Global Medical Imaging, Llc

Abstract

Appropriate for courses on entrepreneurship, managing small businesses, and strategy. This is the story of how a growth company's processes, business model, management team, and founders evolve in response to growth. The case shows the difficulty of growing while undergoing process and people changes and raises the issue of whether the people or the process should follow or precede growth. It illustrates the necessity for people and processes to reininvent themselves in order to handle new management challenges.

Excerpt

UVA-ENT-0143

December 21, 2009

GLOBAL MEDICAL IMAGING, LLC

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based Global Medical Imaging, LLC (GMI), has sold and serviced medical ultrasound equipment in the United States and internationally since April 2002. Managing partners Ryan Dienst and Scott Ray used $ 25,000 to launch their company. Profitable from the start, GMI pulled in about $ 2.4 million in revenue the first year and $ 4.5 million in 2003. Within six years, GMI had 64 employees and made $ 17.8 in annual sales.

The founders had a vision that met a market need, and the company they brought to life grew exponentially. Although they managed to avoid cash-flow problems, finding the right talent for their growing business was not easy. Describing the hurdles they had to overcome, Dienst said, “The number one challenge that we've always had is time and talent. The opportunity has always existed; it's having enough time and talent to be able to pursue it and execute against it.”

Like most entrepreneurs, the founders at first kept up a frantic pace that did not allow time for them to effectively manage human resources, until a series of hiring mishaps forced them to take a hard look at the way they expanded their workforce. They realized that having no formal hiring process was a recipe for disaster, so they focused on bringing in the right people and putting them in the right positions. Deist explained:

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Keywords: Managing growth, process improvement, management team, delegating