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Belinda Oliveri, managing director of Mercedes-Benz Starlight, reflected on the events of the past couple of years. At a 2021 meeting of its fifty-two Australian dealers, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd announced a new sales model through which customers would buy vehicles at a fixed price directly from the company and only step inside a dealership to collect their purchase. Oliveri knew that as a respected industry leader and significant player in Australia's high-volume automotive business landscape, she had to develop an informed opinion on the matter. She also knew change was coming, but that there were also a lot of unanswered questions. Would the change be a good one? How would it affect customers? Should she support it or oppose it by joining the $650 million lawsuit 80 per cent of dealers filed against Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific?

Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), a set of software and analytical tools designed for the purpose of wildlife conservation, had demonstrated significant improvements in patrol coverage, with some observed reductions in poaching and contributing to wildlife population growth. Jonathan Palmer, Executive Director of Conservation Technology for the Wildlife Conservation Society, wondered how far to promote the integration of a new predictive analytic tool being developed at Harvard University, called the Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security (PAWS), and whether the data that PAWS gathered from the parks and wildlife reserves would be reliable enough for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to work effectively.

In November 2021, Roxanne Petraeus and Anne Solmssen, founders of Brooklyn-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup Ethena, were looking to expand their compliance training business. The founders hired Arnie Gullov-Singh, an outside revenue consultant, to advise on whether to pursue mid-market sales or enterprise sales as the company scaled. Gullov-Singh performed a diagnostic of Ethena's sales funnel and found mid-market to be a reliable, growth-oriented trajectory for the company. The data for enterprise, however, was more limited, making it harder to recommend pursuing with confidence. Petraeus felt enterprise was attainable, nonetheless, especially given Ethena's client base already included some high-profile enterprise firms. Together with Vice President of Customer Success Akhila Iruku, the group discussed whether pursuing both mid- market and enterprise was feasible, and in light of the limited data on enterprise, whether it was wise. Ethena: A Go-to-Market Dilemma (HBS No. 723-363) also includes supplements: Ethena: Pre-Seed Pitch Deck Supplement 1 (HBS No. 723-385); Ethena: Seed Pitch Deck Supplement 2 (HBS No. 723-386); and Ethena: Series A Pitch Deck Supplement 3 (HBS No. 723-387).

Supplement to 723363.

Lack of trust and transparency had long plagued the Indian Ayurveda industry. NirogStreet, a New Delhi-based start-up, seeks to mitigate this problem through its tech-enabled platform that offers digital solutions to Ayurveda practitioners and patients. The case study describes its history, macro environment, business model, growth trajectory, other industry players, and the potential opportunities and challenges ahead. It helps students understand how the macro environment affects a business, how a platform business gains competitive advantage from its internal resources and capabilities, and how to achieve rapid growth through value innovation and lean start-up process.

The case study is about the Japanese carmaker Suzuki. The 100-year company was founded at the peak of Japan's silk-production industry in the early 20th century. Michio Suzuki (1887-1982), a gifted inventor, started tinkering with weaving looms and in 1920 founded the Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Company in the coastal village of Hamamatsu. The case is an example of dynastic control - where the family control its strategic direction but own an insignificant number of shares - as well as an illustration of the role played by adult adoption in family businesses in Japan. When adopted son-in-law Osamu Suzuki retired in 2021 and his son took over as chairman, it was the first time the top job had gone to a natural heir since 1957, when the founder retired. The narrative follows the transformation of the small car company into a global player via a partnership strategy. Osamu was able to expand sales in North America following a tie-up with GM in 1981 (that lasted until 2008). Even more significant was his decision to enter the Indian car market in partnership with Maruti, a poorly performing state-owned carmaker, which would ultimately make Maruti Suzuki the biggest brand in India.

Shortly after Rich Hagen joins Paypal as Strategic Director in 2021, the CEO Dan Schulman asks for his input to choose between two promising directions for the business: venturing into retail investing or launching a super app. As a brokerage sector veteran, Hagen is intuitively inclined to favour online trading, but Schulman makes a strong case in favour of the super app. To prove himself in his new position, Hagen needs to weigh both options and make an informed recommendation.

The case looks at the challenges faced by SEWA Rural, a non-profit organisation located in Jhagadia, Gujarat, India. Started in 1980, the trust has been instrumental in establishing a robust healthcare system in Jhagadia, especially in the areas of child and maternal health. Along with a primary care hospital, the trust is also involved in community health, child care and education, women and girl child empowerment, and vocational education. The trust, currently, is considering its future course of action and its vision is for year 2030. The three protagonists: Dr. Shrey Desai, Dr. Gayatri Desai and Dr. Dhiren Modi, were entrusted with coming up with a plan for the same.

