Today, it’s easier than ever for an entrepreneur, regardless of size, to sell goods and services across the globe. Small and medium-sized companies in the United States are exporting more than ever before. In 2013, more than 300,000 small and medium-sized U.S. companies exported to at least one international market—nearly 28 percent more than in 2005. In 2013, the value of goods and
Read moreThe University of Alabama was awarded a $100,000 grant to support research to understand the factors leading to the successes and failures of businesses that went public in 1996, the largest initial public stock offering class on record. The grant will fund research surrounding the “IPO Class of 1996” over the last 20 years and will be conducted by Dr.
Read moreThales S. Teixeira is Lumry Family Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. In this HBS Case Study, he discusses three of the most successful “platform” startups to understand the chicken-and-egg challenge of how companies can attract their first customers. New businesses often struggle finding their first customers. The challenge is even more difficult with startups in the sharing
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The International Trade Administration (ITA) Top Markets Series is meant to help exporters determine their next export market by comparing opportunities across borders. The reports provide updated country rankings and analysis reflecting the latest industry, trade policy, and global economic developments. This year, the series includes seven new reports for industries including franchising, manufacturing technology, and pharmaceuticals. Each report ranks
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General Motors (GM) announced on (03-11-16) it would buy Cruise Automation, a San Francisco-based startup making sensors that turn regular vehicles into ones that can drive themselves. GM hasn’t disclosed the purchase price, but the deal has been reported to be worth more than $1 billion in cash and stock. Cruise Automation is a self-driving car company that develops an
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Most companies use a brand style guide, or also called a brand standards guide. This is a book or document that sets rules on how the brand is visually presented to the public. These rules will instruct vendors, partners, and employees how to properly use and communicate a brand’s visual identity, from proper logo usage, the brand color scheme, the
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Guest Contributor: Silvio Contessi Let’s be clear about what we mean by a multinational. This is a firm that extends beyond the borders of an individual nation and operates with affiliates and branches in at least two countries. A multinational organizes phases for producing goods and services to sell in different countries. For example, many car companies have mastered the
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EY has launched Accelerating Entrepreneurs, a program to give six high-potential entrepreneurs from around the world support to scale up their business. Winners will receive expert one-to-one guidance, networking and insight sharing opportunities at EY’s World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ event in Monte Carlo, between 3-7 June 2015. Previously called Ready, Set, Grow, this year’s program has been renamed and
Read moreThe automotive industry has some of the most passionate talkers. Experts, enthusiasts, celebrities, car guys, and just people looking for answers to their car questions come to the same place: online forums. For brands like Michelin, that’s fantastic for market research, understanding their customers, and hearing what people have to say. But according to Michelin’s Digital Consumer Experience Manager, Carrie
Read moreHarvesting from Your Venture’s Value This Article supports our belief that having a harvest goal in mind and creating an exit strategy to achieve it are what separate successful entrepreneurs from the rest. Clearly, the main objective of professional entrepreneurs is to create economic value. It is unfortunate that little attention in the entrepreneurial world has been given to exiting a business
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