Archive for the ‘TOPICS’ Category

By Melissa Beran Samuelson, Clinical Instructor of Global Entrepreneurship

Our friends in the US are seeing increasing attention to microfinance in the news through the New York Times and a blog in the Wall Street Journal. For those students with me on the Microfinance in India Winterim, the contemporary debates surrounding microfinance in India have surrounded us.  Our course started in Delhi, where we’ve had the opportunity to be introduced to industry leaders and gain understanding of microfinance, how it works, and the issues surrounding criticisms of the industry.

Byomkesh Mishra of the Royal Bank of Scotland Foundation and Shrikand Shrivastava, Vice President and Head of Microfinance at RBS Global Banking, helped kick off our program, along with playing a central role by arranging access to their partners in the industry.  The program so far has included speakers Brij Mohan, Deepak Alok, Founder and Director of M2i Consulting, and Mathew Titus, Executive Director of Sa-Dhan, the leading microfinance network in India, who have all met with us to discuss contemporary issues and implications of the current conditions of microfinance in India.
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By Melissa Beran Samuelson, Clinical Instructor of Global Entrepreneurship

MBA students taking Ethics and Governance in fall 2010 got to work in groups and compete in the course’s Sustainable Innovation Project. The project came about as a result of a collaboration between myself and Jenny Cross, Director of Sustainability at Mohawk Industries, the leading flooring manufacturer in the world.  Recently the company has put a lot of effort toward setting sustainability goals in line with environmental and business values. I had met Jenny last spring at a conference where she talked about the business case for sustainability solutions at Mohawk.

As we connected over email, we talked about the issues that keep a Sustainability Director of a global company up at night.  This conversation turned into an idea to engage students directly in sustainability and stakeholder considerations by asking them to work on a project from Mohawk’s perspective.  This project gave the students real-world experience dealing with questions faced by managers and executives that would apply to any industry in the globalized economy.

Two sections of the class were asked to work on the question of how Mohawk Industries could effectively engage various stakeholders and manage stakeholder feedback.  Another two sections of the class worked on issues surrounding extended producer responsibility (EPR) in the carpet industry and how Mohawk might manage potential “government legislated” sustainability demands.
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By Ernesto J. Poza, Clinical Professor of Global Family Enterprise

You may be among thousands of families in business that attempted to hold informal family meetings over the holidays with business topics like succession planning and estate taxes. Are you happy with the outcomes?  Not likely. In most cases family members are cordial and enjoy sharing in the spirit of the holidays. But does anything really change?

Things took a turn for the worse for the three Turner brothers, who inherited a manufacturing business from their father more than 30 years ago. They are barely speaking to each other after their attempt at an informal holiday meeting. “The phone is for you,” is about all they have to say to each other.

It hasn’t always been like this. For most of the past three decades, they have gotten along rather well. They’ve had their differences and arguments, but important decisions were discussed until a consensus was reached.
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Profile: Moritz Sticher ‘10

Company: Nail Nuk LLC  www.nailnuk.com

Nail Nuk Co-Owners:  Hector Ledesma ‘10 Tracey Shanks ’10 Moritz Sticher ‘10

Education/Professional Background: Undergraduate Degree: Optoelectronics, Graduate Degrees: MS Photonics, MBA.  Project Manager/Engineer in Optics Research and Development

Age: 33

Years as an entrepreneur: 1

 Product: Customized artificial nails sold at a kiosk in shopping malls and through an online shop http://www.nailnuk.com.

  Employees: 4

 What is the value of your Thunderbird experience in relation to becoming an entrepreneur?  As my goal was to start a business after Thunderbird I tried to tailor my courses to this requirement. I would say most useful in regards to that was beside to Prof. Hisrich’s Global Business Plan class the Entrepreneurship Winterim which I can highly recommend as it gives some deep insights into the everyday challenges of being an entrepreneur and the ups and downs linked to it.

