SM173
Robert Burgelman, Rob Holmes
2008
In December 2007, more than 75 percent of all U.S. Internet users streamed some form of video online, consuming over 10 billion videos in total. While devices such as Apple TV and TiVo allowed users to watch Internet video on their televisions, Internet…
OB71
Victoria Chang, Jesper Sorensen
2008
As Green As It Gets was a nonprofit “economic development organization supporting small, independent producers in disadvantaged Guatemalan communities.” The founder was an American named Franklin Voorhes. As Green As It Gets sponsored a collective of 18…
SI88
James Phills, Lyn Denend
2008
In mid-2006, Overstock.com faced a daunting set of business challenges. Founded in 1999 as an online “closeout” retailer, the $800 million company had more than 15 million unique visitors a month, 10 million life-to-date customers, and greater than 500…
P59
David Baron
2008
In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature article on the…
OIT74
Lyn Denend, Erica Plambeck, Fraser Stark
2008
In 2007, popular acceptance of the problem of global warming, and new recognition of its potential consequences, had brought carbon dioxide emissions to the front of Americans’ minds. The continued turmoil in Iraq, as well as the United States’ worsening…
P71
David Baron
2008
Banco Compartamos was formed in 1990 as a non-governmental organization to aid the poor in rural areas of Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico by providing microloans. In 2001 Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe took the organization private and then in 2007 took…
SI108
Glenn Carroll, Victoria Chang
2008
In 1999, the nonprofit Fair Labor Association (FLA) was launched to monitor factories around the world for sweatshop-related infractions. Another key nonprofit player, the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), was launched in 2000. The two organizations had…
SI104
Victoria Chang, Walter Powell
2008
The case study discusses San Jose, California-based nonprofit HOPE Services’ merger with Santa Cruz-based Skills Center. Thanks to the merger with Skills Center, two additional acquisitions, and the development of new business ventures—HOPE had increased…
P70
David Baron
2008
After hearing a talk by Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, about an innovative program to provide loans to beggars, Jessica Jackley Flannery became convinced that microfinance “was the coolest thing in the world.” In 2004 she and her husband, Matt…
SI107
Victoria Chang, William Meehan III
2008
In the Fall of 2007, Jacob Harold, the Philanthropy Program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, California, was on his way to meet with Paul Brest, the Foundation’s president. Harold had set up a meeting with Brest, also the…
M317A
Arar Han, Wesley Hartmann
2008
American Securities Capital (AS), a private equity firm based in New York City, seeks to research and analyze the Chinese foodservice market, to assess opportunities for AS portfolio restaurant chains and identify additional restaurant related…
SPM37
Antonio Davila, George Foster, David Hoyt
2008
In 1994, John Moores purchased the San Diego Padres baseball team. The team shared Qualcomm Stadium with the San Diego Chargers football team, which was the senior tenant and received a far higher share of stadium revenue than the Padres. As a result…
OIT80
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios
2008
Historically, the biggest obstacle that healthcare innovators, such as pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, needed to overcome on their way to market was securing approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) or other international…
E327B
Jocelyn Hornblower, Garth Saloner
2008
The case follows Rose Hanna and her three business partners (Richard Hanna, Bob Francis and Faye Francis) as they launch and grow a scientific instrument company, MicroSample. It covers the idea discovery stage, their decision to work together as a team…
E313
Dick Allen, Bethany Coates
2008
In May 2008, Mary Jones, CEO of the Richardson County Community Association (RCCA), shut the door to her office in disbelief. She had just been informed by one of her direct reports that Rick Jamison, a member of her executive team, had recently made a…
E308
Sean Harrington, Garth Saloner
2008
It was July 2007, and Linda Rottenberg, cofounder and CEO of Endeavor—a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the economies of emerging markets by identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs—was preparing for a quarterly meeting with the global…
E316
Jocelyn Hornblower, Garth Saloner
2008
This case follows entrepreneur Nicole Alvino in the early days as she started a new company, dermalounge. Issues covered include building networks, writing a business plan, and fundraising.
E297
Bethany Coates, Joel Peterson
2008
In April 2008, Brian Spaly, founder and chairman of Bonobos Inc., a men’s pants company, began a 6 mile run around Central Park in New York City. As he passed the reservoir, he thought about how tense the last six weeks had been at the company. On one…
E286C
Katherine Bose, Robert Chess, Peter Reiss
2008
The protagonist (“Howard Glass”) is a recent GSB graduate (2007) heading up a biomedical device start-up focused on the gastric bypass market. The case tracks Glass and team from the team formation and idea generation phases through the company’s first 6…
E281
Katherine Bose, H. Grousbeck
2008
The protagonist is a Japanese national and the founder and Chairman of Satura Cakes. He is based in Honolulu, HI and his president is based in Palo Alto, CA. Together, they encounter several management challenges in the first 3 years of operating their…
E277
Katherine Bose, Kathryn Shaw
2008
The case looks at Bialecki, Inc., a boutique search firm based in NYC for senior level managers in the financial services industry. The case protagonist as well as the firm’s founder and president, Linda Bialecki, struggles to reconcile consistent…
E320
Katherine Bose, R. Ellis
2008
The protagonist,David Dodson, is a second-time search fund entrepreneur who in mid-2004 purchased Mountain Auto, a leading auto parts retailer in the Rocky Mountain United States. The venture started off strong, and Dodson grew the organization along with…
E302
Sean Harrington, Dennis Rohan
2008
This note gives a broad overview of the energy sector, highlighting trends and market dynamics in 2008. It is intended to be used as a basic primer for entrepreneurs and investors interested in the energy sector, not an exhaustive or definitive textbook…
E300
Bethany Coates, Andrew Rachleff
2008
Carl Russo, CEO of optical equipment maker Cerent Corporation, leaned back in his desk chair and reflected on the recent developments at his company. Cerent had just filed its S-1 registration document with the SEC on July 22, 1999, and was now less than…
