Team and Concepts

HKU348

ALI FARHOOMAND

TEAM AND CONCEPTS LIMITED: MANAGING THE GROWTH OF A SMALL BUSINESS

Introduction

Not all small business owners are entrepreneurs. Some small business owners may have limited aspirations for growth and may be satisfied with a steady stream of income from their business. Their business could be a start-up based on a replica of an existing business, or it could be an existing business inherited from the family or acquired from outsiders with nothing novel to offer, compared with other competitors. Technically speaking, these types of small business owners might not be considered entrepreneurs. Although they make management decisions and have equity capital at risk in their business, they fail to develop an innovative process to exploit opportunities and gaps in the market. Team and Concepts Limited (TnC), an IT company founded by David Lee and his partners in 2003, was not a typical small business. Its owners were innovative, business-savvy entrepreneurs who had audacious goals at heart, and who were working daily towards the goal of growing the business and transforming it from a fledgling set-up to a successful company. The transformation from initial success to long-term growth required comprehensive changes in many aspects of the business. In particular, TnC recognised the need to facilitate this transition by enhancing its managerial, financial, marketing and R&D capacities. In 2004, TnC was facing the challenge of working with new investors and partners, who would likely set conditions for the business and require it to adopt new behaviours and a new management structure. The Company was also exploring the tradeoffs between acquiring outside funds and retaining control in order to make wise decisions about its future strategy.

The Search for an Opportunity Niche

Mary Ho prepared this Case under the supervision of Prof. Ali Farhoomand for class discussion. This Case is not intended to show effective or ineffective handling of...