Ana Luiza Reis ’12Journal #1
I have been with Endeavor for two weeks as a part of their eMBA program, in which interns support Endeavor entrepreneurs. I am supporting Imagen Dental — a clinic that provides dental, optical, and hearing-aid services to lower and middle class Mexicans, through 26 clinics in Monterrey, Mexico.
Imagen Dental has ambitious growth objectives, and I am supporting them by producing a business plan and financial projections. In the next eight weeks, I will prepare an implementation plan and review a few strategic issues for the company, including pricing and retention.
So far, the experience has been great. Imagen Dental entrepreneurs, Ricardo and Patricio Villarreal, are fantastic leaders and good friends. They do everything possible to make me feel comfortable and at home, both at Imagen Dental and in Monterrey. Moreover, I feel my opinions are valued and that I am making a difference in the future of the company.
Journal 2
It is now the beginning of August and the seventh week of my summer fellowship at Imagen Dental. Imagen Dental is a one-stop health clinic that provides high-quality dental, vision, and hearing care to lower and middle income Mexicans that is convenient and affordable. Imagen Dental currently owns 26 clinics in Monterrey, and one in Nuevo Laredo, and has treated over 500,000 patients.
We just completed the company’s business plan and financial projections for the next eight years, and we are now in the process of negotiating loan options with investors that will both restructure the company’s short-term debt, and finance its expansion in Mexico.For the next few weeks, as the financing process progresses, I will develop scenarios for debt terms, covenants, amounts, rates, performance fees, and principal payment timing. And most importantly, I will assist in the preparations for the upcoming meetings with investors.
In addition, I have started working on a detailed implementation plan for the company’s growth strategy, including the required operational capabilities and human capital needed to achieved Imagen Dental’s growth objectives. Elaborating this plan will be crucial for Imagen Dental to prepare themselves for upcoming growth, not to mention to engage and motivate the company’s management team. I have interviewed the COO to learn more about growth requirements, and I have six more interviews scheduled over the following weeks with marketing, human resources, systems, accounting, procurement, and credit services.
Lastly, I have been managing the development of a sales strategy for Imagen Dental’s personal credit branch, Alivio Capital, as they prepare to offer credit to hospital patients in Monterrey, focusing on surgeries not commonly covered by insurance companies. So far, they have issued less than 50 credits, and I am preparing their sales team to achieve 3,000 credits per year in the following five years, by developing suggested process flows, milestones, compensation schemes, organizational structures, and reports.
Journal 3
The first weeks of my internship were dedicated to developing Imagen Dental’s growth strategy and financial projections for the following eight years — an effort that required a deep understanding of the company’s business operations and future objectives. Following this effort, Imagen Dental was ready to present their growth strategy to potential investors.
After several positive sessions with a private investor, it was then time to share the details of our financial projections, present a business plan, and establish the loan contract terms. This was a challenging exercise, and it meant understanding each party’s priorities, anticipating each other’s reactions, and setting up expectations, as well as boundaries.
The last weeks of my internship were dedicated to developing short and medium term financial projections for Alivio Capital, the financing arm of Imagen Dental. I also prepared an implementation plan for Imagen Dental to achieve its growth strategy and for Alivio Capital to enhance its commercial area, projects that required commitment and dedication from several areas of the company, including: operations, sales, marketing, IT, human resources, and medical staff.
I am very satisfied with my overall experience in Mexico and with Endeavor, and I hope to keep in touch with the Imagen Dental entrepreneurs.
