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Yinglan Tan considered the future of his young Singapore-based venture capital firm. On the one hand, the intuition that was behind the initial creation of Insignia in 2017 had been proven correct. The venture capital market in Southeast Asia had grown rapidly, driven by the spread of e-commerce around the globe and the increased willingness of venture investors around the world to look globally. The new venture group, exploiting existing connections and a nimble structure, had rapidly establish itself in this promising market. This success was incredibly gratifying to Tan. On the other hand, some important questions remained. Foremost among these was the question of scaling. One concern related to whether Insignia should "climb the ladder," and follow its portfolio companies as they received substantially larger financing rounds. These financings would entail raising much more capital but doubling down on winners might yield attractive returns. Second, if it was to garner large amounts of additional capital, the Insignia model would need to evolve, and in important ways come under stress. Finally, the venture market was showing signs of stress. If the long-anticipated downturn was here, what would be the implications for Insignia?

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused by a sales clerk of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes, had been arrested and then killed by Minneapolis police. The video of his heart-wrenching death had gone viral worldwide. In the past, the company had not typically commented on racial incidents. But this time felt different. As the leader of one of Minneapolis' largest companies, and one profoundly committed to its community, Harmening needed to determine how and to whom to respond.

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused by a sales clerk of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes, had been arrested and then killed by Minneapolis police. The video of his heart-wrenching death had gone viral worldwide. In the past, the company had not typically commented on racial incidents. But this time felt different. As the leader of one of Minneapolis' largest companies, and one profoundly committed to its community, Harmening needed to determine how and to whom to respond.

Rocks and Pebbles (RnP), a dog park, café and a dog boarding center located in the city of Gurgaon in Northern India, was set up in August 2019 by Vandana Sinha, a dog lover. The case details some of the decisions taken by Sinha with respect to the services offered, the business model, and execution of her strategy. It details some of the challenges faced by RnP during the Covid-19 crisis and the decisions Sinha has taken to deal with the crisis. She is grappling with four dilemmas even as she is trying to grow the business. Should she scale up the café at RnP into a restaurant in order to attract more visitors? Should she provide flexible payment options to pet parents in order to increase customer enrolments at RnP? Should she diversify into delivery of pet food in order to increase revenue? How should she balance her commitment to her regular job with the time devoted to RnP?

Yorgus, a Brazilian entrepreneurial maker of premium Greek yogurt, has hit its stride--and now it faces questions about the best path to achieve growth, including becoming independent of the context in which it was created. Founder Enrico Leta launched the company in mid-2014, and Yorgus grew against the backdrop of the Letas' large family business: Zona Sul, a high-end grocer with 36 stores. Enrico's father, Fortunato, leads Zona Sul, but conflicts in Fortunato's generation resulted in the prohibition of Enrico's generation from joining that business. This led Enrico, his brother Patrick, and other cousins to launch independent food businesses that benefited from some of Zona Sul's resources. Enrico developed Yorgus within Patrick's premium cheese business, Vitalatte, and the brothers collaborate on strategic decisions for both brands. Now Enrico is considering taking Yorgus independent, in part to scale more quickly than his brother would be comfortable attempting. But Enrico must ponder the possible effects of such a move on the current operating arrangement with his brother's business, as well as on his relationship with his brother, his father, and the broader family. The case illustrates common family-enterprise challenges, including independence versus autonomy, shared decision-making, and the alignment of risk appetites.

In February 2022, an indigenous studies professor was considering applying for a position on Roche Canada's Soaring with Roche program's advisory Board. The program was looking for an individual to represent Canada's indigenous population, as it pursued an open innovation strategy within Canada. In considering her decision, the professor examines the pharmaceutical industry as whole (and within Canada), the pros and cons of open innovation, and the fit between her, an open innovation program, and Roche Canada.

After a year filled with the highs of entrepreneurial success and the lows of personal hardships, Whitney Wolfe was considering starting a new venture-a social media platform aimed at creating positivity for women online. Wolfe was meeting with Andrey Andreev, the founder of Badoo, one of the world's most popular dating services, to discuss her new venture idea. However, Andreev was disinterested in starting a social media platform and dismissed her new venture idea. But he had wanted to work with Wolfe for some time, so he instead suggested starting a new online dating service focused on women. Wolfe had to make a decision. Should she turn down Andreev's suggestion and start her own business, or should she pursue his idea of creating a new online dating service focused on the needs of women? If so, how should this new service differ from the numerous current products flooding the market?

