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    Case Study

    WLIM: Scaling up a wealth management boutique

    By Benoit F. Leleux, Federica Fasoli, Kathrin Lutz and Cristian Neamtu
    18 pages
    December 2020
    Order this case study
    Reference: IMD-7-2209

    Jonathan Lachowitz founded a start-up venture in the Financial Planning industry called White Lighthouse Investment Management in 2006. He targeted a niche segment (US citizens living abroad) that had a critical problem that was not addressed by existing companies (e.g. US Tax Reporting). The organization has grown slowly and consistently. In 2015 the current form of organization is stretched to a maximum. There are several decisions Jonathan needs to make, he needs to decide whether or not to hire new employees or partners and he needs to come up with a strategy on what type of clients he should accept.

    Learning Objective
    • How targeting a niche segment can be the key to success (need-based market segmentation).
    • How to create a knowledge-based service company (using Business Model Canvas).
    • Understanding the competition and fee models in the financial planning industry.
    • How the entrepreneur’s unique choices link to the financials by analyzing the DCF projected in 5 years, NPV, IRR and RI.
    • How this unique mix of consistent choices enabled initial success and sustainable growth.
    Keywords
    Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Start-up, Financial Planning, Services, Knowledge Economy, Business Growth, Customer Focus, Customer Segmentation, Financial Analysis
    Settings
    White Lighthouse Investment Management, Finance and Insurance, Financial Services
    2007 – 2018
    Type
    Field Research
    Copyright
    © 2020
    Available Languages
    English
    Related material
    Teaching note, Video
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    Copyright ©2024
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
    Industry Services, Telecommunications;Information Technology
    Available Languages English
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