BABL Bratz.Pdf
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DATAWATCH BRITONS SPEND MORE THAN £350 MILLION A YEAR ON VITAMINS Source: Cravendale LESSONS IN enTREPReneURSHIP All dolled up Stuart Read and Saras though, as 2007 proved a hard Sarasvathy learn from year for Bratz. Unlike its very successful predecessor, Bratz: a toymaker who moves The Movie, the Bratz Fashion with the times Pixiez film generated less than $3m in revenue. And, adding saac Larian likes to keep busy. insult to injury, 4Kids.TV IS ince his emigration from Iran cancelled the Bratz animated to the United States 38 years television series. ago, he has washed dishes, studied A closer look at these engineering, imported brass goods disappointments offers a third from Korea and sold refrigerators insight into Larian’s and microwave ovens. Building entrepreneurial expertise. In on his Asian connections, he neither case did he put MGA was the first to bring Nintendo Entertainment at grave risk. His handheld LCD games to the US, investment in the experiments and from there he expanded into was sufficiently low that failure the toy business by licensing of the project did not translate popular brands such as Mighty into catastrophe for the firm. Morphin Power Rangers, Hello Instead, and in both cases, he Kitty and The Hulk. shared both the risk and the potential reward with partners. PLAYING WITH TOYS In Larian’s words, “You should All that got Larian started, but not be afraid of failure. In order the reason you may already know to succeed, you need to fail.” of him is due to Bratz. In 2001, tired of making profits for his piECing it all TOGEthER licensors, Larian decided to create Looking back at Larian’s career his own toy brand and launched remarkable achievement. The Isaac Larian with some of the offers a fourth insight. a line of fashion dolls. A runaway first is his willingness to control creations that have made him Entrepreneurship is less about such an entrepreneurial success success, Bratz dolls successfully his own environment and create vision and more about the challenged Barbie’s supremacy on opportunity for himself, while journey of creation. From his toy store shelves and created more creating uncertainty for existing start, it would have been than $2bn a year in revenue for players such as Mattel in the impossible to predict that he Larian’s firm — MGA Entertainment process. And the second is his would become the head of the — within just three years. openness to change. While it third largest toy company in the “Bratz are everything Barbie is would be tempting to try and world, yet in retrospect the pieces not,” he said. “Who in Britain can cling to the Bratz fortune, Larian come together and make sense. identify with a six-foot-two anticipates the changing nature The question for you is what blonde? The Bratz exist in a of opportunity, and is clearly puzzle pieces you have and how changing world — children today prepared to shape Bratz in order you will put them together next. l are exposed to change at a very that change benefits him. fast pace, so the Bratz change Stuart Read is professor too… In ten years they will be SURVIVing FailURE of marketing at IMD, something completely different." And he is a man recognised for Larian is clearly Lausanne, Switzerland. creating opportunity. In 2007, prepared to shape Saras Sarasvathy is taKing COntROL Larian was Ernst & Young’s associate professor of Two elements in the story so far Entrepreneur of The Year overall Bratz in order that business administration at the help us to understand Larian’s national winner. It was bittersweet, change benefits him University of Virgina’s Darden School. QUIZ ANSWERS (FROM PAGE 19) 1. A 2. B 3. B 4. C 5. B 6. C 7. A 8. A 9. C 10. A 22 SEPTEMBER2008 BUSINESSLIFE.