Cura Software- South Africa

By: Bruno Occhipinti

In May and June of 2007, I settled in Johannesburg to become the Endeaveor eMBA intern for Cura Software. The company, launched 4 years ago by Avi Eyal, designs risk management software, initially for the South African market. The firm has grown very fast and expanded in Brazil, United Kingdom and Australia.

I was given the freedom to identify and pursue in Cura Software the tasks where I could bring value and that would most benefit the firm. On the Marketing side, I reviewed sales presentations and built success stories documents to introduce software functionalities during presales. On the operational side, I documented and refined the distributors’ processes. Moreover, I built the design specifications for the CRM module and discussed directly with the service provider regarding the features to implement in the deliverable.

My background in the software business for Hyperion supported my decision to improve performance analysis capabilities. I believe it was a critical piece to address, especially when experiencing fast growth across a large geographical scope. The company was also considering an expansion in Asia and it was looking for the right partnership. Since my previous job was based in Singapore, my connections in the region enabled me to put the firm in touch with the right partners to develop their business efficiently.

I realized during this internship that life in a small firm could become particularly hectic for the entrepreneurs. As a result, it was important as an eMBA intern to take the ownership of project autonomously when the situation required.

Inspired by the success of the business model of Endeavor, I dedicated afterwards even more time to social activities during my 2^nd year of MBA and took additional classes in societal wealth venturing. I also decided to focus my thesis on microfranchising in emerging markets to explore entrepreneurship impact on poverty alleviation.

Besides, after this internship, I had the opportunity to work in the banking field and asked to be part of the Emerging Markets desk. Even if I will be based in London in the short-term, I am planning to explore a more permanent presence in this field to take advantage of the potential of this challenging and rewarding environment.

The Endeavor experience also gave me the opportunity to meet amazing entrepreneurs in South Africa. I particularly enjoyed a cocktail-dinner during which I was introduced to other successful CEOs, like Shane Immelman from Lapdesk or Natalie Kilassy from Stitch Wise. I was really impressed by their experience and the impact of their firms on the social landscape.

I also discovered during this experience an amazing country where it is difficult to imagine that Apartheid was ruling not so long ago. I was impressed to observe how the country managed to overcome this difficult past and can now epitomize the dream built by Nelson Mandela. Besides, nature in this country is simply gorgeous and I took advantage of every week-end to discover its marvels: Cap Town, Cradle of Humankind, Krueger Park and others… South Africa is a unique place to discover the best of Africa.

First eMBA at Endeavor Colombia

Standing from left to right: Catalina (Search and Selection Associate), Oriana (Entrepreneur Services Associate), Eduardo (Marketing and Communications Associate). Sitting: Gaia )Managing Director) and Jose (eMBA at Ideagro Ltda.)

Since almost 3 weeks Endeavor Colombia as also our Endeavor Company Ideagro Ltda. , are very happy to be hosting our first eMBA Jose Shintante from HBS! It´s been good fun to have Jose working with our Entrepreneurs and with us. Last week we (Endeavor Colombia staff) went our for dinner with Jose and there you can see him in the picture wearing a traditional “Sombrero Vueltiao”, a very typical hat from the colombian Atlantic Coast. We hope Jose starts also blogging and telling you much more about his adventures and professional learnings in Bogotá.

Originally posted by Jose Shintate Monday, July 2, 2007

The Best Internship in the World

Hello Laura, Larry, Romi and eMBAs,

I hope your summers are going swimmingly. My name is Enrique Coronado and I am studying at Columbia. M internship was in Buenos Aires at Lixis, a manufacturer and global retailer of quality control equipment for the pharmaceutical industry. I worked really had with Felipe and Santiago to redesign Lixis’ product costing structure and evaluate competing investments. I also helped them put in place a sales and operations planning process, a budget and a strategic plan… The experience was amazing and I learned a ton!

Seriously, I think that Endeavor’s eMBA program is an amazing initiative that is paving the way to improving economic opportunities by helping small and medium size businesses grow. I’ve been blown away by this organization’s hard work and commitment to the development of emerging markets through entrepreneurship.

Thank you very much for the opportunity!

