It was fall and the late summer rains had produced an overly-abundant grape harvest. Such a large harvest was driving down grape prices but, since volumes were up, the grape producers would probably do well in the end. But what about the middlemen? Sophisticated growers were selling their grapes many months in advance into the futures market. With a decrease in prices at harvest time, grape brokers who bought grape futures at premium prices early in the summer would be selling at a tremendous loss. The largest grape growers faced a dilemma: maximize profits and hold the brokers to their...

Customers are the lifeblood of any modern company but how do you go about capturing their business? Robert Lerner reaches back in time to the customer acquisition strategies of four of the most successful entrepreneurs of ancient Rome: Eurysaces built an extensive bread making enterprise in the last few decades before the birth of Christ. Eumachia played a significant role in ancient Pompeii's woolen trade. Scaurus controlled nearly 30% of the Pompeian fish sauce market using innovative techniques to communicate the quality of his products to potential customers. Atticus' successful banking...