The case opens in March 2023, as Sten van der Ham and Jaap Maljers, CEO and co-founder of eBee, an electric bike (e-bike) company in Africa, are contemplating the different avenues for growth and path to profitability for the young and ambitious company. In 2023, the company had been gaining traction in Kenya under three business models and was also getting ready to raise a financing round of €8-10 million. eBee had the first mover advantage of having introduced e-bikes and van der Ham and Maljers needed to decide which levers to pull for to best grow eBee going forward. The case chronicles the founding of eBee, provides details on its bike designed for the terrain in Africa, and its unit economics. The case then lays the ground transportation Africa complete with challenges, opportunities, and the competitive outlook. The case then goes into detail about the three go-to-market channels that eBee picked to penetrate into the Kenyan market. The case goes into detail about the three different business models-vehicle as a service, fulfillment, and direct sales-that eBee is piloting in 2023 as well as providing an understanding of what each operate, their financial prospects, and growth outlooks, as eBee tries to grow its sales. While each business model presented its challenges and were yet to prove profitable at scale, van der Ham and Maljers firmly believed the in the immense opportunity to grow e-bikes in Africa and in eBee's first mover advantage. The duo was excited about geographical expansion. Others on the team and advisory board held that, obtaining proof of concept in Kenya first would be more helpful, while some suggested to eliminate some of the business models and focus more on others.

This case follows the entrepreneurial journey of SmartHR founder Shoji Miyata as he led his company to become the leading cloud player in the human resources space and one of only a handful of tech unicorns in Japan. By automating, digitalizing, and streamlining traditional HR functions such as onboarding new employees and managing social insurance, SmartHR was at the forefront of reducing manual HR-related paperwork in the country. Among the 1.87 million business entities in Japan, most of which still relied on manual paperwork in their HR processes, SmartHR's product offerings quickly gained traction and the company experienced exponential growth. SmartHR grew to a 45.8% market share in the labor management cloud space overall and a 71.7% market share in the enterprise segment. Although Miyata felt it was an honor to have led SmartHR, he saw the merits of voluntarily relinquishing the CEO role and passing the baton to a successor as the company became larger and might seek an IPO in the future. He felt that he could not adapt to the changes in the macro environment, ultimately deciding to let go and focus on a new venture in a rare move in business succession.

Marina Larroudé stared glumly at all the crossings out on the proposed boots order for the autumn collection. Her husband Ricardo wanted to cut her suggestions by nearly half - in models, colours and quantities. Their fledgling shoe business had begun to a promising buzz a few months ago, but last month's sales had dwindled to a trickle. Ricardo feared that Marina's bold order would leave them stranded with unsold inventory. She sipped her coffee and wondered if he was right to be cautious. Had their initial reception been a fad? Was this opportunity as attractive as they had assumed a few short months ago? Should she push back or accept her husband's cuts?

Nirbhay Lumde, head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at CGI Inc. (CGI), along with his efficient team, implemented certain novel CSR initiatives to address two critical societal issues: COVID-19 infrastructure and women’s safety in the context of India. CGI had to form partnerships with health care, law enforcement, and government to achieve greater impact from its CSR initiatives and to empower CGI’s employer branding. How could Lumde assess the effectiveness of CGI’s CSR initiatives? Which metrics were likely to help in this regard? Should Lumde consider expanding CGI’s CSR initiatives? Were there any potential benefits to CGI of doing so? If yes, what potential CSR opportunities could Lumde explore?

For the past ten years, dacadoo, a healthtech and insurtech start-up based in Switzerland, has been developing and operating its digital health engagement solution, including mobile applications, exploring ways to monetize the patented and AI-based health score it developed. Dacadoo has a dual objective: It aims to help users achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles with its proprietary "health score" and a digital health engagement solution, while at the same time it seeks to drive digital transformation of the insurance industry, with a focus on life and health insurers. As dacadoo has moved from being a start-up into a high-growth phase, this case series explores which business model(s) will help the company grow to its full potential. In 2010, Peter Ohnemus, a serial entrepreneur who had already built sixteen companies, took some well-deserved time off after the sale of his last successful venture. During this "between ventures" break in Verbier, he noticed his health had improved after two weeks of ski touring, but he could not quantify exactly how much he had progressed. That is when a new idea came to him: How to score human health holistically, encompassing physical health, mental wellbeing and lifestyle. Peter came down from the mountains and started a new company, which led to dacadoo.

For the past ten years, dacadoo, a healthtech and insurtech start-up based in Switzerland, has been developing and operating its digital health engagement solution, including mobile applications, exploring ways to monetize the patented and AI-based health score it developed. Dacadoo has a dual objective: It aims to help users achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles with its proprietary "health score" and a digital health engagement solution, while at the same time it seeks to drive digital transformation of the insurance industry, with a focus on life and health insurers. As dacadoo has moved from being a start-up into a high-growth phase, this case series explores which business model(s) will help the company grow to its full potential. In 2010, Peter Ohnemus, a serial entrepreneur who had already built sixteen companies, took some well-deserved time off after the sale of his last successful venture. During this "between ventures" break in Verbier, he noticed his health had improved after two weeks of ski touring, but he could not quantify exactly how much he had progressed. That is when a new idea came to him: How to score human health holistically, encompassing physical health, mental wellbeing and lifestyle. Peter came down from the mountains and started a new company, which led to dacadoo.

