Although he had already established a successful business in Virginia Beach, Va., providing mobile medical laser technologies to hospitals and surgery centers in the mid-Atlantic area, Marvin "Skip" Schuelke (marketing management '69) wanted to expand his company.
"We wanted expertise to determine how this business model could be replicated and expanded with other minimally invasive technologies and in new areas," says Schuelke, whose company, Schuelke Laser Systems, serves urology specialists who need the latest technology but prefer not to buy the equipment. Before he moved forward, Schuelke needed answers to some key questions: What were the economies of scale? How was his company different from the competition? And what were the risks of expanding?
In Blacksburg, Darrell Davis (industrial engineering and operations research '82; M.S. '84), an executive with experience at a Fortune 500 company in Chicago, had launched a company called Flow Tech to make and distribute drinking straws. "We intend to provide a unique and fun twist on straws that will excite consumers," says Davis. Fun aside, he needed serious information on the available market opportunities -- especially for small, minority-owned businesses -- and on the competition.