Creating and Scaling High Potential Ventures in Developing Economies (Cases)

Catalog description

This course addresses the distinctive challenges and opportunities of launching and growing high-potential new ventures in developing economies. Developing economies are attractive targets for entrepreneurs because many are just starting to move up the growth curve, and they offer low-cost operating environments that can be great development labs for potentially disruptive innovations. AI and other deep technologies are increasingly powerful tools for entrepreneurs operating in these environments, enabling faster iteration, lower-cost infrastructure, and novel solutions to longstanding market gaps. At the same time, developing economies pose serious challenges. Pioneering entrepreneurs take on significant risks to gain early mover advantages. Specifically, entrepreneurs will not be able to count on the same kind of supportive operating environments that we take for granted in the developed world. They often face permitting and licensing frictions, poorly developed financial and labor markets, import and export barriers, unreliable supply chains, weak infrastructure, corruption, currency risks, limited investment capital, and problematic exit options. This course is designed to help would-be entrepreneurs - founders and their entrepreneurial teammates - better understand and navigate these issues as they pursue the opportunities to start, scale, and harvest their ventures in these environments. GSBGEN 514 is a seminar/discussion format in which students will read about and discuss the key challenges described above and potential solutions. Guest speakers from around the world will describe their own startup and investing experiences in developing economies and answer questions. A framework based on the World Economic Forum (WEF) report on 'Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics' will be used to structure the course. Students will…