Abstract:
This thesis is a detailed examination of a jointly-owned entrepreneurial venture. As a business major, the purpose for analyzing Helyer was to gain knowledge, experience, and an in-depth understanding in a real company situation as opposed to merely studying a textbook case. A second goal was to provide the partners of Helyer Associates, Inc. with helpful insights that may benefit their new joint enterprise.To achieve these goals, it was important to not only present the company and its formation from the initial idea innovation to its current competitive strategies, but also to offer a concrete strategic analysis of the overall company performance. Thus, this thesis first explores the background of the two partners who created Helyer, a one-and-a-half year old privately owned company. It then follows Helyer through the genesis of idea formation, preliminary research, startup phase, to its current status. This portion of the thesis is designed to provide an in-depth view of the company through a detailed description of its management procedures and financial performance.The thesis then outlines the difficulties that Helyer Associates, Inc. currently faces as well as the potential problems the company may encounter in the future. These potential problems may result from differences in the partners' work styles, personalities, strategic visions, and the effects of the partners' individually owned companies.
