In many industries, the barriers to entry have never been lower. The Internet and low-cost production are allowing a new generation of entrepreneurs to get in on the game in a big way.
Prior to business school, I managed both web marketing and the supply chain for a leading distributor of luxury bathroom fixtures that has taken advantage of both these trends.
In 2005-06 I was the company’s lead U.S. representative in Asia, and met with reps from hundreds of companies eager to find customers in global markets. Encouraged by my boss, I soon formed a side venture to export furniture products to the U.S.
To buy our first 20' container of goods, I borrowed $15,000 from my mom, and scraped together another $10,000 together with a friend. By the time I started business school, we were running two successful businesses at the intersection of international trade and e-commerce: backrubhub.com and zodeco.com
In 2007, although we hit $90,000 in sales and paid back all our loans, the combined company is nowhere near its potential. I had basically put my business on hold to focus on learning as much as possible during my first three semesters as a full-time student in the MBA program.
Now as graduation nears, scaling up the business has again become my top priority. I’m raising new debt to replenish inventory stocks. I’ve hired two web designers in the Philippines, a programmer in the Ukraine, and a virtual assistant in South Africa. I’m looking for office space in Manhattan. And this weekend I’ll attend Search Engine Strategies New York to learn how to drive more traffic to my sites.
I’ve also been getting free legal counsel (thanks to the school’s Entrepreneurial Greenhouse Program) and I’ve had the chance to sit down with a legal expert to review my articles of incorporation, shore up the company’s corporate veil, as well as to identify and hopefully avoid potential liabilities.
While no new venture is risk free, the lowering of barriers to entry has made it cheaper than ever to launch a new business. Over the past 16 months at Columbia, I’ve crafted a strategy that I believe will allow me to develop an adaptable, high-performance organization.
Now the hard part: execution.
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Prior to business school, I managed both web marketing and the supply chain for a leading distributor of luxury bathroom fixtures that has taken advantage of both these trends.
In 2005-06 I was the company’s lead U.S. representative in Asia, and met with reps from hundreds of companies eager to find customers in global markets. Encouraged by my boss, I soon formed a side venture to export furniture products to the U.S.
To buy our first 20' container of goods, I borrowed $15,000 from my mom, and scraped together another $10,000 together with a friend. By the time I started business school, we were running two successful businesses at the intersection of international trade and e-commerce: backrubhub.com and zodeco.com
In 2007, although we hit $90,000 in sales and paid back all our loans, the combined company is nowhere near its potential. I had basically put my business on hold to focus on learning as much as possible during my first three semesters as a full-time student in the MBA program.
Now as graduation nears, scaling up the business has again become my top priority. I’m raising new debt to replenish inventory stocks. I’ve hired two web designers in the Philippines, a programmer in the Ukraine, and a virtual assistant in South Africa. I’m looking for office space in Manhattan. And this weekend I’ll attend Search Engine Strategies New York to learn how to drive more traffic to my sites.
I’ve also been getting free legal counsel (thanks to the school’s Entrepreneurial Greenhouse Program) and I’ve had the chance to sit down with a legal expert to review my articles of incorporation, shore up the company’s corporate veil, as well as to identify and hopefully avoid potential liabilities.
While no new venture is risk free, the lowering of barriers to entry has made it cheaper than ever to launch a new business. Over the past 16 months at Columbia, I’ve crafted a strategy that I believe will allow me to develop an adaptable, high-performance organization.
Now the hard part: execution.
More...