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Student spreadsheet for case W16617.

In 2015, the medical officer in charge of a blood bank in India needed to manage a chronic shortage of blood products that was likely to worsen over the summer months. The blood products were perishable and had a limited useful life which complicated matters when maintaining adequate stock. Furthermore, demand for blood products was unpredictable and varied widely each month. The blood blank attracted few blood donors and they were likely to become even fewer over the summer. A shortage of blood products could mean cancelled surgeries and, in worst-case scenarios, the loss of lives. The medical officer needed to decide whether the blood bank should optimize its inventory of perishable blood products by organizing large blood donation camps or by holding smaller but more frequent blood donation camps.

Based in Portola Valley, California, WTI specialized in this hybrid form of debt and equity financing for early-stage companies. Like traditional venture capital and private equity firms, WTI raised funds from institutional investors and evaluated deals. However, instead of making initial investments in the form of equity, WTI focused primarily on lending money to start-ups, charging them interest and receiving warrants that could later be converted to stock in the case of a liquidity event. Most initial investments-usually in the range of $3-$5 million-were made in tandem with or following a company's early rounds of venture capital equity financing. In addition, like more traditional venture capital investors, WTI hoped to participate in follow-on debt and equity investments in its successful portfolio companies.

This case describes how IKEA's distinctive strategy was formed over a period of about 30 years (late 1940s to late 1970s). It describes how the various elements of its strategy were created gradually, with the help of many people other than the founder Kamprad, and how these elements were ultimately integrated with each other thanks to the creation of IKEA's organizational culture that came much later.

Two soon-to-be MBA graduates are considering a business opportunity in the boutique hotel industry. Having found a seemingly attractive property in Savannah, Georgia, Yvonne D'Arcy and Elisabeth Whiting face questions about career issues, planning, financing, and the possibility of unequal power dynamics. Students assess the merits of the proposed project, as well as the overall attractiveness of the boutique hotel industry and the career opportunity it presents. Exhibits include a Letter of Agreement between D'Arcy and Whiting, the hotel's historical performance data, lodging statistics for the Savannah market, and the project budget. An associated case, "Hotel Vertu: Financing the Venture in the Boutique Hotel Industry" (#917505), overlaps with this case, but delves into the issues around financial forecasts, financial returns, deal structure, equity splits, and the power dynamic between investors and entrepreneurs. Although each case can be taught on its own (i.e., students do not require data or knowledge from one case in order to benefit fully from the other), the two can be paired in order to give students a more complete sense of the challenges that aspiring entrepreneurs may face. If both cases are taught, it is recommended that instructors begin with "Hotel Vertu: Analyzing the Opportunity in the Boutique Hotel Industry."

Spreadsheet supplement for case 917501.

Two recent MBA graduates are considering a business opportunity in the boutique hotel industry. Having found a seemingly attractive property in Savannah, Georgia, Yvonne D'Arcy and Elisabeth Whiting face questions about financing, deal structure, and unequal power dynamics. This case covers opportunity analysis, financing and deal structuring, and partnership issues. Students are asked to assess the overall financial returns on the project and how those returns should be parsed between investors and owners. Students also examine how the deal with investors should be structured. Exhibits include a Letter of Agreement between the founders, the hotel's historical performance data, the project budget, financial forecasts, and cash flow and return projections. The HBS Brief Case series contains two cases on Hotel Vertu. Both cases are set within the same disguised context, but take place two months apart. The earlier case, Hotel Vertu: Analyzing the Opportunity in the Boutique Hotel Industry (917-501) overlaps with this case, but focuses more on the nature of the opportunity itself, an industry analysis of the boutique hotel segment, issues related to early career entrepreneurship, and only hints at the power dynamic between investors and entrepreneurs. Although each case can be taught on its own (i.e., students do not require data or knowledge from one case in order to benefit fully from the other), the two can be paired in order to give students a more complete sense of the challenges that aspiring entrepreneurs may face. If both cases are taught, it is recommended that instructors begin with Hotel Vertu: Analyzing the Opportunity in the Boutique Hotel Industry.

TSL is a family business in a traditional jewelry industry in Hong Kong that is being driven to change by many external and internal factors. This scenario, which is faced by many businesses, can be challenging when perceived from a conventional corporate mindset. To design a future for TSL, the management team needs to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset and build the "new company" by starting from basic principles, then completely re-think how to focus on providing value to new as well as existing customers through innovative products, service, and operating procedures. The case is set in early 2016, when TSL was facing increased competition, new price sensitivity among its customers, and industry changes. Issues raised in this case are quite broad and could be useful in a wide range of courses, including Strategy, Marketing, and Organizational Behavior. The case could be used as part of a discussion on innovation, strategy, business development, change management, family businesses, company culture, branding, or similar topics. The students are asked to take the viewpoint of Annie Yau Tse, the new Chairman, on how to move forward in this environment. Remarkably, Annie is the daughter-in-law of the patriarch/founder, and had little experience in the industry. Her background and training is in information technology. She brought a fresh viewpoint and the courage to institute dramatic changes in the management of operations.

There were probably 30,000 public buses, minibuses, and vans in Mexico City. Though, in 2015, no one knew for certain since no comprehensive schedule existed. This was why el Laboratorio para la Ciudad (or LabCDMX) had spawned an effort to generate a map of the labyrinth system that provided an estimated 14 million rides a day. Gabriella Gómez-Mont, the Lab's founder and director, had led her team in a project to crowd-source the routes from volunteer riders in what came to be known as Mapatón CDMX. After four pilots and a two-week "mapping marathon" later, she wondered exactly what to make of the lab's fiftieth experiment? Was Mapatón successful?

