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  • Namasté Solar

    Should a fast-growing, employee-owned solar electric company accept a buyout offer from a private equity investor? Could it do so without sacrificing its distinctive, high-involvement culture? Namasté Solar, a 55-person firm based in Boulder, Colorado, designed and installed solar electric systems for residential, commercial, non-profit and government customers. In 2008, the company had been growing at breakneck speed for the past four years, since government incentives for the purchase of renewable energy had created a market for solar electric systems in Colorado. Now, two investors had approached the firm with serious buyout offers. A buyout would bring a new infusion of capital to the firm, enabling it to expand more quickly and install more solar systems, and employees with vested shares would benefit from an attractive sales price. However, Namasté, from the outset, had been committed to building a democratic, high-involvement culture. Ownership was widely shared, and all employees, whether or not they held equity, were encouraged to participate in strategic decisions facing the firm. Many were concerned that selling the company would mean sacrificing the firm's carefully crafted culture. What was the best way forward for Blake Jones and the green energy company that he and two partners had founded?
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  • Farming Pharmaceuticals: Ventria Bioscience and the Controversy over Plant-made Medicines

    How can a biotechnology start-up navigate a complex regulatory and stakeholder terrain to bring to market an innovative product with potentially significant public health benefits? This case focuses on the challenges facing Ventria Bioscience, a small biotechnology firm based in California. The company had developed an innovative technology for growing medical proteins useful in the treatment of childhood diarrhea in genetically modified rice. The company's efforts to obtain regulatory approval in California to commercialize its invention met with a firestorm of opposition from a wide range of stakeholders, including environmentalists, food safety activists, consumer advocates and rice farmers. The case presents the hurdles faced by Ventria as it has attempted to commercialize its invention in the context of the broader debate over the ethics of plant-based medicines. This case is suitable for an upper-division undergraduate or graduate course in entrepreneurship, small business, the management of technology or biotechnology. In such a course, it is best positioned in a discussion of the regulatory environment and stakeholder relations. Alternatively, the case may be used in a segment on technology or stakeholder relationships in a course in business and society.
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