From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap
Many entrepreneurs aspire to build an exceptional company, reap the rewards, and retain the CEO position at the end of the journey. Launching the startup is only the first step. The period of transition during which a startup grows up and becomes a scalable business is arguably the most critical time in the life of an emerging firm. We summarize the challenges of this period in a framework-the eight hurdles of transition-that outlines the essential steps in the evolution from a nascent startup into a disciplined organization capable of sustained and profitable growth. As the company engages the eight hurdles, the entrepreneur who aspires to retain the top position must embark on a parallel journey of personal and professional growth: the transition from founder to CEO. The skills, motivations, and behaviors that make a good entrepreneur are not the same as those required to lead a high growth organization. Using the literature and five scenarios from personal experience, I summarize the most commonly cited reasons for CEO replacement. Some are beyond the founder's control; most are not. We identify five shifts in perspectives and behaviors essential to retaining the CEO position and provide practical guidance for developing the founder's leadership capabilities.
Swot Analysis of "From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap" written by Joseph C. Picken includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Summarize Startup facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership transitions and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Summarize Startup, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Summarize Startup 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Summarize Startup
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 Summarize Startup
Strengths From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Summarize Startup in From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Summarize Startup digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Summarize Startup 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Summarize Startup is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Organizational Resilience of Summarize Startup
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Summarize Startup does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Summarize Startup has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Summarize Startup 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 Summarize Startup in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Summarize Startup is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Joseph C. Picken can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Summarize Startup 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Summarize Startup has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Summarize Startup 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Summarize Startup has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Summarize Startup is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Summarize Startup is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap are -
Need for greater diversity
– Summarize Startup has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Joseph C. Picken suggests that, Summarize Startup 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 Summarize Startup 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap, it seems that the employees of Summarize Startup 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Summarize Startup has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Summarize Startup is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Summarize Startup has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Summarize Startup has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 Summarize Startup has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Summarize Startup is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Summarize Startup needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Summarize Startup to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Summarize Startup 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. Summarize Startup 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap | 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap are -
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 Summarize Startup 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Summarize Startup 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Summarize Startup 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Summarize Startup can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Summarize Startup can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Summarize Startup in the consumer business. Now Summarize Startup can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Summarize Startup to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Summarize Startup to increase its market reach. Summarize Startup 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Summarize Startup 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 Summarize Startup to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Summarize Startup is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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. Summarize Startup 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. Summarize Startup 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Summarize Startup 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Summarize Startup has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Summarize Startup to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap case study. Summarize Startup can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap are -
Regulatory challenges
– Summarize Startup 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.
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. Summarize Startup 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.
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 Summarize Startup.
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 Summarize Startup business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Summarize Startup needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Summarize Startup can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Summarize Startup 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.
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. Summarize Startup can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Summarize Startup in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Summarize Startup 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap .
Increasing wage structure of Summarize Startup
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Summarize Startup.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 From Founder to CEO: An Entrepreneur's Roadmap 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 Summarize Startup needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
