In October 2018, Chef Carme Ruscalleda, the most-starred woman chef in the world at the time, closed the doors of her Restaurant Sant Pau (Sant Pau), as she had on almost every night for the past 30 years-this time for the last time. Ruscalleda had opened the restaurant in 1988 with her husband and partner. Sant Pau had a rating of three Michelin stars, the highest rating available to a restaurant through the well-known MICHELIN Guide to fine dining. Her other two restaurants-Sant Pau Tokyo, a sister restaurant in Japan, and Moments, in Barcelona's Mandarin Oriental Hotel-had two Michelin stars each. Many people-from the village and around the world-were sad to see the iconic restaurant close after so many decades. The case describes her approach to cooking, managing teams, dealing with stress, running a family business and constantly reinventing herself.

This case follows Kaspi.kz, a private equity (Baring Vostok) co-owned retail bank in Central Asia that evolved into a fintech, payments and e-commerce company. It provides insights into private equity financing, portfolio company management, and initial public offering practices. In particular, the case focuses on (i) the bank's journey from a traditional bank that serviced only corporations to an online platform, and (ii) the timing and process of preparation for an IPO. The management initially concentrated on profitability, but they soon shifted their emphasis to customer experience. The results were rewarding: Kaspi.kz became the number one player in online commerce, online payments, and consumer financing in Kazakhstan. The challenge of the IPO decisions is its timing: communicating the success of the fast transformation of the firm and its potential for further growth, especially in an emerging market like Kazakhstan, was far from trivial. From a business perspective, even a short delay of six months could potentially add millions of dollars to its value. Kaspi.kz's private equity investor was interested in commencing a formal exit via an IPO, but the valuation was an important consideration. The case also provides a unique insight into financial fragility of the retail banking model, and how integration into an e-commerce platform interacts with the retail banking model.

Go (or Wei-ch'i, as it is known in China) is a centuries-old board game popular across Asia. Many have drawn parallels between military successes and the game's complex methods, in which a player encircles, isolates, and captures enemy pieces and geography, but Go also offers lessons for business. This technical note offers a basic description of Go, followed by a collection of business-strategy anecdotes punctuated by comparisons to Go strategies and quotes from Sun Tzu.

TeenSmart is an organization that offers information, counsel and online courses to young people ages ten to 24, mainly in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, on how to prevent the top six risky health behaviors: tobacco use, violence or accidental injuries, risky sexual practices, alcohol and drug use, poor nutritional habits and obesity, and lack of physical exercise. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Catherine (Cathy) S. Lindenberg, whose missionary grandparents created the first private hospital in Costa Rica, in recent years, the organization had received several awards for the impact of its work. However, at present, TeenSmart stood at the crossroads of whether to consolidate itself in the Central American region with its current service model or to rapidly expand into Latin America and beyond. Views varied among board members and it was up to Adriana Gómez, general director since 2015, to implement the decision, whatever it might be. Obstacles to expansion were huge. TeenSmart did not charge for its services and largely depended on donations from Cathy's family contacts and friends. The technological platform, designed to be used with its own text and audio applications in school computer labs, did not easily adapt to new content for use in smartphones. Some board members questioned the "scalability" of TeenSmart's existing model, based on promoters who sought alliances with schools and volunteers who provided online personalized advice to youngsters. Other members held that instead of serving such a reduced population, TeenSmart should form global alliances with technology companies that shared its mission and values.

In 1994, Antanas Mockus, an unlikely politician and former President of the prestigious National University of Colombia, became Bogotá's first independent mayor, bringing with him a unique vision of harmonious citizenship. The city's new leadership under Mockus, unlike in the past, included academics and researchers, who helped create a raft of new initiatives designed to align public behavior with the rule of law, through education and positive peer influence-or what was known as "citizenship culture." In his first year, Mockus addressed two big issues plaguing Bogotá, deadly traffic and violence, by using unconventional methods like hiring mimes to control traffic and restricting the sale of alcohol during certain times of year. Mockus later tackled the culture of lighting fireworks-a popular symbol of celebration in Colombia-which typically killed or injured hundreds of adults and children annually. In December 1995, at the beginning of the Christmas celebration season in Bogotá, Mockus faced a difficult decision. An eight-year-old boy had severely burned two of his fingers by lighting fireworks. Earlier that year, Mockus had arrived at a compromise agreement to allow limited sale of fireworks even though the number of fireworks-related injuries had risen steadily in recent years. The incremental approach required fireworks vendors to sell only to adults and to educate their customers about proper use. But if a single child in Bogotá was injured as a result of fireworks during the 1995 Christmas season, a full ban would come into effect. Part A of the case profiles Mockus's campaign for mayor and details the events that led up to the ban on fireworks. It traces how Mockus and his team tried to facilitate social change on fireworks by using a combination of public education, laws and moral pressure.