"A Warby Parker of mattresses? Somebody is going to do it. Why not us?" This was the topic of a conversation begun in spring 2013 among Gabe Flateman, Philip Krim, Neil Parikh, and T. Luke Sherwin. The four met as members of a New York City venture accelerator program. All admired Warby Parker's success in delivering on the promise of "designer eyewear at revolutionary prices," via a direct-to-consumer sales model. "Big Mattress," their term for the current manufacturer / retailer system, featured not only high prices, but also, as they would describe to many in the days ahead, "one of the worst buying experiences in the world."

Brooks Sports, Inc. (Brooks) strove to inspire and promote an active lifestyle through its innovative gear, enabling its customers to run longer, farther, and faster. The shoe company had endured a number of growths and declines in its 100 years of operations. Nearly bankrupt by 2000 because of its attempt to compete with diversified athletic brands, Brooks had finally found a strategy to compete in the sports market. Operating as an independent subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Brooks focused entirely on the niche running market, transforming into a brand that generated over $500 million in 2014. Now Brooks had set its sights on becoming a $1 billion brand by 2020. In the past, few companies had focused on the small but growing running industry; however, with the running market becoming increasingly competitive, would Brooks's runner-focused strategy carry the company to its $1 billion goal by 2020, or would it be forced to shift back to a diversified approach as the running market became more crowded?

In 2015, Nintendo-the iconic Japanese video game company-was faced with the decade-long challenge of responding to an industry that had changed in ways it had not anticipated. Under its new president, Nintendo had to contend with large-scale changes in the global gaming market. By not adapting to changing customer needs, Nintendo had lost the customer loyalty it had once enjoyed, as was evident from the decline in the number of units sold. It faced daunting challenges in the traditional console gaming segment from Sony and Microsoft, as well as more recent threats to its competitive position from the mobile gaming segment, which had become a preferred platform for game developers. Nintendo needed to decide how to revise its business model and strategies to move away from the decline that had been part of the company for years. Could the once-dominant Nintendo connect with its customers as it had done in the past, or was it better off as an acquisition target by a large entertainment company?

In 2008, an ambitious entrepreneur was eager to succeed in India's corporate catering industry despite having no prior experience. She learned the intricacies of the business and developed processes and systems that made her company stand out among the competition. However, an inflationary surge in food prices exposed the weaknesses in her business model-namely, the fixed-price contracts and her resolve to self-finance the venture. The entrepreneur also faced new competitors who were able to undercut her prices because they could leverage alternative revenue streams to compensate for the increased food costs. Should she make changes to her business or was it time to exit?

In November 2014, the founder and chief executive officer of HomeZilla, in Toronto, Canada, was considering how to provide value-added services to his business. One of the company's main services was to work with real estate agents to provide web listings to attract home shoppers. Many Internet companies were analyzing web-browsing data in an effort to better understand user behaviour and thus improve their business. Inspired by this trend, the founder considered how his company could use web-browsing data to better attract home shoppers on the company's website and thereby add value to his business.

Student spreadsheet for case W16002.

The case illustrates a wide range of strategic and implementation issues that companies face in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), particularly in an emerging market such as China. The three-part case is about Sunac, a real estate company listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), and its various attempts to expand by acquiring other real estate businesses in China. Case (A) describes the overall industry environment, value chain, and analyses of Sunac (the acquirer) and Greentown (the target). It explains the macroeconomic background and the details of proposed transaction in May 2014. Case (B) reveals what happened after Sunac had paid HKD6.3 billion for Greentown. Case (C) describes two further acquisition attempts by Sunac in 2015 - of Kaisa and Yurun.

Supplement to case IN1274. The case illustrates a wide range of strategic and implementation issues that companies face in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), particularly in an emerging market such as China. The three-part case is about Sunac, a real estate company listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), and its various attempts to expand by acquiring other real estate businesses in China. Case (A) describes the overall industry environment, value chain, and analyses of Sunac (the acquirer) and Greentown (the target). It explains the macroeconomic background and the details of proposed transaction in May 2014. Case (B) reveals what happened after Sunac had paid HKD6.3 billion for Greentown. Case (C) describes two further acquisition attempts by Sunac in 2015 - of Kaisa and Yurun.

Supplement to case IN1274. The case illustrates a wide range of strategic and implementation issues that companies face in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), particularly in an emerging market such as China. The three-part case is about Sunac, a real estate company listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), and its various attempts to expand by acquiring other real estate businesses in China. Case (A) describes the overall industry environment, value chain, and analyses of Sunac (the acquirer) and Greentown (the target). It explains the macroeconomic background and the details of proposed transaction in May 2014. Case (B) reveals what happened after Sunac had paid HKD6.3 billion for Greentown. Case (C) describes two further acquisition attempts by Sunac in 2015 - of Kaisa and Yurun.

This case tells the story of InVenture, a data science company based in California, that has created a machine learning algorithm to identify the creditworthiness of those with no credit history by tracking their mobile data patterns. With this technology they define a credit score and can issue a loan almost instantly to the borrower via a mobile phone. The technology behind InVenture has been used to develop a smart phone app - Mkopo Rahisi - which enables loans to be approved quickly to small business owners in Kenya.