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Chip Wilson is trying to decide if he should pursue his current venture, a yoga wear retailing concept or return to being chief executive officer of Westbeach Snowboard, a firm he found two decades ago. This case is the first in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M040, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.

The chairman and chief product designer of lululemon athletica is preparing to address an audience at an investor's conference. He describes lululemon's great success from 1998 to 2006 and analyses the growth opportunities it faces. This case helps students understand the concept of competitive advantage in relation to the functional and emotion marketing drivers. In addition, it underlines the importance of preserving brand equity and prioritizing strategic growth options.

Ganong Bros. Limited is a fifth generation family chocolate company in New Brunswick that is facing financial difficulties. The firm has been spreading its resources too thinly and needs to develop a plan to not only return to profitability but also to grow the business while upholding its responsibility to the local community. This case helps students to develop an understanding of cutting costs in a turnaround situation and seeking out alternative lines of business for strategic growth.

A graduate of a business school must consider two options available to him with similar salary packages. The first is to accept an offer to start as an assistant marketing manager with a consumer packaged goods firm, the other is a consulting assignment with a small tool & die firm. The case provides students the opportunity to value different benefits based on their risk tolerance and career aspirations.

An entrepreneur was contemplating leaving his job at Goldman Sachs to start Global Source Healthcare, a healthcare outsourcing company focused on international nurse recruitment. He had researched the healthcare staffing market extensively, written a business plan and raised some funding. While this appeared to be an excellent opportunity, there were some very real risks that had to be considered. His greatest concern was the limited amount of funding at his disposal. Since international recruitment required a considerable amount of working capital, the lack of funding brought the long-term feasibility of the business into question. Students will learn about screening the business venture in terms of the entrepreneur, the resources and the opportunity; determining the strategic direction of the company and balancing the long-term vision with short-term cash flow needs; assessing different business models to determine which is the best fit for the company; and the importance of executing the business plan and selected strategy.

After selling their high-tech company, three entrepreneurs decided to form an angel investor group. The process of generating and researching new business ideas narrows their search to two possibilities: a technology for Internet data centres and a new supercomputer. Both projects were discussed with venture capitalists that were willing to fund the project, only if the three partners managed the company. The partners must decide whether to leave their angel investment group to become full-time entrepreneurs and which of the two concepts they should pursue.

Takahiko Naraki is a young entrepreneur in Japan who is trying to make his Internet-based business model work in the challenging Tokyo business world, and must make a key decision: whether and how to expand his business. In addition to discussing the work-life balance of entrepreneurs in general, and this one Japanese entrepreneur in particular, the case also introduces aspects of the Japanese entrepreneurial environment including the importance of networking, the business laws regulating entrepreneurial activity, social perceptions of entrepreneurship, and the capital market for small companies in Japan.

An entrepreneur comes up with a great idea for a new business that would service what he calls the time-starved segment. Using Wal-Mart as the warehouse, eBay as his storefront and the U.S. Postal Service as the distributor, he would pick-up and deliver products to businesses, conserving staff resources. He must think of as many opportunities as possible and determine any barriers that may occur. The purpose of the case is to get students to generate ideas. Students will be quick to criticize and analyze the ideas presented, but few will focus on presenting new ideas.

Kalista's Fine Chocolate is a home-base business that produces high-quality chocolate products. The company has been very successful and had purchased a kiosk at local mall to accommodate the increase in business, but the demand for Kalista's products is still growing and the owners must decide whether to move into a larger space or continue working out of their home.