For the past ten years, dacadoo, a healthtech and insurtech start-up based in Switzerland, has been developing and operating its digital health engagement solution, including mobile applications, exploring ways to monetize the patented and AI-based health score it developed. Dacadoo has a dual objective: It aims to help users achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles with its proprietary "health score" and a digital health engagement solution, while at the same time it seeks to drive digital transformation of the insurance industry, with a focus on life and health insurers. As dacadoo has moved from being a start-up into a high-growth phase, this case series explores which business model(s) will help the company grow to its full potential. In 2010, Peter Ohnemus, a serial entrepreneur who had already built sixteen companies, took some well-deserved time off after the sale of his last successful venture. During this "between ventures" break in Verbier, he noticed his health had improved after two weeks of ski touring, but he could not quantify exactly how much he had progressed. That is when a new idea came to him: How to score human health holistically, encompassing physical health, mental wellbeing and lifestyle. Peter came down from the mountains and started a new company, which led to dacadoo.

In 2022, Berger Paints Ltd. (Berger) was one of the leading paint manufacturing companies in India. Despite the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic affecting businesses worldwide, Berger had reported promising revenue and profit figures and indicated strong growth potential for the future. With modest beginnings in 1923, Berger was able to grow to become the second largest paint manufacturer in the country by the 21st century. However, the gap between Berger and the market share leader was still sizable, since the leader also was growing equally. Additionally, defending the second spot (especially in decorative paints) was not easy as the expectation of revival in the housing sector and popular sentiment post pandemic had buoyed many corporate giants including Aditya Birla Group and Jindal group to plunge into the paint market. The competition in the decorative segment was soon to become more intense. Berger needed to choose the right opportunities, and prioritise investments and efforts to continue growing rapidly, while also defending against new entrants. Abhijit Roy, Berger's MD & CEO, wondered where Berger should focus on in the next five years.

Singapore-based Metta Welfare Association (Metta) had been keenly aware of the need to digitalise, and had taken steps to do so under the leadership of Felicia Wee, the Deputy Executive Director. With the coaching of its partners - NFT Ventures and Mega X World - Metta decided to embark on the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a new avenue for fundraising. The charity's management committee was originally concerned that it could end up getting embroiled in money laundering. However, after a successful pilot in which transactions were conducted via credit cards in Singapore dollars instead of cryptocurrencies as was usually the case for NFT trading, its unease was allayed. Nevertheless, the question remained: should Metta continue to rely on NFT sales for its fundraising?

Nirbhay Lumde, head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at CGI Inc. (CGI), along with his efficient team, implemented certain novel CSR initiatives to address two critical societal issues: COVID-19 infrastructure and women's safety in the context of India. CGI had to form partnerships with health care, law enforcement, and government to achieve greater impact from its CSR initiatives and to empower CGI's employer branding. How could Lumde assess the effectiveness of CGI's CSR initiatives? Which metrics were likely to help in this regard? Should Lumde consider expanding CGI's CSR initiatives? Were there any potential benefits to CGI of doing so? If yes, what potential CSR opportunities could Lumde explore?

This case examines the July 2016 decision by Israeli pharmaceutical Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited (Teva) to raise USD19.5 billion in cash through a multicurrency bond offering to finance an acquisition that would firmly solidify Teva's position as the largest generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer in the world. In light of a pending acquisition of Actavis, the generic drug manufacturing arm of Irish-US pharmaceutical Allergen Inc. (Allergen), Teva management planned to sell USD19.5 billion in bonds at various maturities from 2 years to 30 years and in three different currencies (US dollar, euro, and Swiss franc). In the context of a significant cross-border acquisition, students are introduced to the pricing of corporate bonds with the invitation to price (specify the coupon rate) on Teva's bold global offering. This case is taught at Darden in the core finance curriculum of the MBA program in order to introduce the concept of the risk premium, risk, and the mechanics of pricing of corporate bonds.

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case UV8758

Microsoft launched the Xbox gaming console on November 15, 2001. For years, Microsoft used the "razor-razorblade" business model for Xbox by subsidizing the console's price while making money from game titles. In 2017, Microsoft introduced Xbox Game Pass, a subscription-based model for video games. Xbox Game Pass was intended to allow subscribers to discover and play new games without having to buy the games. Those subscribers could always choose something new to play from the catalog of games on Xbox Game Pass, all for a single fee of about $15 per month for the Ultimate version. Xbox Game Pass had achieved significant success, with a subscriber base of some 25 million gamers by January 2022, accounting for about 20% of Xbox's 2021 revenues of $16.3 billion. But growth had not kept pace with expectations, partly due to the post-pandemic slowdown in gaming activity. The Xbox team began examining three options for increasing the growth and profitability of its business. One option was to optimize the current subscription-based model by adapting the Xbox game catalog, benefits, pricing, and features. The second option was innovating the business model by changing it to a usage-based one was reducing subscriber churn by creating a loyalty program (called Xbox Rewards). The Xbox team needed to decide which of these strategies would produce the best revenue and profit outcomes while minimizing the risk of alienating the most valuable subscribers of Xbox Game Pass.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 724362.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 724365.

In late 2022, E-Mart, South Korea’s leading supermarket chain, had pulled out of major Asian markets such as China and Vietnam after experiencing poor performance, and the company planned to expand into the US market. In the Asian markets, E-Mart relied on a direct entry mode, but in the US it changed its mode of entry by acquiring local companies and planning to open new grocery brand stores. Although the US market has substantial growth opportunities due to its large size, it is not easy to succeed there because of limited profit margins and fierce competition. Could E-Mart establish a foothold in the US supermarket and grocery store industry? What strategies should it develop to succeed in this new market?

The Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) software market had just started to gain traction. Whatfix was emerging (and was recognised) as a leader in the DAP space. When the company had entered the market, its products had been industry-agnostic. However, with the acceleration in digital transformation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Whatfix was on a strong growth trajectory and had started to offer vertical solutions to its customers while using a combination of inbound and outbound marketing strategies. The company was evaluating its approach and processes as it planned to expand its customer base and market share.