Mini Case

CSI entrepreneur doug brown

Doug brown started college on sports scholarships at the university of denver, but moved home to St. Louis and took jobs to pay his way through saint louis univeristy. One of those jobs was selling new and used cars, and doug networked that opportunity to connect with a new start up in the leasing business, executive leasing. Doug became their 13th employee, preparing cars for leasees. He got a promotion and came on full time, changing to night school in order to graduate.

Executive leasing became enterprise leasing and Enterprise Rent a car, and as the company's fortunes grew, so did doug's. As an exercutive, Doug pioneered Enterprise's hiring new college graduates (arround 13,000 a year nationally these days) because he recognized the value of newly graduated "learning machines" with virtually no "bad" business habits to break as the way to staff a rapidly growing company. THat decision made Enterprise's phenomenal growth possible

After 30 years at enterprise, Doug took early retirement. Not one to sit arround, he started consulting to firms (and donating his consulting fees to charities) and becoming an entrepreneur and investor in real estate projects and a multistate chain of car washes.

Thirteen years into retirement, Doug partnered with Saint Lois University and the university of Missouri St Louis to create a retail incubator to help anchor and develop the Ville Neighborhood, a once vibrant area fallen on hard times. Called the Habitat for neighborhood Business, the incubator provides subisdized space and business hep, such as mentoring, networking, and education by volunteer business professionals and students, to house and grow businesses that can help the community be more self sufficient. A social venture, Habitat raises funds through for profit and charitable activities to keep going. And whileDoug's friends don't know what will happend next, they are sure Doug has some sort of entrepreneurial venture in mind.

Case discussion questions

1. Which dof Doug's work roles fit corporate, social, and independent entrepreneurship?
2. What kind of rewards do you imagine Doug prusuing in each of his different entrepreneurial roles?
3. How do you imagine the habitat for nieghborhood businees taps the three focuss of a social enterprise: creation, customer-focus, and efficiency?

Thank you for your help!