 How did the idea for the business come about? The technology involved was discovered by my partner Hector back in 2004 in China. During our time at Thunderbird we then developed several concepts in the Global Business Plan class of Prof. Hisrich which finalized in the startup of a company.

 Do you have a business plan?  How relevant is the document to the business?

We had several business plans which helped us to understand the market and the key parameters driving the financials of this kind of business. The more the business evolved the less relevant the business plan became as the reality required corrective actions to the concept.

 How have you funded your venture? We funded the venture by ourselves.

 How are you building your customer base? We are first of all relying on the high traffic of the shopping mall – currently Orlando Fashion Square. Moreover, we are using loyalty cards to create returning customers.  As an additional channel, we tried working with nail salons to make them distribute our product outside the shopping mall.

 How are you marketing your venture?

Both through flyers distributed inside the mall and in the neighborhood. Additionally, we are using different types of coupons to make customers try the product. Besides that we are using online advertisements, social media and target directly groups of interest with promotional campaigns.

 What is an average workday like for you?  Working at the kiosk for around 8hours minimum per day, while at the same time trying to do some work online. In the evenings we usually discuss strategic, financial and operational issues, create plans, deal with technology issues, order supplies etc.

 What three pieces of advice would you offer other start up entrepreneurs?

1)   Do not quit your day job till the business is cash flow positive

2)   Be patient and know that it will take longer and cost more than anticipated (rule of thumb around 2-3 times for both)

3)   Listen to the customer and be flexible to adapt your product or service to what the market demands most.

 What motivates you? I am motivated by being able to create something new and working in many different areas at the same time. I need a fast-paced environment and constant changes to remain challenged and appreciate to have great people working with me.

 Who is your greatest supporter? Our board of advisors was always there for us when we needed support besides their other obligations.

 What makes you happy?   If I am motivated and I feel that what I am doing is actually what I want to do and not a compromise. Other important factors that make me happy are the people that surround me and the place I am living.

 If you could reside anywhere in the world, where would you live? I feel most comfortable being able to change my place of living frequently and have a hard time naming a place I would want to reside as every city has its own special charm and I could think of many I like being at.

By Amanda Bullough, Ph.D.

Thunderbird has carved out a niche expertise in educating women entrepreneurs in developing countries.  I have specifically been working with our women entrepreneurs programs in Afghanistan and Peru.  We recently had over 20 Afghan women on campus here in Glendale, Arizona for two weeks and I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with the ladies.  Not only am I the Academic Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women programs in these countries, but I am also doing research on women entrepreneurs operating in adverse conditions. 

 While they were here, I invited the Afghan businesswomen to focus groups interviews of 6 to 7 people each so that we could begin to better understand what makes them tick. Why?  Because, the idea of entrepreneurship as vital for development efforts and for peace-building is a large focus for learning institutions and governmental and nongovernmental communities.  In particular, research on entrepreneurship in adverse conditions is relatively scarce and necessary if we are to be useful as educators and policy makers and increase our understanding of entrepreneurship.

By speaking with these women, I wanted to better understand why they choose to buck the established social norms and start and lead business when it’s so dangerous do so.  Interestingly, in an obvious display of humility and respect for their fellow Afghan women, who have all endured tremendous hardship and challenges, none of the women would acknowledge themselves as special.  However, we know they are, because not all Afghan women do indeed engage in the economy or in leadership. We are in the process of uncovering that these ladies have a unique sense of determination, drive, passion, and a thirst for making their communities and countries better for other Afghan women and for their children.  I stand in awe of them and they have my respect and admiration for their strength. 

The next research question to tackle will be, are Afghan businesswomen actually stronger than women in other countries, because of the hardships they’ve endured?

 In addition to what I learned from these powerful ladies, I will also comment on their demeanor while in our country these weeks, many for the first time.  They carried themselves with the utmost dignity and respect.  They worked together to absorb the business training they were getting from their mentors and the Thunderbird faculty.  They were appreciative and thankful, sweet, inspiring, and all-around positive forces to be around.  These strong and wilful ladies brought smiles to the faces of Thunderbird faculty, staff, and students all over campus, and pride to the whole community when they held their heads high at graduation.  We are a proud community here at Thunderbird to be able to both educate and learn from these remarkable ladies.  

 Amanda Bullough Ph.D. is the Academic Director for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative and an Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship and  Management and Organizational Behavior at the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird School of Global Management.  Dr. Bullough’s research focus is on women and their potential to be economic producers and business leaders in the developing world.

By Steven Stralser, Ph.D.

When most of us think of entrepreneurial challenges one of the things that usually pops up is the notion of risk… The founder is assessing the risk of whether “the dogs will eat the dog food”…the investor is assessing the financial risk/ return calculus to determine whether to take the entrepreneurial bet…the employee of the startup is assessing the risk that the venture will succeed and so the employee will get their paycheck and possibly some upside stock option gain if the venture succeeds.

But all of these risk scenarios pale compared to the risk of being a woman entrepreneur in Afghanistan, where being a woman with an independent means of economic destiny bears another level of risk, a risk of personal safety and security.

For the past two weeks, 19 courageous Afghan women have spent time in Thunderbird classrooms, learning from Thunderbird faculty and sharing their entrepreneurial vision with Thunderbird student volunteers and with a matched-up mentor who will stay connected to Thunderbird Project Artemis “Fellows” after they return to their businesses and entrepreneurial futures in Afghanistan.

When they return to their country, they will certainly tackle “traditional” entrepreneurial risks, and more, and inspire us with their determination to forge their own economic destiny.

Photo:  An Woman entrepreneur, from Afghanistan at the White House speaking to Ginger Lew, Senior Advisor to the White House National Economic Council at the White House and the SBA Administrator  and Tina Tchen, Executive Director of the White House Council on Women.

Steven Stralser Ph.D. is a clinical professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management.  He teaches courses in Innovation, Business Planning and Global Entrepreneurship.  Dr. Stralser has been the Academic Director of Project Artemis since its inception.

This is the first of monthly blogs that will be posted by the Nail Nuk partners following their entrepreneurial experience.

By Moritz Sticher ’10, partner Nail Nuk

After completing our MBAs from Thunderbird in Spring 2010, we decided to follow our entrepreneurial spirit and founded Nail Nuk LLC.  There are three partners in this business venture: Hector Ledesma, a Peruvian with background in international trade, sourcing, and retail operations; Tracy Shanks, an American who lived in four continents and international strategy consultant; and Moritz Sticher, a German research and project managing engineer in the optical industry.

 The basic idea of Nail Nuk goes back to 2004, when Hector was working in China and first got to know about nail printing technology.  We all took the Global Business Plan class at Thunderbird with Prof. Hisrich; in that class we developed a business model that took us towards a franchise kiosk concept.  The idea is to give women the option to have custom nail sets on the go, in less than 5 minutes.  We offer thousands of designs to choose from our catalogue or customers can bring any digital picture or choose to take a picture on the spot.  Our business concept is all about providing options in an easy, pleasant environment where women and girls create their nail sets in just minutes.

 In September 2010, we launched our online store http://www.nailnuk.com/ and in October 2010, we launched our first pilot kiosk at the Orlando Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, Florida.  Since then, we have been extremely busy training our sales force, improving our kiosk presentation, adjusting our pricing strategy, partnering with celebrities and sport teams, and building new B2B sales channels.  Our challenge is to educate our customers about our product so we can be in their mind next time they think about nails and build a loyal customer base and steady cash flow.   We are facing a steep learning curve and are trying to overcome the day to day challenges.  We are living the entrepreneur life.

