In the end, an increase in repurchases of company stock will also influence the rate of dividends to increase. This means, an investor should not necessarily worry about the dividends they receive, but rather to see if the company is making profit at a consistent rate and reinvesting into value-added activities. Through the major pillars of finance, technology, legal, and human resources, the budget for reinvestment can be optimized by investing into these respective categories with percentages that are mindful of the specific companies needs and functions. Any firm that chooses to ensure proven methods of growth will enact a combination of these four verticals. A larger emphasis on finance will branch out efficiency in the entire organization, as finance control everything from the toilet paper to the acquisitions the company is making. The more technology is used to reduce redundancy and inefficient or costly operations, the more capability the organization will have. IT, however, comes with its technical challenges; having a team on-hand or even outsourced, to solve the critical problems to help the business continue operation. Over-reliance into technology can be detrimental to a business as well if clear processes are not set about straight to counteract problems the business will face like IT ticketing systems or recovery and continuity support. Therefore, technology will require a larger chunk of attention as well.

The upcoming legal and HR investments a company will make will depend upon its current position and thus the restructuring will differ for every firm. Each company has its own flavour and style of work. In that regard, the required legal counsel will vary; different problems will require different solutions for risk control and management, which are often professionally advised by intelligent corporate counsel. This ability to hire efficient legal counsel would not arise in the first place if a firm were to give out dividends; the leftover profit would have gone towards the shareholders and not back into growing the equity of the business. Lastly, nothing is possible without the contribution of people, and their efforts. A quality that long-lasting, successful businesses have, is they are investing in their people and development. Paying salaries, insurances, bonuses, all requires extra capital that is needed to be set aside in order to grow human capital. Good people, better people. There are qualities for each role that need to be defined and a process for attracting talent needs to be invested in. This process can also include outsourcing to an external firm who specializes in these strategies. By retaining profits internally, the company is able to stretch its legs to have further reach upon the market they work in. Financially and statistically, dividends are likely to grow as well with the increase in equity due to the increase in security an investor feels with more cash reserve and liquidity within the company.

All in all, a company should not be pressured into giving out periodic payments in predetermined timeframes, in other words a dividend, to investors even when they are insisting. Rather, pitch and prove, a new method for reinvestment within the company that will raise the value of the company, through proven methods like the value chain model, to increase the equity in the company. By expanding the scope and capability, the company is allowing for a larger target market which will reap more benefits; none of it would be possible if it had continued to give out large percentages of capital to investors as dividends. Companies, and investors, should not be worried about dividends at all as a matter of fact; an increase in stock buyback, in other words reinvesting into the company, will increase the rate of dividends anyway, due to increased confidence and capital within the company.

This thesis project is part of the W.P. Carey Founders Lab, a collaborative entrepreneurship track that gives students the opportunity to create a start-up business based on a list of given problems or technologies. The technology selected utilized a piece of NASA technology (U.S. patent application 20200193857) that combines mixed, virtual, and augmented reality (MR, VR, and AR) with biofeedback metrics to help athletes get in the zone. The goal is to use the technology during practice so athletes can be better prepared to combat performance anxiety during high-pressure situations. The NASA patent states that if the user’s brain activity, sweat, or heartbeat indicate that they are stressed while completing the activity, the device will make it more difficult for the athlete to complete their task. ITZ’s device increases the difficulty of hitting a target with a ball by obscuring the vision with augmented reality graphics. The visual obstacles will subside if the user’s brain activity metrics indicate that they have become more calm or focused. Due to circumstances outside of the team's control, a prototype was unable to be obtained, and the idea was based on the patent and supporting documentation provided after a meeting with NASA.

In response to the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides of the 1990’s, the United Nations created the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine as part of its 2005 World Summit Outcome document. The goal of R2P is to promote the idea that the international community should act to protect populations from mass atrocity crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing) in the case a State fails to meet their responsibility. This report seeks to examine the Responsibility to Protect principle and see how its concepts are perceived and implemented in the private sector, given the sector’s significant influence in the world today. Using R2P as a frame of reference, I explored the concept that private sector organizations, through their actions and operations, have a responsibility to not profit from or enable systems that perpetuate mass atrocity crimes against populations. This was done through an analysis of private sector firms, regulatory frameworks, industry norms, organization initiatives, and perspectives of actors engaging with the subject matter, in addition to a modern case study regarding the experience of Uighurs and Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, China. The scope of this project was focused on select American companies that are multinational publicly traded companies with a market capitalization of over $200 billion. This report is meant to serve as a guide for into the concepts of R2P in the private sector and provides access to resources for further exploration.

This Thesis Project was completed to gain experience in how to create a viable business concept pitch as part of the start-up venture process. During the course of the project the company name–“Vibes Clothing”–and business proposition–“To provide fashion-minded athletic individuals with stylish, versatile, and fully functional luminescent clothing.”–were conceived. However, to further develop the company idea into a viable business concept, market analysis, and customer research were conducted. The identified market conditions and customer desires were then utilized to refine Vibes Clothing's logo, brand, and product. These business and design considerations were then strategically implemented in a men’s-model luminescent clothing prototype. As a further part of ‘the creation of a business concept pitch’–typical of one given at a pitch competition or to a group of investors–a business executive summary and funding pitch presentation were also created. Ultimately, this Thesis Project successfully culminated as a formal business concept pitch; wherein a functional display prototype, business executive summary, and funding pitch presentation were all developed.