For Tuesday, Dec 5
th
… As an entrepreneurial venture grows it achieves product-market fit and its business model is validated. As more people join the company, it soon outgrows its informal management relationships and, to survive, must progressively adopt more formal systems and processes. This scaling of a company is of critical importance. The company will either thrive or sink into chaos depending on how the scaling process is managed. Today’s readings and case study provide an important understanding of scaling a startup. 1.
Read “Leading by Leveraging Culture”
posted in the Assigned Readings
folder in Canvas Files
. As you read this article from California Management Review
, think about how it may relate to some of the case studies we have discussed this semester as well as some of the insights provided by our guest speakers. Think about its relation to our recent readings on intrinsic motivation and “Level 5” leaders. 2.
Read “Growing Up but Staying Young,”
a one-page commentary by Jack and Suzy Welch posted in the Assigned Readings
folder in Canvas Files
. 3.
Next, read the 16-page article, Scaling a Startup: People and Organizational Issues
. Think about how you would answer the following study questions as you read this article: a.
What should be achieved before scaling a startup? b.
What are the five most important people and organizational challenges when scaling a startup? What are the issues and steps encountered with each? c.
Drawing from both this article and the Welch reading, why is it important to maintain an entrepreneurial culture as your startup scales? How will you accomplish this? 4.
Study the N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business
. This is a rich case of the challenges faced by a startup company as it scales from an R&D shop to a business producing, marketing and selling a novel, unproven product based on cutting edge technology. As you study this case, consider the following: a.
Describe N12’s scaling up process as the company grew from 4 to 7 employees, then from 7 to 16 employees, and then from 16 to 27 employees. How and why were horizontal and vertical organizational expansions incorporated into this scaling up process? How well has the company handled each stage of this scale up? What are they doing to stay young
as they grow up
? b.
How would you describe the roles, responsibilities, and relationships of Berkson and Flavin, Williams and Degtiarov, and Jarosz and Gouldstone? How have their jobs changed over time? c.
What is your evaluation of N12’s go-to-market strategy encompassing four key markets? Do you believe this a sound strategy? Why or why not? d.
Evaluate N12’s push
and pull
marketing strategies as they apply to the different target markets. What is the likely reaction of the “pre-preggers” to these strategies? e.
Why did N12’s plan to engage end-user partners in joint development agreements fail? What is your opinion of their alternative “build it and they will come” model? f.
Is aggressive development of Gen II, III and IV reactors in the best interests of the company? Why or why not? g.
What remains to be done for N12 to become, in Berkson’s words, a “buttoned-up organization?” Be prepared to discuss these readings and the case study in class. 5.
Following the guidelines in the Case Method Overview
, write a concise 2-page essay addressing the following question: As the company grew from 4 to 27 employees, how well did N12 handle each stage of its scaling up process? Explain. What, if anything, did they do to stay young
as they grew up
? Submit your essay in PDF format on Canvas before class. This essay must be your own work, consistent with the University’s Code of Academic Integrity
.
