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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Paul Thomson: Walker Insurance

  Michael Roberts, Jim Sharpe and Sonia Nagala Change

  Having just acquired Walker Insurance, Paul Thomson finds himself short of funds to support his original turnaround plan. He can request additional cash from his investor group, hunker down and grow at a slower rate or consider a proposal to buy his business. He has taken steps to re-virtualize the company and is challenged to build a salesforce to grow the business.

  Keywords: crisis management; Acquisitions; Search Funds; entrepreneurial management; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; Insurance; turnarounds; boards of directors; sales force management; Entrepreneurship; Insurance Industry; Florida;

  Citation:

  Roberts, Michael, Jim Sharpe, and Sonia Nagala Change. "Paul Thomson: Walker Insurance." Harvard Business School Case 813-057, April 2013. (Revised from original August 2012 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Elasto Therm: The Next Step

  Jim Sharpe and James Weber

  Julia and Nate Burstein were living their dream running their own business and balancing the demands between their work and family obligations while creating a company that was responsive to their employees’ and their customers’ needs. The Bursteins had joined a large multinational manufacturing company after receiving their MBAs from HBS, but soon left to join Julia's family plastics business. After the business was sold, they struck out on their own to search for a similar business. They purchased Elasto Therm, with $8 million in revenue from manufactured rubber and urethane components, with their own cash, bank financing, and the seller, partly in the form of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Initially, Nate ran the business and after a few years changed roles with Julia to stay at home with their young children for three years. The two were in charge as co-CEOs before Julia relinquished her responsibilities to be at home again. The couple significantly strengthened the organization's talent, focused on innovation, growth, and provided a learning environment for their employees. Through cost efficiencies and pricing strategies, Elasto Therm was able to achieve higher margins than their competitors and focused on low-volume, short-run orders as they continued to expand the business. The 2008 recession forced them to reexamine all aspects of the business, and it retained profitability after painful cutbacks in the organization. To continue their growth into the next decade, they are faced with the choice of acquiring other businesses or growing more organically by adding to their sales organization to achieve geographic expansion.

  Keywords: entrepreneurial management; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; pricing; Pricing policies; Pricing strategy; pricing structure; sales force management; Acquisitions; work/family balance; work-life balance; Family-owned business; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Work-Life Balance; Manufacturing Industry; Rubber Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Sharpe, Jim, and James Weber. "Elasto Therm: The Next Step." Harvard Business School Case 813-030, February 2013.

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Wayne Ferrari: iAutomation at a Crossroads

  Jim Sharpe and Michael Norris

  Wayne Ferrari has bridged the gap between being an independent entrepreneur and a "professional manager." After selling his business to a Private Equity (PE) firm, Ferrari takes on the role of CEO and with their support implements a roll-up strategy to attain growth through acquisition in the mechanical controls distribution industry. Ferrari received support from the PE firm in negotiating and financing acquisitions but faced the challenging task of integrating them into the core business. Getting all the operations on a common IT platform proves more challenging than he expected. Developing an organization that supports a new strategy of application support for their customer base requires a change in culture and an evolving leadership challenge for the business. The most immediate challenge is to implement a "pricing" model to be used with all customers that takes into consideration a variety of customer specific characteristics to set optimal pricing for quotations. On "go live" day, the sales force "is up in arms" requesting that their "special customer deals" be sheltered from this new system. The case outlines a brief history of the business, the changes over the last six years and details on the challenges Ferrari faces as iAutomation continues to expand.

  Keywords: entrepreneurial management; entrepreneurial organizations; entrepreneurship; leveraged buyouts; roll-up; career planning; Acquisitions; pricing; Pricing policies; Pricing strategy; pricing structure; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Distribution; Integration; System; Electronics Industry; Distribution Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Sharpe, Jim, and Michael Norris. "Wayne Ferrari: iAutomation at a Crossroads." Harvard Business School Case 813-120, February 2013.

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