"In 1994, Antanas Mockus, an unlikely politician and former President of the prestigious National University of Colombia, became Bogotá's first independent mayor, bringing with him a unique vision of harmonious citizenship. The city's new leadership under Mockus, unlike in the past, included academics and researchers, who helped create a raft of new initiatives designed to align public behavior with the rule of law, through education and positive peer influence-or what was known as "citizenship culture." In his first year, Mockus addressed two big issues plaguing Bogotá, deadly traffic and violence, by using unconventional methods like hiring mimes to control traffic and restricting the sale of alcohol during certain times of year. Mockus later tackled the culture of lighting fireworks-a popular symbol of celebration in Colombia-which typically killed or injured hundreds of adults and children annually. In December 1995, at the beginning of the Christmas celebration season in Bogotá, Mockus faced a difficult decision. An eight-year-old boy had severely burned two of his fingers by lighting fireworks. Earlier that year, Mockus had arrived at a compromise agreement to allow limited sale of fireworks even though the number of fireworks-related injuries had risen steadily in recent years. The incremental approach required fireworks vendors to sell only to adults and to educate their customers about proper use. But if a single child in Bogotá was injured as a result of fireworks during the 1995 Christmas season, a full ban would come into effect. Part A of the case profiles Mockus's campaign for mayor and details the events that led up to the ban on fireworks. It traces how Mockus and his team tried to facilitate social change on fireworks by using a combination of public education, laws and moral pressure.

Hony Capital, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm based in China, is investing in a subsidiary of Jushi Group, a Chinese company that is one of the world's largest fiberglass producers. The specific project will build a plant in the United States. In this case, students consider the value Hony can provide to Jushi, and must also determine how Hony will eventually exit the transaction, given the complexity around its structure.

TJ, a manager at an investment company, is alarmed when, during an evening out with Leslie, his female colleague, and five male prospective clients, the men behave in an overly familiar way with her. Although Leslie assures TJ that she can handle this type of attention, TJ nonetheless is very uncomfortable with the situation. What should he do?

In May 2018, Walmart Inc. (Walmart) announced its acquisition of a 77 per cent stake in the Indian e-commerce company Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. (Flipkart). It was the largest acquisition of an Indian company and the world's largest purchase of an e-commerce company. The deal would provide Walmart with the opportunity to expand globally in competition with its old rival, Amazon.com Inc., and it would provide Flipkart with additional capital to operate in a hypercompetitive environment and an opportunity to leverage Walmart's omni-channel retail expertise. However, despite the strategic alignments, several factors could complicate the deal. Were Walmart's detailed analysis and due diligence prior to the acquisition sufficient to ensure a successful acquisition, or could human resources considerations affect the expected outcomes of the acquisition?

This case explores the life and career of rapper and music producer Swizz Beatz. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Swizz's musical career and his new venture into the commercial art market.

This case describes how Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, a Dubai-based online comparison aggregator of banking and insurance products launched her business in 2011 and rapidly grew it over next couple of years. However, by 2017, the Mauritian entrepreneur observed the emergence of other aggregators in the market and wanted to be ready for the price war that could ensue. To date, Musa had grown Souqalmal's business by focusing on driving positive unit economics and had refrained from entering a price war. However, she wondered whether she now needed to switch gears and focus on defending her market share by counter discounting. Souqalmal had almost run through the $1.5 million it had raised in seed and series A fundraising from U.K.-based Hummingbird Ventures and angel investors, and was seeking to raise $10 million in a series B round later in the year to fuel geographic growth and team expansion. Musa imminently needed to prepare a forecast for prospective investors, which would be dependent on the retaliation strategy she chose. What should Musa do?

The purpose of this case is to look at Zipline's product market fit. The case examines how the Zipline team evaluated which market segments to consider next as they looked to expand beyond Ghana and Rwanda. Students will also be introduced to various go to market strategies that were used to address this target market. Students will also gain an understanding of the challenges a company faces to ensure product market fit.

Set in January 2018, the case presents the situation facing Ferrari Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne as he considers the future of the septuagenarian racing and luxury performance car company. During his tenure, Marchionne steered Ferrari onto a trajectory of sustained profitable growth. He split the company from Fiat-Chrysler, floated it on the New York Stock Exchange and expanded production beyond a self-imposed limit of 7,000 cars per year. Between 2015 and 2017 shipments increased 10% and share price more than 100%. But the auto industry was undergoing structural change, including the emergence of electric-motor technologies, toughening emissions regulations and changing consumer preferences, which could render Ferrari's strategy irrelevant. Marchionne pondered various options, such as the introduction of an electric supercar and an exclusive SUV - options that had profound implications for resource allocation and other strategic decisions.

