Stories
Stories
On her first foray into Silicon Valley, Karen Edwards (MBA '90) didn't have much success finding the job she wanted: head of marketing at an Internet company. Told she didn't know enough about technology, Edwards persevered and finally landed a job at start-up Yahoo!. It was a long haul, but Edwards's role in making Yahoo! one of the most recognized names in the Internet economy taught the industry a lesson in the importance of brand-name recognition.
Shunned no longer, marketers are "the new rock stars of the Internet," according to a USA Today (January 19, 2000) article. Since the Internet is saturated with companies promising an endless variety of services, marketing savvy has become the skill most in demand to ensure stand-apart success, the article said. It also noted that many venture capitalists now insist that a start-up's management team include employees with extensive marketing experience.
Branding, Edwards believes, is the best defense against competition. "It's not technology, because you can leapfrog that or acquire it," she said. "At the end of the day, consumers are loyal to brands, not feature frenzy."
Cutting-Edge Continentals
Also at Yahoo!, but on the other side of the world, Fabiola Arredondo (MBA '92) has established local Yahoo! Web portals from Italy to Scandinavia. Cited as one of twenty "Trend-Setting Women" in the November 1999 issue of Tornado-Insider.com, Arredondo's leadership style as managing director of Yahoo! Europe is characterized by one word: communication. "It's the only way to meet objectives and keep growing," she said. Her "No Bozo Rule" underscores the importance of working as a team: "We come down on people who send an e-mail if they're twenty feet away from the recipient." Her approach, which includes a keen awareness of each country's need for individualized attention, seems to be working. Audited figures for the month of January 2000 show that Yahoo! Europe garnered 730 million page views, well ahead of the competition.
Canadian Sherry Coutu (MBA '93) also made Tornado-Insider's top-twenty list. The founder and chairman of Interactive Investor International (iii), Coutu said she relishes the opportunity to do things a little differently. Her Internet financial services company, for example, is located in a renovated building above Smithfields, one of the oldest meat markets in London. "The role of an entrepreneur is seeing things that other people can't see," she stated. "I wouldn't be happy working in a traditional company." With that said, her six-year-old company could be considered something of an institution itself in the heated environment that surrounds today's Internet start-ups. But Coutu faced her own share of difficulties in making iii a success. "I was starting to run out of my own money, and I needed to buy computers and hire people. I went to Richard Caruso (69th AMP), and he led a syndicate. Harvard gave me the realization that you are supposed to network." Her advice to others with entrepreneurial ideas? Don't go with the first venture capitalist who comes along. "You're going to be in bed with them for a very long time," Coutu said. "You have to make sure they're somebody you like and respect and that they can add value."
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