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Dr. Richard Hofstetter was wondering what was to become of his acoustic disruption technology (ADT), a technology that used sounds to change behavior patterns of several species of wood boring beetles. Initial lab tests indicated that customized sounds would change the behavior of pine bark beetles in a way that would make the insects less likely to attack a tree and generally less likely to survive and reproduce. While the technology was not designed to protect large areas of forest, it represented an environmentally-friendly way to protect individual trees on private property or high-value trees within national forests, parks, or other public areas. Unfortunately, the technology languished in a university research lab, attracting some interest from potential customers but little financial support for the needed field-testing and development. Dr. Hofstetter was eager to begin field-testing and to gain support for the commercialization of an ADT device. However, future decisions hinged on some key questions: Was this target market large enough to attract funding from external parties? If so, was a focus on public, agricultural or private-land-owners the best bet for obtaining the cash needed to jump-start the project? What sort of proposal would be most attractive to potential investors?

Billy Cordasco, as President of Babbitt Ranches, was looking for alternatives to his current business model, where calves were born on the ranch, kept on the range for over a year, and then sold on the hoof at the market price. Interest in alternatives to the grain-fed beef offerings of supermarkets was growing. Health and sustainability issues had increased the popularity of grass-fed beef. Beef production and sales were generally low margin businesses, but if consumers were willing to pay a premium price for sustainable grass-fed beef, it might be possible for Babbitt Ranches to respond to the consumer need and increase the firm's bottom line at the same time. Because of Babbitt Ranches' financial resources, size, and reputation, numerous business model options existed. Billy needed to brainstorm which business models made sense for Babbitt Ranches. Presented with information necessary to understand the complex beef value chain, financial data on different value chain functions, and several options that were previously considered by Babbitt Ranches, Billy was able to both quantitatively and qualitatively the evaluate taking over one or more of the following functions: slaughter, hanging, processing, distribution, wholesale and/or retail sales. Under consideration was Babbitt Ranches' ability to acquire or develop the necessary resources for a new business model. Recognizing the opportunity presented by the increasing demand for grass-fed beef and the challenge of a complex beef value chain, Billy's goal was to limit the number of business model options to those that were feasible so he could put additional resources toward due diligence on a reasonable set of models.