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This case should be distributed only after "Vitalia Franchise" (HBS Case No. 311-035) is distributed and discussed.

This case illustrates how Chilli Beans became the most popular sunglasses retailer in Brazil and the issues it faced when expanding into the U.S.

This background note explains Cuba's past and current agriculture policies, as well as provides insights into its future potential as relations with the U.S. normalize.

Duke Rohlen (HBS MBA '01) hoped to win over a prominent venture capital investor for Series B financing of his firm CVI that was creating a drug-eluting balloon (DES) to treat peripheral arterial disease. As a second-mover, Duke felt he was more likely to acquire funding because his primary competitors had already received FDA approval to conduct a trial and he had learned a great deal about how to improve the DES from the problems the first mover encountered. But Duke's strategy ran counter to many business guru injunctions. Would these bar the investment? His second mover strategy was unconventional because many medical technology marketers believed that being the first technology to be adopted by clinicians was critical to future success. But Duke had spent no money on marketing. Instead, he spent his limited funds on R and D that would correct the problems experienced with other DESs. Then too, he had allowed a likely exit, Covidien, to invest early in CVI and used their balloon. Would Covidien's relationships bar other bidders and lower the price CVI would receive? And instead of using a CRO, Duke performed his own clinical trial of the DES. Did he have sufficient expertise to pass through the FDA's stringent regulatory hurdles?

A medical device startup seeks to complete its clinical trials with very little startup funding and a small staff when compared to its competitors.

The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape, a team of IDEO designers have been hired by Cineplanet, the leading movie cinema chain in Peru, to reinvent the movie-going experience for Peruvians. Cineplanet wishes to better align their operating model with the needs and behaviors of its customers.

This note provides information on the state of startup financing in Silicon Valley in 2013. It details different avenues startups have to raise funding, including venture capital, corporate venture capital, angel investors, incubators, and crowdfunding.