Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator

Name: Polymath Ventures: Building An International Incubator (English version)
SKU: SCG-521

Jeremy B. Dann, Benjamin Rostoker

Product #:SCG-521

Supplier:Greif Center for Entrep. Studies-USC Marshall

Discipline:Entrepreneurship

Details:Case (PDF) • 25 pages • 2016-10-25

Subjects:

Compensation and benefits Design thinking Disruptive innovation Diversity and inclusion Going public International business Start-ups Human resource management Innovation Business and society Entrepreneurial financing Business management Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship

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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.

Learning Objectives

To illustrate the challenges of fostering innovation in foreign environments, including fighting preconceived assumptions, hiring and funding. To introduce students to a novel approach to scoping, growing, and financing new businesses that merges human centered design and lean startup methodologies. To guide students to examine the tension between adapting to practices in foreign markets or maintaining practices honed in home markets.