Stanford GSB Debunks Myth of Consumer Choice Overload
Stanford’s Graduate School of Business recently discussed a new study by Sebastian S. Kresge marketing professor Itamar Simonson and Chinese University of Hong Kong associate professor Leilei Gao that may debunk the myth of “choice overload” when it comes to picking a product amidst a veritable ocean of options.
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Stanford GSB Study Says Fun Helps Dealing With Disaster
Stanford’s Graduate School of Business recently published a behavioral study about how having fun is a simple and surprisingly effective tactic victims use to cope in the aftermath of natural disasters.
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Stanford GSB Alum Talks Cannabis, Future Investment
The Stanford Graduate School of Business recently published an article about the fledgling—and admittedly peculiar—cannabis consulting industry. Erika Brown spoke with Stanford ’91 alum Hadley Ford whose iAnthus Capital Holdings merchant bank-come-consulting firm has become a mover and shaker within the field.
iAnthus offers an “experienced staff that can handle the financial end of things and [a team] of cannabis advisors and contacts who can vet the cannabis operations.”
Although Ford, the co-founder and managing director, describes himself as an advocate for legal weed—“I am a child of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s; it’s about ‘power to the people'”—he didn’t initially think the the drug would be a sound investment, especially when it came to building large national brands.
“Cannabis is still illegal in most of the U.S., which means you can’t trademark or copyright your product or manufacture and distribute across state lines,” he says.
Ford quickly discovered that due to cannabis’ social stigma in the business world, entrepreneurs have “no access to institutional startup or growth capital” but they still “need counsel on how to run a company efficiently.” To offer some perspective, Ford mentions that he raised $800 million from his Rolodex on his last business venture compared to the $9 million he snagged with the exact same personnel and contacts.
To circumvent domestic policy and stigma, Ford opted to reach out to Canadian investors where “issuers can sell securities related to cannabis and investors can buy them.” Ford structured a $500 million “public vehicle that raises money in Canada and uses the money to fund businesses in the U.S.”
That said, Ford believes the tides could turn dramatically in the next 5-10 years in terms of domestic cannabis investment.
“We will see a lot more investing by smaller institutions and regional banks providing credit, though probably not the big banks yet. In 10 years it will look more like the alcohol business, with dry counties and wet counties.”
Stanford GSB Study Offers New Insights To Improve Race Relations
Stanford’s Graduate School of Business recently published an article on a new study co-authored by organizational behavior professor Nir Halevy that reveals new, more nuanced strategies to address both intentional and unintentional discrimination.
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Stanford Lecturer Advises LGBTQ Leaders How to Lead Out Loud
Stanford’s Graduate School of Business recently published an article on a webinar from J.D. Schramm, a lecturer in organizational behavior, about the professional impact of LGBTQ leaders staying in the closet. As part of the webinar, Schramm—a Stanford GSB alumnus, MBA ’78—shared “communication strategies” to “lead out loud.”
“Every LGBTQ person has one thing in common with every other LGBTQ person, and that is the journey that we’ve all gone on in order to be ready to communicate who we are,” Schramm writes. “You can lead from any box but you can lead stronger if you lead out loud, which means leading from the top right quadrant.”
Schramm articulated that LGBTQ leaders can “control their stories” in a multitude of ways—“private at work but out among friends” is one common method. Others use their high-profile professional positions to develop LGBTQ-friendly media and content, such as Stanford alum, former Google employee and one of Forbes’ 2016 30 Under 30 All-Stars Raymond Braun, who helped develop Youtube’s LGBTQ strategy.
Schramm advises people to understand how their employer “works with its LGBTQ employees” before deciding to come out. He also made the following helpful checklist of suggestions:
- Consider where you live, where you work, and your industry.
- Privately share with a smaller group of key colleagues to gauge reactions.
- Look for your best allies in the straight world.
- Consider more indirect ways to come out, such as demonstrating an affinity with LGBT groups on your LinkedIn profile or resume.
- Bring your significant other to a work event where spouses/partners are invited.
- Add a line about your spouse and family to your company bio.
- If single, find simple ways to share stories about your life. For example, “When I was a leader in the undergrad gay pride group…”
- Seek out gay leaders in senior management who have a transparent presence.
Sloan Alum Startup twoXAR Uses Big Data to Connect Diseases with Drugs
MIT Sloan School of Management recently published an article on biopharmaceutical firm twoXAR (pronounced “two czar”), launched by Sloan alumnus Andrew M. Radin (MBA ‘14) and Andrew A. Radin (no relation). The firm takes a big data approach to scan “the handful of drug candidates out of a drug library of thousands, if not millions, that would most effectively treat a specific disease.”
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