Dozens of firms went under. It was like the natural disaster that wipes out all but a few impossible-to-kill species. The handful that did survive came away smarter, having learned basic lessons that would dictate how the business was organized in the future: 1. Get big A banana company needs to be fat enough, with enough capital in reserve, to weather inevitable freak occurrences, such as an earthquake or a hurricane. 2. Grow your own A banana company needs its own fields so it can control planting and harvesting, thus avoiding ruinous competition in the event of a down season. 3.
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