The Entrepreneur

+ MORE MRC GLOBAL MRC Global, now one of the largest suppliers of pipes, valves and fittings, began as a family-owned business that turned to Goldman Sachs for capital and advice. Goldman Sachs has worked closely with MRC Global since 2007, helping identify opportunities to grow their business. Today MRC Global is a vital link in the production chain for the entire energy industry, with over 400 service locations, and over 5,000 employees, worldwide. SERVICE LOCATIONS 400+ GLOBAL FOOTPRINT 45+ Countries WORKED WITH GOLDMAN SACHS Since 2007   THE HISTORY How MRC Global Began What is now MRC Global began as two American suppliers who were competitors in the energy industry. The McJunkin Corporation was a family-owned business founded in West Virginia nearly a century ago; and Red Man Pipe and Supply, founded in Oklahoma in 1977, was one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the US. Both had experienced success providing clients with the pipe...

"We are not the first to face what seem like overwhelming challenges," says HBS professor and business historian  Nancy F. Koehn . A new volume edited and narrated by Koehn,  The Story of American Business: From the Pages of  The New York Times, presents more than a hundred timely articles from the 1850s to today. Q&A and book excerpt. Key concepts include: If business leaders are to make sense of the financial crisis and its larger significance, they must have access to both depth and breadth in what they read. Big themes of  The Story of American Business  include Wall Street, leadership, consumption, the workplace, communications, and transportation. Koehn's narrations distill biography and social, economic, cultural, and business history from the 1850s to today.     by Martha Lagace From the dawn of the U.S. transcontinental railroad in 1869 to the widespread embrace of consumer products like cell phones and iPods in our t...

January 21, 2016 — 7:34 PM EST re on Facebook Share on Twitter Google Inc. is paying Apple Inc. a hefty fee to keep its search bar on the iPhone. Apple received $1 billion from its rival in 2014, according to a transcript of court proceedings from Oracle Corp.’s copyright lawsuit against Google. The search engine giant has an agreement with Apple that gives the iPhone maker a percentage of the revenue Google generates through the Apple device, an attorney for Oracle said at a Jan. 14 hearing in federal court. Rumors about how much Google pays Apple to be on the iPhone have circulated for years, but the companies have never publicly disclosed it. Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Apple, and Google spokesman Aaron Stein both declined to comment on the information disclosed in court. The revenue-sharing agreement reveals the lengths Google must go to keep people using its search tool on mobile devices. It also shows how Apple benefits financially from...

FUTURE CARS   WHAT IT IS:   A two-plus-two sports coupe concept from Toyota's California design studio that could be Lexus's answer to the Aston Martin DB9 if, of course, it reaches production. More expensive and more driver-oriented than the defunct SC430 convertible, this "poor man's LFA" (it'll cost about half as much) will squeeze at least 500 horsepower from its hybrid powertrain.  WHY IT MATTERS:   With the LFA out of the picture, the LF-LC would become the brand's standard-bearer—and a more visible one at that.  PLATFORM:   Unknown. A new front-engine, rear-drive architecture or a heavily revised Lexus GS platform are logical possibilities.  POWERTRAIN:   A gasoline-electric hybrid with a V-8 engine and at least 500 horsepower.  COMPETITION:   Aston Martin DB9, Bentley Continental GT, Ferrari California, Mercedes-Benz S-class coupe, Porsche 911 Turbo, Rolls-Royce Wraith.  WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG:   Unveiled as a concept ...

FUTURE CARS   WHAT IT IS:   Not counting all the Diablos wrapped around trees, the Urus is Lamborghini's second off-roader after the monstrous LM002 from the 1980s. Also, the only SUV by an exotic sports-car brand—at least for now. The angular, angry styling seems bent on turning urban roads into battlefields, but peasants in their Civics and Cavaliers may simply flee in terror.  WHY IT MATTERS:   Lamborghini wants the  Urus  to become its highest-volume model and its beachhead in China, which is clamoring for platinum-plated SUVs. It also fits the brand's rich-hipster image as well as its history as a purveyor of leather-lined tanks to the Saudi elite. It makes sense that Lamborghini brings out an SUV. It was always about extravagance, but less confined to particular segments than, say, Ferrari.  PLATFORM:   Lamborghini's trucklet will use the second generation of the Volkswagen Group's modular-longitudinal platform, used by most Audi passeng...

FUTURE CARS   WHAT IT IS:   A full-size SUV,  the Q8  will feature a lower roofline and look more coupelike than its Q7 platform-mate. In SAT exam terms: As BMW X6 is to X5, Audi Q8 is to Q7.  WHY IT MATTERS:   People want SUV attributes, but they want their trucks to look smaller and exude more "sport" and less "utility," especially in rising markets such as China. There, customers demand sporty-looking, luxurious SUVs, and the Q8 will top Audi's new range of coupe-utes wearing even numbers: Q2, Q4, and Q6.  PLATFORM:   With a longer wheelbase than the current Q7's, the MLB (roughly translated: modular longitudinal matrix) will be shared by the Q8, the next Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, and Volkswagen Touareg.  POWERTRAIN:   Various high-level VW Group engines, including V-6, V-8, and W-12 variants. The most popular in the U.S. market probably will be the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8.  COMPETITION:   BMW X6, Land Rover Range Rover...

FUTURE CARS   WHAT IT IS:   A mid-engined supercar positioned between the 911 Turbo megacar and the 918 hybrid hypercar. The 960 conceptually and stylistically resembles a slightly bigger and far more powerful Cayman, but with an extra zero added to the price.  WHY IT MATTERS:   Porsche is weak in the world of supercars. The 911 Turbo and GT3, while extremely capable, are limited by their theoretically inferior rear-engine design (hey, don't shoot the messenger). And the 918, which fixes that problem, may put off purists—at least, those not scared off by an expected price tag close to $850,000—with its Mr. Fusion hybrid powertrain.  PLATFORM:   The aluminum-and-composite-intensive 960 will be based on Porsche's new, modular sport architecture ( Modularer Sportbaukasten ), which can be tailored for mid- or rear-engine applications.  POWERTRAIN:   The hamster running in the wheel will most likely be a horizontally opposed eight-cylinder engine, ...