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Case Study
Sea2see: Seastainable vision

BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its ow…

Entrepreneurship Family Business General Management Global Business Marketing Sustainability
By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564, © 2024
Sea2see: Seastainable vision
By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564 ©2024
Summary
BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its own new questions and issues. From the start, he had relied on the superb craftmanship and dedication of an Italian frame manufacturer. Over time that relationship had turned into a mutual dependency: He was now one of its major clients but, reciprocally, had developed a key supplier risk. What if something happened to that relationship? Should he develop a broader set of suppliers and, if so, how could that be done without antagonizing a great working relationship? Recycling very much set the stage for the brand’s sustainability claims, but it also took massive amounts of time to manage. As other companies started to develop their own fishing net recycling supply chains, did it still make sense to invest so much time in the upstream phase or should he pour his energy into his beloved brand? Finally, maybe it was also time to revisit the growth/profitability dilemma and open up the capital to increase the speed of growth, all for the benefit of the environment as impact fed on scale.
Reference IMD-7-2564
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization Sea2see
Industry Consumer Goods, Optical Products
Available Languages English
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Case Study
IG4 Capital: Private equity with a purpose

SEPTEMBER 2023, SÃO PAULO (BRAZIL). Gustavo Buffara was painstakingly putting the finishing touches on the IG4 Private Equity Fund III presentation. Co-founded by Gustavo in 2016, IG4 Capital had grown to become a leading force in private equity in Latin America with a unique value proposition that focused on private equity special situations. W…

Finance Emerging Market Entrepreneurship Sustainability
By Benoit F. Leleux and Arthur de Bonis
Case reference: IMD-7-2545, © 2024
IG4 Capital: Private equity with a purpose
By Benoit F. Leleux and Arthur de Bonis
Case reference: IMD-7-2545 ©2024
Summary
SEPTEMBER 2023, SÃO PAULO (BRAZIL). Gustavo Buffara was painstakingly putting the finishing touches on the IG4 Private Equity Fund III presentation. Co-founded by Gustavo in 2016, IG4 Capital had grown to become a leading force in private equity in Latin America with a unique value proposition that focused on private equity special situations. With 52 professionals worldwide across seven offices (in São Paulo, London, Lima, Madrid, Bogotá, Washington, DC and Santiago), the firm was now heading to manage some $1.7 billion, with more than $1.1 billion invested in special situations over recent years. What made Gustavo particularly proud was the fact that the firm was able to operate not only under the highest sustainability standards, as an early signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), but also as a fully certified B Corp, a first in emerging market private equity. IG4’s portfolio companies now generated more than $2 billion of turnover with around 20,000 employees in different countries across Latin America, and many of them had achieved or were on their way to their own B Corp certifications. Could a Cerberus-inspired special situations strategy, often perceived as brutal, be adapted to a more culturally sensitive, developing-market equivalent, with clearer environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration? In other words, could “vulture capital” be turned into “culture capital”? The value proposition resonated with investors, and the track record of IG4 Funds I and II were now solid pillars upon which to build. But what else could the company do to ensure that its private equity investments in different segments, with a deep ESG toolbox, would help establish sustainable capitalism in the Latin American region? What else should it consider doing to reaffirm its ESG credentials even further?
Reference IMD-7-2545
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization IG4 Capital Partners
Industry Finance and Insurance, Private Equity
Available Languages English
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Case Study
Contabilizei: Freeing entrepreneurs from Brazil’s tax complexity

The case focuses on Contabilizei, a Brazilian startup providing online accounting services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The case study delves into the challenges faced by the company’s founder and CEO, Vitor Torres, as he navigated Brazil’s complex social and economic landscape. Issues such as Brazil’s byzantine tax system, dis…

Entrepreneurship Business to Business Digital Strategy
By Benoit F. Leleux, Diego Dias, Ariella Pfenninger, Daniel Töller and Thomas Villiger
Case reference: IMD-7-2546, © 2024
Contabilizei: Freeing entrepreneurs from Brazil’s tax complexity
By Benoit F. Leleux Diego Dias Ariella Pfenninger Daniel Töller and Thomas Villiger
Case reference: IMD-7-2546 ©2024
Summary
The case focuses on Contabilizei, a Brazilian startup providing online accounting services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The case study delves into the challenges faced by the company’s founder and CEO, Vitor Torres, as he navigated Brazil’s complex social and economic landscape. Issues such as Brazil’s byzantine tax system, disparate educational quality and accessibility, and the high cost of doing business in the country are explored. Despite these barriers, Contabilizei demonstrated impressive growth, transforming digital innovation into standardized services. However, the rise of competitors and persistent profitability concerns prompt Torres to thoroughly explore future strategies to maintain market leadership and improve financial performance. The case provides an in-depth analysis of Brazil’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, examining its business, educational, legal and infrastructural realities and their implications for startups as well as the difficult step for startups to become established companies.
Reference IMD-7-2546
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization Contabilizei
Industry Finance and Insurance, Financial Services
Available Languages English
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Case Study
UniMag: Quality of life on paper, on air and online

Terry Burns launched UniMag in 2007 and went on to develop its ecosystem of affiliated companies over several years. As most media were rapidly shifting online, UniMag established its brand as a high-profile magazine with a counter-intuitive focus on high-quality print and journalism. Since then, digitalization has increasingly shaped the media …

Strategy Disruption Entrepreneurship General Management
By Patrick Reinmoeller
Case reference: IMD-7-2540, © 2024
UniMag: Quality of life on paper, on air and online
By Patrick Reinmoeller
Case reference: IMD-7-2540 ©2024
Summary
Terry Burns launched UniMag in 2007 and went on to develop its ecosystem of affiliated companies over several years. As most media were rapidly shifting online, UniMag established its brand as a high-profile magazine with a counter-intuitive focus on high-quality print and journalism. Since then, digitalization has increasingly shaped the media landscape, opening many opportunities for Burns. By 2023 digital activities most effectively drive the business of the many affiliated companies in UniMag’s ecosystem. In contrast, its print magazine sales have stalled, and costs keep growing. Burns and her team must make a strategic decision: What to do and what to stop? Where to perform and where to transform? In the context of a transforming media industry, the case illustrates how to set strategic direction in the face of disruptive forces in order to drive change and open opportunities.
Reference IMD-7-2540
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization UniMag (Disguised)
Industry Media
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications