Reference no: EM133338568

Case Study: Entrepreneurship and Start-Up Culture

This final case study will look at the culture of entrepreneurship and start-ups. Start-ups are companies that are founded by individuals who seek to be self-employed. Part of start-up culture is the mentality to start your own business and work for yourself, rather than work for someone else. Given the multitude of start-ups that have emerged in the past couple of years, it is clear that this culture has caught on in the United States. While not everyone with a successful start-up will exhibit the same set of traits, we can identify some traits that are ideal to have when starting your own business, such as being driven and hardworking, as well as possessing leadership skills.

When you think of incredibly successful entrepreneurs, or those who took their ideas and turned them into a company, individuals such as Walt Disney and Steve Jobs probably come to mind. Watch the video entitled, "The Two Sides of Walt Disney," published by the Wall Street Journal. As you watch the video, think about the different attributes that Walt Disney possessed and how that impacted his empire. Were these attributes the key to his success, or do you think he took his business too far?

YouTube video. Wall Street Journal. The Two Sides of Walt Disney Links to an external site.. To view the subtitles for this video, click the CC button in the toolbar.

The next video entitled, "Siri Co-Founder Says Steve Jobs Was Relentless," details some of the traits that Steve Jobs displayed while running Apple. Think about his mentality as the leader of Apple; was this something that he needed to do to achieve success?

YouTube video. Bloomberg Technology. Siri Co-Founder Says Steve Jobs Was Relentless Links to an external site.. To view the subtitles for this video, click the CC button in the toolbar.

Now that we have covered the mentality that some extremely successful entrepreneurs have adopted, keep it in mind as you look at another example of entrepreneurship below. Consider whether the mentalities of Walt Disney or Steve Jobs would have helped in the case study scenario.

Cases from the Real World: Growing up with a Start-Up

"In the summer of 1970, a college senior named Paul Orfalea opened a store near the University of California, Santa Barbara, campus. He called it "Kinko's" after his own nickname and, with his partners, he sold college school supplies and around-the-clock copying services for students. After twenty-five years, Kinko's had grown to 1,200 stores and 23,000 employees, and Orfalea privately and lucratively sold it to FedEx.

Over the many years that Orfalea ran his start-up, his business became amazingly profitable but also imposed enormous stress on him and his founding partners and coworkers. As he put it, 'I don't hide the fact that I have a problem with anger.' Since selling the company, Orfalea has spent many years mending relationships with those who worked most closely with him while he was building it.

What contributed to the tensions Orfalea felt while managing this burgeoning enterprise? Long hours, of course, but also the need he felt to sustain his initial success, to make each year more profitable than the last. Entrepreneurs often believe they are only as successful as their last quarter's profit and are driven to exceed it. Orfalea also felt that he alone was equipped to call others to account and veto what he felt were bad business ideas. Anger became a chief enemy he battled.

'In my mid-to-late-forties,' he said, 'I struggled increasingly to manage my own emotional nature. Sometimes I felt I'd created a monster. The monster wasn't Kinko's, it was me.' Orfalea acknowledged the anger and resentment that he often felt toward other longtime staff at the company, which overpowered the respect that he knew he owed them. Consequently, he directed comments and actions at his colleagues that he has spent many subsequent years attempting to redress. All in all, he has labored diligently to repair friendships that he admits were frayed by his behavior alone.

After reflection, Orfalea now offers these recommendations to prospective entrepreneurs: Do not give way to your anger in the midst of the frustrating turns business inevitably takes. Do not take that anger home with you, either. Finally, try to be the person you most genuinely are, both at work and at home. It took Orfalea time to learn these lessons, but they are worthwhile for any would-be entrepreneur to ponder."

Questions: Answer the following questions:

1. What actions could Orfalea have taken to maintain a better work-life balance and avoid some of his stress and anger issues? How can an entrepreneur be a successful business leader without becoming consumed by generating more profit?
2. At the conclusion of the case study, Orfalea provides some recommendations for prospective entrepreneurs. To what extent do you agree with Orfalea's advice? What additional recommendations could you add to this list?
3. In the videos preceding the case study, you saw how Disney and Jobs both displayed aggressive attitudes (i.e. "my way or the highway" and "gain profits no matter what it takes"). Do you think all entrepreneurs need to have an aggressive attitude in order to succeed? Is there an alternative attitude that one could possess when starting a business?"