Connie Tsai: Week 1

Remaking a Country

South Korea established itself as a country focused on the entertainment industry. In order to do so, the nation as a whole examined the best ways to grow the industry within its own borders. Music, film, and television all have large budgets and high production quality. To grow further, the industry as a whole may invest in the production of digital goods like 4K cameras within South Korea, preventing import costs and allowing for the subsidy of such products.

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Startups

A startup is a company which is focused on rapid growth. A startup targets a large audience which has a specific need, and acts to serve that need. For a startup to grow quickly and competitively, many are founded on unique ideas which have not been considered by other companies. In order to explicate the difference between a startup and a traditional company, we can think about the way that restaurants are created. Imagine a family-owned restaurant that has been opened in a small town. That restaurant would likely be unconcerned with growth, and more focused on excellent customer service in order to forge stronger connections between the restaurant and the community. Compare this image to that of a restaurant which desires franchising and expansion. The largest difference between these two restaurants is that the expansion-focused restaurant must "sell to a big market" (Graham 2). Therefore, this restaurant might sell quickly-prepared food at a reasonable cost, targeting the need for convenient, filling meals. As an example, healthy meals that have been designed for quick consumption would easily reach a demographic of busy workers with disposable income who are also concerned with their dietary habits.

Such is the case with Everytable, a healthy fast food chain based in Southern California which changes the price of its food according to the area that restaurant serves. This prevents those in low-income food deserts from being priced out of healthy meal options, while also ensuring that the company as a whole is profitable to allow for expansion. Everytable is unique, serves a market concerned with health, and serves everyone who relies on it as a source of food—most importantly, however, it has plans to scale in a manner which prevents the company from collapsing on itself.

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Question

Consider another startup company. What did this company do that established itself as a startup? Were there obstacles to its growth, and what did the company do to avoid these obstacles?

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Sources

Graham, Paul. "Startup = Growth." Paul Graham, September 2012, http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html. Accessed 14 January 2017.

Harris, Jenn. "This L.A. restaurant will charge different prices for the same meal, based on the neighborhood." Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2016. http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-everytable-20160722-snap-story.html. Accessed 14 January 2017.

Coronado, Gary. "A bowl of chicken tinga..." Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2016. http://www.trbimg.com/img-57979f0d/turbine/la-1469554452-snap-photo/750/750x422. Accessed 14 January 2017.