Flywire: Early challenges for a future unicorn (A)
Mike Massaro was driving home to watch a soccer game with his sons, hoping to beat Boston's rush hour traffic. He was the Vice President of Business Development of peer Transfer, an international payments startup he had joined just one year ago. While waiting at a traffic light, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the news he had just received. Iker Marcaide, the founder and CEO of the company, was stepping down after four years of leading the startup and he had recommended Massaro as the new CEO.
The case presents the history of peerTransfer (later Flywire) a payments startup focusing on the education segment, offering international students a safe and fully traceable way to pay for their tuition while avoiding excessive banking fees. However, by the time Mike Massaro was offered the CEO position, the startup was still struggling to show that its business model was viable. Should Mike accept the proposal? And if he did, what should be his priorities?
The case presents the history of peerTransfer (later Flywire) a payments startup focusing on the education segment, offering international students a safe and fully traceable way to pay for their tuition while avoiding excessive banking fees. However, by the time Mike Massaro was offered the CEO position, the startup was still struggling to show that its business model was viable. Should Mike accept the proposal? And if he did, what should be his priorities?
Collection: IESE (España)
Ref: E-247-E
Format: PDF
Number of pages: 14
Publication Date: Apr 24, 2024
Language: English, Spanish
What material is included in this case:
Description
Mike Massaro was driving home to watch a soccer game with his sons, hoping to beat Boston's rush hour traffic. He was the Vice President of Business Development of peer Transfer, an international payments startup he had joined just one year ago. While waiting at a traffic light, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the news he had just received. Iker Marcaide, the founder and CEO of the company, was stepping down after four years of leading the startup and he had recommended Massaro as the new CEO.
The case presents the history of peerTransfer (later Flywire) a payments startup focusing on the education segment, offering international students a safe and fully traceable way to pay for their tuition while avoiding excessive banking fees. However, by the time Mike Massaro was offered the CEO position, the startup was still struggling to show that its business model was viable. Should Mike accept the proposal? And if he did, what should be his priorities?
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The case presents the history of peerTransfer (later Flywire) a payments startup focusing on the education segment, offering international students a safe and fully traceable way to pay for their tuition while avoiding excessive banking fees. However, by the time Mike Massaro was offered the CEO position, the startup was still struggling to show that its business model was viable. Should Mike accept the proposal? And if he did, what should be his priorities?
Year: 2013
Geographic Setting: Spain, United States
Industry Setting: Financial
Learning Objective
The case provides an opportunity to explore the tension between focus and growth, analyze early-stage business models, discuss the evolving role of the entrepreneur, and evaluate scale-up decisions.
Learning objectives include:
- Evaluate the fit between an individual and a venture opportunity.
- Analyze the evolution of a startup’s business model and economics.
- Understand when and how a new venture should race for scale.
- Consider how to track and guide growth through operational metrics and dashboards.
- Discuss how to balance opportunity pursuit with organizational capacity.
- Reflect on leadership evolution during scaling phases.
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"Flywire: Early challenges for a future unicorn (A)"
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