no less than 100 words Must be in book citation Wheelen, T.L., Hoffman, A., Hunger, D. J. & Bamford, C. (2018). Concepts in strategic management and business policy; Globalization, innovation and sustainability (15th ed.). Retrieved from londonessays.com 7: Strategy Formulation: Corporate StrategyChapter 8: Strategy Formulation: Functional Strategy and Strategic ChoiceWebsiteAfter viewing Shark Tank Season 12 Episode 4, I was impressed with the creativity and innovation exhibited by Lance Bernie and his wife Kim Bernie, who presented to the Sharks their unique spin on a regular day to day product. They were seeking $100,000 for a 20% stake in their company, which sells a carving knife shaped like a chainsaw named the mighty carver. Their spin on a normal product created an entertaining approach to the tried-and-true carving knives often used during holidays intrigued the majority of the sharks, with one Shark granting them their requested capital. They made sure to highlight that the product is not only good for carving a turkey but for cutting bread, pineapples, and cantaloupes. Their strategic plan included clearly outlining and communicating the direction of their small business. Their plan was to increase productivity by scaling back on utilizing resellers and move to directly sell to customers via their website, which is a move that would increase
their profit margins since currently, 90% of their business is through resellers, which cuts into their profits. They were prepared with all their numbers stating they sold 8500 units within 12mths making $163,000 last year, and they have sold 41,000 units so far this year. Their manufacturing costs in relation to the price consumers pay were encouraging. What sealed the deal, I believe, is that this product has intellectual property because of its design, and they have already secured patents. They are on the right track because they know that in order to grow as a company, they will need to change their marketing strategy; therefore, because they had a clear growth strategy and understood that using multiple channels for distribution could cause problems, the Sharks were all biting. According to Wheelen et al. (2018), Using multiple channels simultaneously can lead to problems (p. 221).The characteristics of entrepreneurial leadership that I believe was reflected in most of the presentations that I watched and contributed to their success was their self-confidence, belief in their product, and a clear outline of the numbers. At the end of the day, venture capitalists are in it for the money, and the general winning characteristic was preparedness. The ones that did not make it through were not completely prepared, and that was what made them strikeout.