This case set is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit http://store.darden.virginia.edu/giving-voice-to-values. In this A case, Tasha, leader of a data analytics team at Gotham Children's Hospital, is confronted with an ethical dilemma when her supervisor, Beatriz, suggests a facial recognition system at the hospital. The proposed project would draw on images in the hospital's database, as well publicly available images and information about arrest records, to identify visitors and trigger alarms when flagged individuals enter certain areas of the hospital. While her team is interested in the project, Tasha is concerned about privacy, bias in automated systems, public relations, and opportunity costs. This case set is intended to be used with students from a wide range of backgrounds, including especially team leads (who may have an MBA or other graduate-level degree) and data scientists. It would be particularly useful in courses on data ethics, technological innovation, technology management, and data law or policy.

This case set is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit http://store.darden.virginia.edu/giving-voice-to-values. In the A case, Tasha, leader of a data analytics team at Gotham Children's Hospital, is confronted with an ethical dilemma when her supervisor, Beatriz, suggests a facial recognition system at the hospital. The proposed project would draw on images in the hospital's database, as well publicly available images and information about arrest records, to identify visitors and trigger alarms when flagged individuals enter certain areas of the hospital. While her team is interested in the project, Tasha is concerned about privacy, bias in automated systems, public relations, and opportunity costs. In this B case, Tasha brings her concerns to Beatriz and outlines the ways in which the project would conflict with the core mission of the organization. This case set is intended to be used with students from a wide range of backgrounds, including especially team leads (who may have an MBA or other graduate-level degree) and data scientists. It would be particularly useful in courses on data ethics, technological innovation, technology management, and data law or policy.

Handout for Case UV8525

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case UV8525

In this Ivey Business Journal Q&A, Ivey Business School Professor Tima Bansal-one of the sustainability field's most cited scholars-explains why there is nothing anti-capitalist about sustainability, while making the case for old-school capitalists to embrace Ivey's ambitious Innovation North initiative, which aims to save the planet (and capitalism) by disrupting traditional approaches to innovation. She says sustainability suffers from two issues. First, some people think that sustainability is about asking them to do less. The second issue is that many people, including executives, just don't know what to do about sustainability and how to do it. Bansal claims we need to reframe the discussion as prosperity-an opportunity to realize better health and community. Instead of talking about sustainability as reforming capitalism, we need to think about sustainability as innovating for prosperity. Innovation North assembles senior business leaders, academics, and world-renowned systems thinkers every three months to discuss how to innovate the innovation process. It is working with partner companies to create a toolkit that bakes systems thinking into innovation-the Innovation North Compass. This uses both ideas (as in the stage-gate model) and solutions (as in design thinking). Ultimately, Bansal says, a systems thinker thinks differently than how we teach people to think in business schools. They work though problems differently, not looking for the right answer but instead looking for patterns and possibilities.

Mandalay Homes, a home builder based in northern Arizona, is a market leader in energy efficiency based construction. The company is now at a crossroads for developing a strategy for the future. Internal leadership is in agreement that quality is better than quantity and wants to focus on innovations to further push the market forward toward sustainability. The case introduces students to the residential construction industry, climate change as it relates to construction, energy efficiency standards and certification programs, renewable energy market principles, the green construction industry, and potential innovations within the residential construction space. The case outlines the proverbial wall that Mandalay is approaching in terms of the improvements that can be made to sustainable homebuilding withing the current paradigm. The company has identified three frontiers within which Mandalay Homes can allocate priorities: (1) resource management, (2) prescriptive vs. performance-driven building standards, and (3) newer options for building sustainable homes and communities.

Anugnyaa Agricultural Association (AAA), a non-profit organisation, wants to introduce a cross subsidisation scheme between tomato farmers with good yield and those whose yield is affected by a crop infection. They want to partially absorb the risk of infection while ensuring their revenues are large enough to cover all costs. Further, they also have the technology to identify early onset of infections in certain cases, treat those crops and ensure high yields. Can a management trainee help AAA price their services and analyse their risks in different cases?

This exercise helps students practice bringing vulnerability, compassion, and curiosity to a discussion. Over two rounds, groups of students are asked to both answer questions about themselves and listen as others answer, sharing in an environment of confidentiality and care.

