Madison Reed
2015
| Case No.
E553
| Length
10 pgs.
This case addresses some of the leadership challenges faced by Amy Errett, the CEO of a two-year-old startup, Madison Reed. Madison Reed is an online hair care company delivering non-toxic hair color to thousands of women throughout the United States. The company experienced explosive growth over the past few years and over time it became clear that two of the company’s four cofounders were not growing into their roles at the pace the organization required. Errett needed to decide how to approach these issues with her cofounders and consider the impact a change could have on the culture of the broader firm.
Learning Objective
The case highlights some of the difficulties of managing a founding team as a company grows. The first vignette addresses how to leave your current position gracefully in order to pursue other endeavors. The second vignette discusses how to onboard the senior managers in a business and how to set expectations so that the individual is set up for success at the new organization. The third vignette addresses how to hire another senior manager when a cofounder is not developing at the rate the business requires.
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