Anatomy of a Start-Up

Hey TEC Blog!

My name is Adam D’Augelli and I am a rising senior studying economics at the University of Florida.

This summer I am working with B-Stock Solutions. B-Stock Solutions helps Fortune 2000 Retailers and Manufacturers improve recovery on liquidation inventory by 20 – 100% by building, hosting and operating private label auction marketplaces that automate the selling process.

B-Stock Solutions currently has three executives. A CEO, a VP of Technology, and a VP of Sales. We sit in four open cubicles within one of the sides of the oDesk office.

The retail and manufacturing companies that we partner with all have upwards of 30 and 40 executives with massive organizational support. Costco Wholesale, for example, has 118 executives. In these types of organizations, executive positions are very tightly defined and often have one specific oversight role.

Ridiculously Specific Job Titles include:

- SVP of General Merchandising Manager Consumables and Perishables

- SVP Retail Training, Leadership Development, and Women’s Leadership Forum

- Director Supply Chain Strategy

The massive division of labor by the major retailers and manufacturers, though somewhat necessitated by size, also illustrates why big companies cannot move as fast as start-ups. For a decision to get made, multiple horizontal and vertical levels of management needs to love the idea and then the rest of the company involved needs to have buy-in for change to occur.

Of course, it would be difficult to run a massive conglomerate the same way a start-up is run. It wouldn’t make sense to run as quickly or to take as much risk. However, it does demonstrate that there will always be opportunities for start-ups worldwide to work hard to develop new technology and to drive innovation forward.