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Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath started his journey with a dream - a dream inspired by one simple statement: "I want every Indian to fly at least once in their lifetime." With a population in excess of 1 billion people, India certainly offered a vast reservoir of future air travelers. In 2002, when Capt. Gopinath first broached the idea of starting a low-cost airline to serve India's travel needs, no one took him seriously. Bankers refused to fund him, aircraft manufacturers ignored him and aviation industry observers swore that India was not ready. However, he was convinced that India's burgeoning middle class, already buying color TVs and cell phones, could be converted to air travel. In 2003 he launched the first low-cost airline company in India with a leased 48-seater ATR aircraft and $10 million from investors. By 2007, Capt. Gopinath was close to realizing his dream. Air Deccan, with a market share of 21.6%, was India's fastest-growing low-cost carrier and the second-largest airline in the country. It ran the most extensive network in India, covering 61 airports, flew some 306 scheduled flights a day and operated a brand new fleet of 14 Airbus A320 and 22 ATR Turboprops. Visionary and always optimistic, Capt. Gopinath had brought about a total revolution to the highly regulated Indian skies. But every revolution carries the seeds of its own demise. Competition was increasing rapidly now that the model had been validated, and the Indian airport infrastructure was on the verge of a massive breakdown. New business models had to be devised to remain ahead of the curve. The new logo for the company enigmatically offered a glimpse of what Capt. Gopinath had in mind: S I M P L I F L Y ... Learning objectives: Learn about new business models, innovations, growth management, low cost carrier strategies, Indian issues.

Robin Budowski, a wine specialist and enthusiast, had dreamed about owning and running a vineyard for years, and on 28 July 2003 he was closer than ever to realizing his dream. He was putting the finishing touches to an offer to acquire Château d'Agel, a property in the Minervois region in the South West of France. The property, undermanaged and located in one of the cheapest wine AOCs, would be turned around on three dimensions: (1) improving the wine quality, (2) supporting the property's reputation with marketing campaigns, and (3) equipping it with the appropriate distribution channels. Château d'Agel seemed like the perfect candidate for a buyout. But a number of issues had to be solved before closing the deal. How would Robin structure the transaction so as to have minimal tax exposure in France and even less exposure for his investors, mostly non-French Europeans? The pure financial returns of wine properties are relatively modest, in particular when adjusted for the risk of agribusiness operations. So Robin needed to go after passion investors, i.e. enthusiasts. These investors expect large "affiliation" benefits from owning part of a vineyard. But how do you attract enthusiasts, in this case wine lovers, as investors? In other words, how do you maximize the non-financial benefits in the investment package?