From Professor Ernesto Poza at the World Family Business Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina

650 family business leaders from all over Latin America congregated in HSM´s Foro Internacional de Empresas Familiares.  I had the distinct honor of addressing these leaders in the opening and closing keynote presentations of the day. I collaborated on this impactful event with Professor Guillermo Perkins of IAE Business School in Buenos Aires and Professor Josep Tapies of IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

Here is some of what was said:

• Family firms are complex enterprises.
• The superimposition of family and ownership on the management of an organization gives rise to significant challenges – how family enterprises manage these challenges in turn, equip many of them to be long-lasting engines of economic growth and true models of long-run sustainability.
• Family firms represent the leading-edge of business management and not the economic dinosaurs that family business stereotypes would have us believe.
• The required adaptations for the family firm lead many of these firms to deploy idiosyncratic strategies that shed light on what company leaders can do to promote the sustainability of both family-controlled and management-controlled companies.

The keynote addresses I delivered were anchored in a longitudinal quantitative research study of 79 firms whose results were published in a peer reviewed journal in 2004. My remarks reflected the most recent findings of global research on the financial performance of family enterprises. These findings were confirmed by a centennial family company qualitative research effort begun in 2005( that includes companies like Smucker’s, Timken Company and American Greetings in the US, Osborne and El Caballo in Spain and Grupo Ferré Rangel in Latin America. Preliminary results of this on-going study have been published as a chapter in a book (Hisrich, R., Global Entrepreneurship, Sage, 2010).

1. Family enterprises are financially outperforming management controlled enterprises all over the world. Research done in the US, Spain, France, Germany, Chile, Poland, Japan and most recently China, show a 6.65% to 16% annual outperformance in return-on-assets over a ten-year period by family enterprises.
2. They constitute 80% of all firms in the developed economies and 90% of all enterprises in the emerging economies. And account for between 64% and 80% of the GDP of the free economies of the world.
3. While continuity across generations, particularly beyond generation III remains a challenge, family enterprises are lasting longer and display a model of corporate sustainability marked by long-term investment horizons, 18-year CEO tenures (versus the 3-year tenures now common in corporate America) and numerous displays of generosity and corporate social responsibility in their respective communities.

In closing, I had the opportunity to call these leaders to action. Because family enterprises are the source of great societal wealth and not just owning family wealth in Latin America, two leadership imperatives awaited them on their return home:

1. Growing the family business – whether by taking it global, through digital strategies or product line extensions. In the absence of business growth, growing extended families run the risk of zero-sum dynamics that destroy an owner family´s capacity to sustain the enterprise.

2. Communications, financial transparency and family unity – because family unity is the source of the “patient capital advantage”. Patient family capital gives rise to a family firm´s ability to compete differently, idiosyncratically, and win (as shown above) in a hypercompetitive world economy.

Ernesto Poza is a world renowned expert on family enterprise. He is a clinical professor of global entrepreneurship at the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona and the author of Family Business, 3^rd edition.

by Jim La Marche, TPEC

After nearly 24 hours and several layovers, the TPEC team successfully arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam for the Thunderbird Southeast Asia Private Equity Investing Conference. The team of alumni, faculty, and staff has been preparing diligently for Thunderbird’s first private equity symposium in Southeast Asia, so our arrival was much anticipated.

Thunderbird alumni Ryan Galloway, Takeshi Kamada, Jessica Tartell, Loan Ma, Hao Diep, Tavy Long, and MaiLuong, have led the effort in developing a stronger presence in Indochina by representing Thunderbird as TPEC Chairs in Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Japan.
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All Jonathan Hegranes needed was a launching pad for his business idea. The Thunderbird MBA student had spent more than 200 hours developing a concept, writing a business plan and recruiting a team to support him. His opportunity came when the Thunderbird Entrepreneurship Network announced the Thunderbird Global Business Plan Competition, with cash startup awards for the winner’s business. Hegranes’ idea was Turbo 140, a micro-job marketplace that will match people offering small jobs, or “gigs,” with people willing to do the tasks for negotiated fees. What will set the site apart is that all gigs, such as taking down Christmas lights, painting a fence or moving a fridge, will have to be posted in 140 characters or less.
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