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Taking a summer vacation as a reward for working hard all year long is ingrained in our culture. The significance of these annual trips goes far beyond well-deserved relaxation. Local economies depend on tourism dollars to thrive, and, in some cases, just to function.

"What happens when your brand loses its voice-when poor product reviews, social media scrutiny or breaking news blunders speak for it? Moreover, what happens when your brand represents the image of one of the world's most populous countries, and it is outright blotched by headlines and hearsay? Such was the case in 2011 when newspapers, magazines and television screens were saturated with scenes of Mexico's drug seizures, cartel crimes and kidnappings. The once-celebrated south-of-the-border Shangri-la was swiftly scratched from the lists of spring breakers, scuba divers and travel agents: The country's consumer market was gone."

"Scaling is hard. Really hard. As we have seen with the recent speed bumps at highfliers like Groupon and Zynga, taking "lean startups" from foundation to creating sustainable, scalable, profitable business models is a very rare and special task. So I'm highlighting a few companies outside of the Google/Amazon/Facebook pantheon that have built large, sustainable, profitable business models at scale."