Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator
Polymath Ventures is a distinctive "company builder" fostering enterprises for the rising middle class in Latin America. Founded by Wenyi Cai, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Polymath boasted a business development methodology that sought to leverage international expertise to envision, finance, and scale innovations for the Colombian market. After two successful years, Polymath's latest venture is facing early set-backs and Polymath's Silicon Valley-inspired corporate culture is causing friction within Colombia's traditional entrepreneurial environment.
Swot Analysis of "Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator" written by Jeremy B. Dann, Benjamin Rostoker includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Polymath Polymath's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Polymath Polymath's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Polymath Polymath's operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Polymath Polymath's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Polymath Polymath's
Strengths Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Polymath Polymath's in Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Polymath Polymath's is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Polymath Polymath's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Polymath Polymath's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Polymath Polymath's has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Polymath Polymath's are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Polymath Polymath's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Polymath Polymath's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Polymath Polymath's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Polymath Polymath's has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Polymath Polymath's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Polymath Polymath's is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Polymath Polymath's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Polymath Polymath's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Polymath Polymath's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Organizational Resilience of Polymath Polymath's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Polymath Polymath's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Polymath Polymath's in the sector have low bargaining power. Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Polymath Polymath's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator are -
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Polymath Polymath's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Polymath Polymath's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jeremy B. Dann, Benjamin Rostoker suggests that, Polymath Polymath's is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Polymath Polymath's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Polymath Polymath's 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Polymath Polymath's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Polymath Polymath's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Polymath Polymath's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Polymath Polymath's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Polymath Polymath's is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Polymath Polymath's has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator HBR case study mentions - Polymath Polymath's takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator, it seems that the employees of Polymath Polymath's don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Polymath Polymath's has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Polymath Polymath's even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator are -
Manufacturing automation
– Polymath Polymath's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Polymath Polymath's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Polymath Polymath's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator case study. Polymath Polymath's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Polymath Polymath's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Polymath Polymath's to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Polymath Polymath's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Polymath Polymath's can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Polymath Polymath's to increase its market reach. Polymath Polymath's will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Polymath Polymath's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Polymath Polymath's can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Polymath Polymath's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Developing new processes and practices
– Polymath Polymath's can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Polymath Polymath's can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Polymath Polymath's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Polymath Polymath's to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Polymath Polymath's in the consumer business. Now Polymath Polymath's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator, Polymath Polymath's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Polymath Polymath's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Polymath Polymath's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Polymath Polymath's will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Polymath Polymath's can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Polymath Polymath's is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Polymath Polymath's in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Polymath Polymath's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Polymath Polymath's high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Polymath Polymath's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Polymath Polymath's.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Polymath Polymath's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.