Matt Grant Case

Matt Grant Case

Abstract

Matt Grant sits nervously alone inside his car, his house looming ahead.  He is at a critical crossroad in his life.  He has just been laid off, and has two choices to consider for a future career.  One path will consider his skills and take him back to a familiar career where he is comfortable and steady.  The other path will take him on a new and exciting journey of the unknown, but also familiar.  Matt Grant has a dream, it is one that he has carried with him for the last three years.  He has done the legwork, and feels he is ready to take that step into the unknown.  However, his trepidation is only feet away, sitting quietly in his home.  What will his wife say?  How will she react?

Matt Grant is hard-working, driven individual, that rapidly climbed the ladder in the Teradyne Cooperation.  His predictable management position, complete with 401K matches came to an end today.  The seven years he gave to the company ended with a sixteen-week severance package.  Matt has a tough decision; does he seek a similar employment as the job he was laid off from, or pursue a dream he has carried with him for the last three years?  He must consider challenges if he moves forward with his plan.  Is he really the subject manner expert to take on such a venture?  Is he ready for the reaction from his wife if she is dead-set against it?  Has he done enough research?  Is his growth plan something that an investor would be drawn to?

        Matt has been preparing for the right time to start his venture.  Until today, he thought he would get it going, keep his current job, and have someone else run the business for him.  Now, he has an opportunity, a clean slate to start down the venture path.  This is his triggering event. As a budding entrepreneur, he knows that there will be risk in that decision.  He is also aware that his business is a niche type of business for the New England area, and has gotten positive feedback from various players that might one day be his customers.

        Matt has a few hurtles to clear before everything comes up roses.  Initially, Matt must raise the type of capital from the seed funding to get Racer’s Resource off the ground.  He will have to really sell the necessity for such a service.  The work he has already done with Runner’s World should be part of that sale pitch.  Next Matt’s plan to retain 55% of his stock ensures he retains ownership of the business, but he has to convince investors that this is a good deal.  He will have to change the paradigm of the recreational runners, to go from word of mouth about the event, to seeking out his product.

        Matt’s determination will be his greatest asset as he reaches for this venture.  He has done a lot of research and has learned some hard lessons as he has worked on this venture.  His mentor, so to speak, was a similar product he experienced when he lived in California.  He has considered the competition that may spring up.  He has been networking and had good feedback from friends and colleagues.  His business degree, combined with his seven years as a manager in a multinational company, and all the preparation he has done so far put him on a solid footing to start Racer’s Resource.  He has attained the ten D’s of entrepreneurship, ‘the most important characteristics of a successful entrepreneur’ (Bygrave, Zacharakis, & Corbett, 2017) and has considered the ‘ingredients for a successful new business, or nine F’s for entrepreneurial success’ (Bygrave, Zacharakis, & Corbett, 2017).  As long as he continues with the same aspiration that he has displayed in the build-up, Racer’s Resource will be successful.  As he begins to expand, he can seek out employees with the skills required to operate a magazine/publication.