Drums Food International Pvt. Ltd. (Drums Food) launched India's first Greek yogurt brand, Epigamia, in 2015. Experiencing initial success with Greek yogurt, Drums Food went on to add another unique offering, lactose-free artisanal curd, targeting consumers with lactose intolerance. With these launches, Drums Food was building a well-differentiated, healthy brand to successfully tap the value-added dairy products market. However, in 2018, the road ahead was not without hurdles. To succeed, Drums Food needed to change the consumer mindset to ensure constant patronage of Epigamia. It also needed to defend itself against competitors who could launch similar products at competitive price points, leveraging the scale of their existing dairy businesses. Could Drums Food sustain the brand and build strong brand equity, enough that it could extend the Epigamia brand to more categories?

This case allows instructors to lay out the challenges of providing universal access to safe drinking water in some developing and emerging countries-one of the current UN development goals. The challenge across developing countries is to find long-lasting and sustainable solutions, and to realize that present answers to the challenge may be a far cry from these criteria. The discussion aims to address the complex and multifaceted nature of water supply in developing countries, and to emphasize that many of the assumptions made in advanced economies may not apply. The aim is to search for the best (long-lasting and sustainable) solutions, admitting there is no silver bullet, even though some alternatives are clearly better than others.

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the choice of "when to quit?" Rest Devices was an early stage company started by a team from MIT. Dulcie Madden decided to drop out of her MBA program at MIT to join Rest Devices as the CEO and use the innovative sensor technology to create a line of smart clothing for babies. A partnership with Babies "R" Us became a strong catalyst to growth but left Rest Devices increasingly constrained by additional capital requirements necessary to deliver the required number of units. As Madden tried to balance the need for capital with the business pressures of delivering a product for a nationwide rollout, she was faced with a series of strategic choices including an unsolicited acquisition offer, a lawsuit, failed financing, and tensions within the team.

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the choice of "when to quit?"

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the choice of "when to quit?"

The Indian environment has experienced pronounced changes with respect to snacking and fitness in the recent times, especially among the middle-aged consumers, who are experiencing the pleasures of Western lifestyles along with the pains of fitness-related issues. The radical changes in lifestyles of consumers have led to unhealthy eating habits and snacking is a natural fall out of such a scenario. Soulfull Smoothix is a brand that is making an attempt to revive the healthy habit by getting back to the goodness of ethnic grains that are the ingredients of this "on the go" drink. The major challenge of the brand is not just creating and nurturing the attitude of consumers in an environment that has a plethora of snacking choices; the brand's immediate task is to develop a sharp positioning plank for the brand .Positioning on health and fitness had become clichéd due to several competing propositions of a similar nature and enjoyable indulgence is the other extreme. Consumer psyche also seems to be fixated on "health or indulgent consumption" to the extent that one of the leading brands of biscuits has come out with the positioning of a trade-off between being healthy and tasting good. Soulfull Smoothix's options for positioning the brand indicate a dilemma full of tempting choices. Should the brand position itself as a new concept drink? Should it reposition the category of snacking? Should the brand get into a frontal attack on leading brands in the category based on unhealthy indulgence? Which category of snacking should the brand compete with respect to point of parity? Should the brand create a digital advertising trial for the sake of achieving awareness? Consumer behavior with its conceptual underpinnings are considered and the case exposes students to learning how consumer behavior can be applied to branding in a market like India that has an appealing combination of snacking choices full of branded titbits and ethnic delicacies.

The application of technology in the area of finance has fostered a slew of innovative financial technology ("fin-tech") based firms. Wealth management and personal financial advisory is one of the industry segments that is witnessing a technology-led transformation across the globe with the advent of a wave of robo-advisors. The case presents an overview of the financial planning and advisory (FP&A) segment in the country prior to the onset of robo-advisors and the impact of robo-advisors on the industry dynamics. It traces the journey of Arthayantra ("the Company"), a leading Indian robo-advisory firm, as it seeks to change the way personal finance is perceived and delivered. It showcases the evolution of Arthayantra in its initial years as it develops its value proposition, puts in place its organizational structure and establishes a customer base in the backdrop of a changing macroeconomic environment. The case closes at a point where Arthayantra is evaluating a strategic pivot from a sole advisory model to an advisory-cum-execution model, encouraging students to analyze the strategic choices that lay before the firm.