Archive for January, 2010

By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird Professor

Talk to most any group of up-the-corporate-ladder types and mention the word “failure,” and you will detect an almost-audible gasp, because a mistake or setback is often a career-stopper or, at least, a blot on the record. For these cube-dwellers, an aversion to risk and “don’t take a chance” and “play it safe” attitudes are seen as an antidote to a mistake that can knock the corner office train off its tracks. Yet, talk to an entrepreneur or an enlightened CEO of a company who sees innovation and creativity as the path to profitability and long-term sustainability, and this person will talk openly about failure, mistakes and setbacks as things that are just a part of that journey, process or path along the way to success.
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The Lens Through Which I See, by Thunderbird Professor Gary Gibbons

Most economists and finance professionals believe that people are “rational.” Perfectly rational! This simple assumption leads to serious misunderstandings on the part of all of the various actors in the economy. Two recent examples show the folly of overlooking the mania and panic that so easily beset investors and policymakers. The first example comes from the legislative push to control pollution through Cap and Trade, and the second example comes from the subprime mortgage crisis.
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By Ian Jenkins ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.

As the winterim comes to a close, I reflect on the decision that I believe is running through all the heads in the class. Do I join the corporate world, or do I start out on my own? There is much experience to be gained in the corporate form, but then it oftentimes leads to a life that is too comfortable to leave. When you have a spouse, kids, mortgage and car payments, it is hard to leave the security of a salary and start off on your own. Thus it was fitting that the last speaker of the winterim was David Dodge. Mr. Dodge is a former T-bird who wrote his business plan during class and started a business while attending Thunderbird full-time.
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By Nada Farah ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

Diagnosing the pain is the key to a successful entrepreneurial journey according to our final speaker Mr. David Dodge. I have realized lately that some journeys start and end with pure irrational passion that doesnt include this step. Not to say that just deciding on a cure without analyzing the pain never works, but this strategys success is unlikely. Understanding the markets ins and outs and then scaling the potential market share with the new cure are very important steps.
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By Daniel Hunter ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

Our final speaker, David Dodge, was interesting simply because he is such a recent graduate from Thunderbird and has been on his entrepreneurial journey for a relatively short amount of time.  The lessons which I learned from David revolved around marketing and strategy. David’s company, Sure Prep Learning, has put forth a great deal of effort toward figuring out what unique value they add to their marketplace, what market need they are meeting, and what makes their organization so special and distinctive. Some of these questions have clear answers, but some of these questions are being answered in taking the journey.
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By Eric Basting ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

David Dodge, T-bird ’06, and his T-bird business partner and wife (yes, it was Thunderlove) created a grade K-12 tutoring service while David was still a student. After teaching English in Argentina, David returned to the Phoenix area and wound up enrolling at Thunderbird. While in Professor Stralser’s Global Business Plan class, David submitted a plan for SurePrep.
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By Gavin Tempero ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

Today’s presenter had a great point when she talked about the retail location she made and what was the over arching goal of that location. Michelle Kort started As You Wish, a paint-your-own pottery business. At first people looked at the actual pottery others were making and thought that was the end goal. To Mrs. Kort the whole point of people coming into her store was for the experience. It was more about the people you were with and the memories created there than the actual object you left with.
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By Nancy (Chia-Lin) Fan ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

Good ideas for a new venture do not always come from careful study and planning. Michelle Kort found her opportunity through casual observation. She did research, borrowed money, and opened her first As You Wish pottery painting store with about $15,000 in capital in 1995. Without a business background, she become an entrepreneur who believed in her idea. She even quit her law job to invest more time in her company. In terms of competition, her six studios competed not only with external studios but also with each other internally.
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By Daniel Hunter ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

It is always interesting to see how the entrepreneur finds or comes up with the initial idea. Michelle Kort’s entrepreneurial idea was sparked as a casual observation while visiting a store in California with her husband. This idea stuck with her and eventually developed into a passionate journey. Michelle is the founder of As You Wish pottery studios. Although customers do walk away with a piece of pottery that they created, As You Wish is focused more on the experience rather than the end product.
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By Eric Basting ’10, Thunderbird MBA candidate

When Don Budinger was able to meet with Aki Morita, founder of Sony, almost three decades ago, Don was able to recognize the need to “get out of his own skin” and get into Morita’s.  That is, Don needed to see things from Morita’s point of view, to understand Morita’s mindset.  By doing this, Budinger was able to break into the Japanese market.  A counterpart thought he was crazy when he want to build a small factory there, too.  Don found a new American partner did what the customer wanted.
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