DentalCorp
Mariano Belaunde
Fin 345
November 11, 2014
DentalCorp Case
1. What is your assessment of DentalCorp's historical development and current performance?
I think DentalCorp’s development over the years was amazing, and is certainly due to the ingenuity and perseverance of Luis Chicani. Having started as a family-ran business and mostly a one-man show, the amount of growth achieved given the small amount of initial investment is impressive.
His business model is quite genius, allowing him to keep both fixed and variable costs to a minimum. He did this by relying on a mix of commission-based salespeople, having family-run management, and having Chicani oversee almost every aspect of the company and initially respond to every call. Slowly but steadily he was able to grow his customer base and get the attention of larger commercial clients, like Itaipu Binacional.
Having almost gone bankrupt he decided to renegotiate debts and acquire more working capital by selling his cars, rather than relying on loans and further worsening his financial situation. Perhaps at first glance his expansion goals were a bit too ambitious and unsustainable given the way he ran the company with such little help, but he managed to get through it nonetheless. This is evident in DentalCorp’s current performance: His latest client is Magazine Luiza, one of the largest retailers in Brazil. He also plans to go international, starting in Chile and expanding around the world.
2. Only 1.6% of entrepreneurs in Endeavor's pre-screened pools became Endeavor Entrepreneurs. Why do you think DentalCorp/Luis Chicani were selected?
There were several reasons why I think Endeavor selected DentalCorp. As they have stated, one of the reasons was that “they simply liked Chicani’s personal characteristics: he was a good listener, eager to receive advice, a terrific salesperson, and a natural in developing trustful relationships.”
In spite of DentalCorp not meeting every single characteristic they were looking
Fin 345
November 11, 2014
DentalCorp Case
1. What is your assessment of DentalCorp's historical development and current performance?
I think DentalCorp’s development over the years was amazing, and is certainly due to the ingenuity and perseverance of Luis Chicani. Having started as a family-ran business and mostly a one-man show, the amount of growth achieved given the small amount of initial investment is impressive.
His business model is quite genius, allowing him to keep both fixed and variable costs to a minimum. He did this by relying on a mix of commission-based salespeople, having family-run management, and having Chicani oversee almost every aspect of the company and initially respond to every call. Slowly but steadily he was able to grow his customer base and get the attention of larger commercial clients, like Itaipu Binacional.
Having almost gone bankrupt he decided to renegotiate debts and acquire more working capital by selling his cars, rather than relying on loans and further worsening his financial situation. Perhaps at first glance his expansion goals were a bit too ambitious and unsustainable given the way he ran the company with such little help, but he managed to get through it nonetheless. This is evident in DentalCorp’s current performance: His latest client is Magazine Luiza, one of the largest retailers in Brazil. He also plans to go international, starting in Chile and expanding around the world.
2. Only 1.6% of entrepreneurs in Endeavor's pre-screened pools became Endeavor Entrepreneurs. Why do you think DentalCorp/Luis Chicani were selected?
There were several reasons why I think Endeavor selected DentalCorp. As they have stated, one of the reasons was that “they simply liked Chicani’s personal characteristics: he was a good listener, eager to receive advice, a terrific salesperson, and a natural in developing trustful relationships.”
In spite of DentalCorp not meeting every single characteristic they were looking