they will be eaten alive. Yet, not many realize that if they cannot survive the “lion’s den”, they may not last very long within their own nest, shares seasoned venture capitalist Gideon Tolkowsky.
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SOURCE: Knowledge@Wharton Network

Case In Point: Cisco Systems

In the early 1980s Stanford University had some 5,000 computers of various types. There was no campus-wide network, the systems were like islands. Bridges were needed to connect them together. Cisco Systems was founded in 1983 in the living room where Len Bosack and his wife Sandy Lerner lived. Their solution was to create the bridge that networked the networks. Continue reading ‘Managing the Rapidly Growing Venture’ »

Posted by: Robert W. Price

Christian Chabot at IPO Dashboards posted this recently: How Long Does it Take to Build a Technology Empire?
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He writes: “Have you ever seen a business plan with hockey stick revenue projections? It’s common for VCs to receive business plans showing sales growing from 0 to $100m in the first 5 years of a company’s life. In fact, growth conversations between VCs and management teams often cause angst. One of the reasons is that people from both groups tend to have unsubstantiated beliefs about how long it takes to build an important company. Maybe these conversations would be easier if we simply knew how long it takes to build a successful company?”

Continue reading ‘IPO Dashboards - Our Response to Managing Rapid Growth’ »

Discussions About Investing To Go Global

By: Robert W. Price

Before making the decision to commit critical capital resources overseas, the venture needs to have a clear understanding of why it is doing so. Before discussing the reasons for investing overseas, we first want to discuss Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). For statistical purposes FDI is usually defined as ownership of at least 10 to 25 percent of the equity of one venture in one country, by another venture based in another country.

Continue reading ‘What are the capital investment decisions for going global?’ »

Transitioning: Entrepreneurial Management to Professional Management

By: Robert W. Price

When an organization is born, the emphasis is on creating a product and surviving in the ecosystem. Certain features characterize an entrepreneurial management style and structure.

Continue reading ‘How will you manage the growth of your company?’ »

Are you ready to “go global?”

Strategic motives must drive the decisions to conduct business globally.
- Are you a global entrepreneur?
- Are you ready to go global?
- But what is your action plan?
- Where do you begin?
- How do you begin?
- Which markets should be entered first?
- What would be the optimal mode of entry?
- How rapidly should you expand globally?

We are living in a world where all the major business functions in the value chain are highly globalized and deeply integrated. According to McKinsey and Company, 80 percent of the world’s GDP will be sold across international borders by 2027, compared to about 20 percent in 2001. Multinational business activity will grow from approximately $5 trillion to $70 trillion by 2027.

Continue reading ‘What are the benefits to going global?’ »

Discussion About The Benefits of a Networked Enterprise

It is important that your networked components of business become an extension of your business model and business practices rather than just some adjunct service to a complex revenue event or a small element of your value chain. Continue reading ‘How will the Internet help your business?’ »

Managing in High-Growth Environments

When a venture reaches Stage Five on the entrepreneurial life cycle, Full Launch and Growth, the venture team needs to be sensitive to certain high-growth management issues. Usually, rapid growth is seen as a positive sign of success. However, uncharted rapid growth can quickly change the status of an emerging growth venture from profitable to bankruptcy. Continue reading ‘How will you manage in the high-growth environment?’ »

Hitting the Growth Wall and Stalling

According to Michael Porter, “The desire to grow has perhaps the most perverse effect on strategy.” Factors that drive initial successes are seldom enough to sustain a venture as it begins to accelerate through the growth stage. The external demands and opportunities change constantly, the venture’s value chain and internal capabilities must adapt, and the venture’s growth and evolution will ultimately necessitate a shift to professional management. Simply put by Jack Stack in his book The Great Game of Business, “The more successful you are, the bigger the challenges you have to deal with.” Continue reading ‘How will you avoid hitting the growth wall?’ »

Building Organizational Change Capabilities

It takes little time to destroy a high growth-potential venture. One turn-around expert says, “Ninety-five percent of the failures are due to internal problems. I can’t tell you how many companies I’ve been to that have the fast-growing-company plaque on the wall and are about to go under. They don’t have the systems and the people in place. Accounting is lagging. Purchasing is not done in the most efficient manner. Inventory gets out of control. All of a sudden, all these mistakes compound, and the least little burp kills them.” Continue reading ‘Is your company ready for your growth strategy?’ »

Getting Your Framework for Growth in Place Today

 Growth is a strategic issue; it is willed, not wished. For example, 59 percent of the 2002 Inc. 500 CEOs said their industry had been growing slowly or not at all in the past five years. Coming from a unique group of CEOs, where the average five-year growth rate was 1,521 percent, prompts this question: “How did they do it?” Continue reading ‘Do you have a sound growth strategy?’ »

Managing A Global Business Enterprise

Developing organization and human resource strategies across multiple borders should not simply be a matter of adapting a domestic model to accommodate changes in distance and global scale. Starting with a global mindset discussed earlier, you will have to develop a fresh perspective in order to take into consideration the unique challenges of doing business globally. Continue reading ‘What are the challenges to managing a global business?’ »

Creating Your Global Business Strategy

As we have discussed, strategic motives must drive the decisions to conduct business globally. But what is your action plan? Where do you begin? How do you begin? Which markets should be entered first? What would be the optimal mode of entry? How rapidly should you expand globally? Continue reading ‘What is your strategy for going global?’ »

Discussion About The Benefits To Going Global

As we discussed in a previous Article there are many benefits for entrepreneurs participating in global business activities. We group them in three categories: strategic, financial, and production related. Are you ready to go global? Should you wait? Continue reading ‘Are you ready to go global?’ »

Case In Point: eBay and Its Digital Biosphere

Created in September 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, eBay is “The World’s Online Marketplace” for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and businesses. Eight years later the eBay “biosphere” included some 62 million registered members from around the world. It is the most popular shopping destination on the Internet. Continue reading ‘Creating and Managing the Networked Enterprise’ »