Enrique Coronado

Originally posted by Enrique Coronado Monday, August 13, 2007

Dominio del Plata

JOAN JOVÉ

HARVARD MBA 2008

WORKED WITH SUSANA BALBO AT DOMINIO DEL PLATA

I worked with Susana Balbo, an entrepreneur that owns the winery Dominio del Plata in Argentina. Susana is a self-made entrepreneur. In 2001, while Argentina’s economy was stumbling, Susana took the bold decision to leverage most of her personal savings and build her own winery. Her success with Dominio del Plata has been nothing short of extraordinary. Dominio del Plata has been growing at a 50% since it was founded seven years ago. Additionally, Susana is the president of the “Wines of Argentina” organization that associates almost all Argentinean wineries to promote their wine outside their country.

When I arrived, her company was facing complex organizational and strategic issues. My first main task was to establish control systems and formal information flows among the different levels of employees. This process required implementing of a new IT system, defining an incentive program for mid-managers and reallocating responsibilities. Additionally, I worked on developing a planning model that is going to be used as a basis for the budget of the company in the next two years. Finally, I worked directly with Susana in analyzing a key strategic decision, whether to broaden the company’s investor base to include external investors.

I would summarize my development in three areas: wine industry knowledge, entrepreneurial challenges and developing country challenges. First, I had the chance to learn a lot about the wine industry. Moreover, as I worked for a very small company I could understand many details from different business areas as marketing, sales, logistics or operations. Second, I was able to understand how difficult it is to create a positive and motivating environment in a fast-growing company when new people are being hired every month. I could also see the dilemma of the founders when the company achieves a certain size and the next step to follow is not clear: grow, remain stable or monetize the investment? The experience was extremely inspiring and it help me envision my long-term plan to become an entrepreneur. Lastly, I understood some of the challenges of working in a developing country. Argentina has a highly instable economy where it is crucial to hedge against the main risks. For example, Dominio del Plata had the policy to export more than 95% in order to minimize the impact of a local crisis.

At a personal level, I had a great time as I got to know many interesting people from Mendoza. My colleagues at work where extremely nice and I end up knowing their families and friends. I had the chance to enjoy many “parrilladas” (Argentinean barbeques), go skiing and do unique wine tasting. It was an extraordinary rewarding and unique experience that I would recommend to any MBA student for their summer internship.

Ideagro

By: Jose Shintate

During the summer 2007, I worked in Colombia with Ideagro, a manufacturer of agricultural machines. The goal of the project was to create a growth strategy for the next 3 years for Ideagro, including an implementation plan to help the company achieve this growth. The project was developed in two phases: the first were a market study was developed, and the market potential in Colombia determined. As a result, a series of recommendations were developed, with a special focus on the recommendation to create a sales structure with multiple channels. On the second phase these recommendations were detailed, especially regarding sales, and it was also created a system to track costs on a real basis per machine and channel.

In order to develop the work at Ideagro, I worked closely with the entrepreneurs, Mauricio and Arturo, and also with the new Ideagro general manager, the production and design chief. An Endeavor mentor was essential in helping formulating the sales model and acted as a sounding board as well. I also had extensive support from Endeavor Colombia, especially the head of the office and the responsible for Entrepreneur services. I could learn a lot about how to effectively be a self – starter, and how to involve several different people in common project. Many challenges were around the project, from the infra-structure of the fledgling company to the lack of information on the market. Some experiences were enriching and off the beaten track, such as roaming around Bogota in search for a new site for the plant, and going to the national agricultural fair to benchmark competitors.

The sale a stake of Ideagro to investors was a remarkable moment, since it provided an opportunity make a difference in a crucial moment for the entrepreneurs. I helped revising sales contracts and pointed risks to the entrepreneurs such as dilution, and introduced topics on their relationship with the investors, such as their changing roles and the requirements to run a company professionally, such as reporting.

Overall, I believe I helped set the importance of management information in Ideagro, as well as importance of developing more professional practices such as planning and goal setting rather than reacting passively to each daily crisis.

To me, the experience was very rewarding. I especially feel more confident regarding the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, and about the mindset it takes to overcome them. I expect to steer my career towards entrepreneurship in a near future, and the summer further inspired me to develop this career path by broadening the possibilities I had previously thought about.