This case examines the career of Vicky Tsai, the creator of San Francisco-based TATCHA, a Japanese-themed luxury beauty brand launched in 2009. It explores how Tsai developed the concept, assembled management, and successfully launched the brand, despite experiencing major obstacles because of stereotyped views based on her gender and Asian ethnicity. Originally advised that Asian beauty was too niche for the American market, Tsai struggled to raise capital, and felt that she needed to take on white males as co-founders in order to be taken seriously. She faced continuous funding constraints, even after the Tatcha brand debuted on the QVC channel and began to grow fast. In 2017 Tsai sought private equity funding to further grow the business, and found herself encouraged to leave the role of CEO in favor of professional management. Tsai sold the business to Unilever for an estimated $500 million in 2019 as this process was underway. In January 2021 Tsai was recalled as CEO as the business faltered. The case ends with her determination to build a business which would work for positive change in the beauty industry in its attitudes towards gender and ethnicity.

In June 2022, 3G Capital Co-Managing Partners Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz were in a partners' meeting. On the agenda were three potential investments. Code named "Alpha," "Bravo," and "Charlie" (real target companies that have been disguised), they were the finalists amongst hundreds that the team had screened. Unlike other private equity firms, 3G did not build a portfolio: each of its funds had only one investment. This model had worked extremely well for some investments, with successes like Restaurant Brands International, but it had also faced some challenges. Each investment decision was crucial to the future of the firm. What should their next investment be?

with a description of three concepts it inspired and an invitation to design a set of experiments to test the concepts' desirability, feasibility, and viability. The C case reviews the two phases of testing actually conducted. Taken together, the three cases cover a completed design thinking process in detail, with a particular goal of encouraging student reflection on the design of research plans, both exploratory and confirmatory. SWR operated some of the busiest train routes in the United Kingdom, with 235 million passenger journeys a year. It covered urban, suburban, regional, and long-distance routes between London's Waterloo Station and locations in southwestern England. SWR struggled with some long-term problems: challenging relations with a highly unionized work force, major network repairs needed, low staff morale, and overcrowded commuter services. All these were compounded by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Amid these challenges, senior leadership at SWR concluded that the pandemic presented a unique opportunity to change how the public and the UK Department for Transportation viewed SWR, and to improve the passenger experience. SWR reached out to David Kester & Associates (DK&A), a leading design-strategy consultancy, in search of a partnership that could help the rail company innovate. DK&A's mandate was clear: learn fast from customers, rapidly deliver confidence-building basics at stations, and work closely with SWR staff to reshape both the organization's culture and their passenger's experience. SWR wanted practical ideas to better meet customer needs-ones that could be trialed and scaled throughout the network. But how to go about gathering the data needed within a tight timeline amid the complexity of SWR's operations and opportunities? For those interested in adding self or peer assessment to students' design thinking learning journey, Professor Jeanne Liedtka, working with coauthors Karen Hold, Jessica Eldridge, and Treehouse

This case, a follow-up to "Design Thinking in Action (A): South Western Railway" (UVA-S-0377), finds South Western Railway (SWR) and its design-consultancy partner, DK&A, beginning work on a project to improve passenger experience. The team followed a classic design thinking methodology, the Double Diamond, focused on four steps-discover, define, develop, and deliver-and created an ambitious three-month schedule to meet a tight delivery deadline. The case describes in detail how team members gathered data from a variety of passenger categories, created persona types and journey maps, and identified new ideas to help SWR accomplish its goals. It concludes with questions about how these ideas should be tested. What design should experiments take? What outcomes were most important to measure and learn from?

This third case in the series that begins with "Design Thinking in Action (A): South Western Railway" (UVA-S-0377) describes two waves of experimentation undertaken by UK railway operator South Western Railway (SWR) and its design-consultancy partner, David Kester & Associates (DK&A), during the deliver stage of their joint project to improve customer experience at SWR. They had followed a classic design thinking methodology, discovering customer experiences and needs, defining journey maps and personas, and developing concepts. In this final case, they tested those concepts in actual rail stations to determine whether they met goals for desirability, feasibility, and viability. For those interested in adding self or peer assessment to students' design thinking learning journey, Professor Jeanne Liedtka, working with coauthors Karen Hold, Jessica Eldridge, and Treehouse Design, has synthesized more than a decade of research at Darden to create the Innovation Impact Assessment. This tool will help students identify personal development opportunities and provide them with practical guidance (in the form of detailed individual feedback reports) to accelerate skill development. The instrument identifies a set of five core competencies based on 44 behaviors that successful design thinkers have in common. It is available for individual use and bulk purchase via Darden Business Publishing at this link: https://store.darden.virginia.edu/innovation_impact_assessment.