Submitted by: Submitted by mjrenard
Views: 416
Words: 7567
Pages: 31
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 04/28/2012 06:21 PM
UNDERGROUNDHIPHOP.COM
As Undergroundhiphop.com (UGHH) approached its 10th anniversary,
company founder Adam Walder felt he had reached a crossroads. Although
UGHH was the leading source of independent hip-hop on the Internet,
company revenues remained small compared to major online music retailers.
The opening of a storefront in 2005 helped create new opportunities within the
music industry, but also proved to be a drain on company resources.
Adam was proud of the fact that his company had remained debt free
throughout its history. Now, he wondered if such a conservative financial
strategy was limiting its potential. UGHH desperately needed to hire
programmers, designers, and managers to keep up with new technological
developments and social trends, such as music downloads, blogs, and online
social networking. Yet the cost of running a bricks and mortar retail store left
little to invest in other areas of the business.
Despite these challenges, 2007 promised to be an interesting year. Adam had a
number of exciting new ideas for growing the business, ranging from
franchising opportunities to the creation of a reality TV show. The question
was, which should he pursue and how should he finance them.
BACKGROUND
In high school, Adam Walder worked part time as a music store clerk, where,
one day, he met a radio disk jockey from Rutgers University Radio. The station
transmitted to a 25-mile radius around New Brunswick, New Jersey, and, like
most college stations, offered an eclectic mix of content. Adam used the
opportunity to solicit a position at the station. Soon afterward, he found himself
hosting the “Monday B-Side,” a popular Monday night hip-hop program
broadcast between 10 PM and midnight.
After graduating high school in 1995, Adam attended Northeastern University
in Boston, Massachusetts, where he majored in business administration and
information technology. At first, he was eager to work at the Northeastern
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