Publications
Publications
- September 2006 (Revised February 2011)
- HBS Case Collection
Empemex
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Regina Garcia-Cuellar
Abstract
Studies an entrepreneurial venture in Mexico City. The protagonists, two MBAs from HBS, started a pawn shop chain funded from their private equity office after finishing business school. This is timed at a point where the protagonists have to decide how to grow the pawn shop chain in order to compete with other Mexican and U.S. pawn shop chains that are growing aggressively in the country. Central is the decision of how to finance growth. Different growth alternatives are explored, each entailing different funding needs and exit strategies. The setting in Mexico illustrates the differences in entrepreneurship in Latin America or other developing regions compared to the United States. The difference lies in the difficulty of finding institutional funding. As a result, most of the funding has to come from "angel investors".
Keywords
Developing Countries and Economies; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Mexico City; United States
Citation
Applegate, Lynda M., and Regina Garcia-Cuellar. "Empemex." Harvard Business School Case 807-031, September 2006. (Revised February 2011.)
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