The authors' research into leader character demonstrates its effect on judgment and finds that fostering a culture where character is valued equally alongside competence can result in better decisions and outcomes. Furthermore, they find that, as with competence, character can be developed through education and practice.

In June 2021, Kim T. Folsom, the founder and CEO of revenue-based financing firm Founders First Capital Partners (FFCP), must decide whether to issue another loan to OnShore Technology Group, an up-and-coming software validation company. FFCP provided revenue-based financing (RBF) to small businesses, with a particular focus on diverse entrepreneurs. OnShore Founder Valarie King-Bailey had previously taken an RBF loan, and had requested a second round of capital from FFCP. The case provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of RBF - specifically relative to bank loans and merchant cash advances - and challenges readers to decide whether a second RBF loan would be appropriate for OnShore.

Colette Phillips' marketing firm had just won the City of Boston's 2nd largest contract in history to a Black-owned company. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Get Konnected!, the networking organization for people of color that she founded 15 years earlier and led to prominence, had evolved into a portfolio of 5 ventures, including executive recruiting and a VC fund, to remove systemic barriers to equity and inclusion in business and wealth creation in a long-racially-troubled region where she had also experienced discriminatory barriers. A strong commitment to partnerships, some controversial, had extended her reach, and Boston was changing, including its first elected female mayor of color. How could Phillips assess her impact as a leader, given the magnitude of the problems? What was the role of networking in increasing the numbers of successful minority and female small businesses? Was she contributing to changing the narrative and building new institutions? In addition to the 4 N's of numbers, narratives, networks, and new institutions, how else could she capitalize on the region's momentum, and determine what to do next with her platform to ensure a more equitable and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem?

CEO Francesco Starace is considering what is next for Enel SpA, one of world's largest energy companies. From 2014 to 2022, he has wrought a dramatic transformation at Enel, restructuring the company's business units; redeploying senior talent across functions and geographies; instigating a digital transformation; initiating a shift from Enel generating energy primarily sourced from thermal (or brown) sources (reliant on fossil fuels), to a leading provider of renewable energy. He has launched Enel X, an incubator for new products and services built on electrification, which is steadily overtaking Enel's own retail sales. He has introduced an Office of Innovability as a way to inject a culture of sustainable thinking across the company. Now he faces a possible third term as CEO. What is next for Enel and Starace?

Joe and Matt Deitch, father and son, knew it was time to start their own family office. Matthew had recently joined his father at the family's three enterprises, and they both realized that their family's needs had grown increasingly complex over the years. In search of someone to oversee their new initiatives, the two began interviewing prospective CEOs to head their new family office. Having defined the family's needs and wants for their family office, how could they find someone that resonated with their values and priorities? How could the family establish the governance and legacy institutions necessary to fulfill their goals and wishes? Knowing that their decisions would set a precedent for all generations to come, how could the family translate their strategic vision into an optimal family office structure, and how could they identify the best partner to guide them through the process?

In early 2020, the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world led the most highly affected countries, such as the United States and India, to focus on rapid testing and contact tracing to break the chain of transmission. By August 25, 2020, India had tested nearly 37 million cumulative COVID-19 samples as part of the government's "Test, Track, Treat" initiative. The efficient allocation of collected swabs with saliva samples to appropriate testing labs had become an urgent operational requirement. The senior consultant of GD Labs was appointed officer on special duty by the State Government of Chhattisgarh to devise a plan for the optimal allocation of swabs to government and private labs across the state. He decided to roll out a pilot study for two districts that had six labs-both government and private. The task required access to extensive data on the collection of swabs with saliva samples, previous backlogs, locations of labs, and the maximum capacity per lab. The goal of the project was to maximize the allocation of swabs for testing within budget constraints.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W28361.

On her first day as the new CEO of Citigroup Inc. (Citi), Jane Fraser announced Citi's commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050. The case examines the implications of such a decision, including the need to work both on Citi's own operations as well as help transition those of its clients. The case allows for an examination of the green bond market, and separately, the market of social bonds and sustainability-linked bonds. The case discusses the various principles and frameworks for green and social bonds and their potential benefits and risks.

This case set draws on a summer internship in brand management to outline potential steps in bringing a new food product to life. While there are general guidelines to the new product (brand, grocery aisle, and target market), the rest of the product development is up to the team of marketers and research and developers. This case can serve several purposes: It can be used as a midterm exam (e.g., after a module on consumer research) or as a part of a final exam (together with other mini cases). Another possibility is to use this case as a live case or as a case to discuss focus groups.