Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2006 (Revised February 2011)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Empemex

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Regina Garcia-Cuellar
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:26
ShareBar

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.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Lynda M. Applegate

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • May 2023
    • Faculty Research

    City Group Hospitality: Executing a Successful Digital Strategy

    By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Joaquin Rodriguez
    • March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Akamai Technologies: Expanding the Talent Pipeline

    By: Christopher Stanton, Lynda M. Applegate, Allison Ciechanover, Emily Grandjean and Sophie Beck
    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Akervall Technologies: Leading Through Crisis

    By: Lynda M. Applegate
More from the Authors
  • City Group Hospitality: Executing a Successful Digital Strategy By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Joaquin Rodriguez
  • Akamai Technologies: Expanding the Talent Pipeline By: Christopher Stanton, Lynda M. Applegate, Allison Ciechanover, Emily Grandjean and Sophie Beck
  • Akervall Technologies: Leading Through Crisis By: Lynda M. Applegate
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College