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In October 2010, Triangulate's founder/CEO must determine what product features to develop and what marketing programs to pursue in order to boost the odds of successfully raising another venture capital round for his nine month-old Facebook dating application. The case recounts the process of launching a consumer internet startup, from idea conception through initial efforts to validate the concept, followed by product launch and subsequent business model "pivots."

Apple initially recognized revenue associated with its iPhone product using subscription accounting. However, in 2008, the company started providing non-GAAP supplemental numbers where substantially all of the revenue was recognized upfront. Market participants' reactions to the disclosure were mixed. Was Apple "right" in arguing that subscription accounting was inadequate for the iPhone?

This case supplements the "Flying J (A)" case.

Novasys has developed a new medical device and procedure for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence that is cheaper and can be performed in doctors' offices. In spite of FDA approval, the American Medical Association has been unwilling to approve the product for reimbursement. The case deals with the company's struggle to obtain a reimbursement code.

This note summarizes key legal and tax issues that founders should consider as they contemplate an equity split and ownership structure. Specific issues covered include: why founders should not delay splitting the equity, and whether they should involve an attorney or accountant when they do; the importance of considering intellectual property (IP) issues when splitting the equity and the need to do so consistent with Section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code; and the need to make timely and valid Section 83(b) elections if the founders adopt vesting as part of the equity split.

Proteus is a healthcare start-up that has developed technology to embed electronics for computing and sensing in existing medical devices and drugs. The technology could potentially change the basis of competition in the pharmaceutical industry. The company is currently considering a number of licensing and business development deals and must choose which one(s) to pursue.

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program manager at Adobe and responsible for coordinating the integration of her business unit's product-Device Central-in Creative Suite 3. Murray is copied on an email that warns the Device Central product team that Device Central may be pulled from the Creative Suite 3 marketing materials and from the launch entirely because it was in danger of missing a deadline. Murray wonders if and how to respond to the email that was addressed to her Device Central colleague, group product manager Carol Linburn.

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program manager at Adobe and responsible for coordinating the integration of her business unit's product-Device Central-in Creative Suite 3. Murray is copied on an email that warns the Device Central product team that Device Central may be pulled from the Creative Suite 3 marketing materials and from the launch entirely because it was in danger of missing a deadline. Murray wonders if and how to respond to the email that was addressed to her Device Central colleague, group product manager Carol Linburn.

The largest retailer of diesel fuel in the U.S., Flying J, is rethinking its growth strategy as the economy goes into a recession. Its major customer base, owner-operated truck drivers, are facing increasing costs of doing business. Yet Flying J is considering whether to increase its price of diesel fuel.

This is a follow-on case to EFI, Inc. (A) and (B). It reports on the sales force's response to the new plan and provides some data as to their performance in the quarters immediately following the implementation of the new plan.

This is a follow-on case to EFI, Inc. (A). It reports on Dean Mills' decision to implement a new compensation approach that pays 25% of salespeople's bonus, based on their individual sales of software add-on products. He also recommends making public each salesperson's performance against their goal in a report that ranked salespeople from top to bottom each period. Students are asked to react to this new plan.

EFI has a unique sales compensation challenge. They cannot allocate sales credit for their core product to individual salespeople. So, they've historically paid the sales force as a team. This has worked out fine, since they've been a near-monopoly seller of a single product category. However, this has changed. Not only are they facing new competition in their core product bu they also have diversified into other products that allow them to identify sales by salesperson. Should they pay people individually on these newer products while maintaining the team-pay approach on the core? If so, it would raise a potential problem with shirking on the core product. However, not doing so would perhaps limit the sales of the new products. The case allows for a deep discussion of the bases for variable compensation in sales, including observability of effort and outcome, risk aversion, team vs. individual pay and the marginal impact of effort. The context is also an interesting and important one for sales management: OEM sales.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 808064

DermaCare has developed an innovative new product for the treatment of acne that they hope to sell to consumers via direct-response television. The unconventional nature of the product and its distribution has led the company to seek angel financing. The Silicon Valley Band of Angels has agreed to finance the company and has submitted a proposed term sheet. Recently, however, a venture capital (VC) group has submitted a competing term sheet. The company must decide whether to accept financing from the Angels or the VC group.

Describes Texas Pacific Group's purchase and operation of J. Crew, the catalog and specialty clothing retailer. Highlights the issues involved in financing such a transaction, and then focuses on the operational challenges of turning around the business, and of TPG's intensive involvement in the running of the business. Details the improvements in the business, and then the retrenchment, leaving the business facing a significant debt payment coming due. TPG must decide whether to sell the business and get out "whole," or whether it can develop and execute a more successful strategy going forward.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 808017

AMD's launch of the Opteron microprocessor in 2003 has allowed the company to make inroads into the lucrative server segment. A long-time follower to Intel, AMD management felt it was in a position to lead the microprocessor industry in new directions. However, in 2006 it was not clear whether Opteron's success in the server segment would translate into success in other microprocessor segments, notably corporate desktop and laptop, and whether the initial success in servers could be sustained in the future. Intel's imminent new product and pricing plans, as well as its existing brand power, could greatly hamper AMD's growth and thwart its new initiatives--which included opening up its architecture for end users to customize and recast its brand identity. Also examines how a company tries to gain competitive advantage through an approach to innovation that emphasizes customer centricity.

In early 2006, PayPal management is deciding how to respond to Google's entry into online payments. PayPal, owned by eBay, has targeted online merchants outside eBay's auction community for its next wave of expansion. Google represents a potential threat to PayPal's "off eBay" strategy, as do incumbent credit card companies. PayPal management must determine whether to increase investment in its "off eBay" strategy; how to allocate investments between the two sides of its payment network (i.e., consumers and merchants) which consumer segments to target (e.g., existing PayPal account holders vs. new users); which types of merchants to recruit (e.g., large vs. small); and what changes to make to pricing terms and product features.

Managers at Atheros, a leading provider of wireless local area network chipsets, must decide whether to join a special interest group (SIG) proposed by Intel to end an impasse over standards for the 802.11n (11n), the next generation of "Wi-Fi" technology. Two factions are supporting rival proposals for 11n standards in the IEEE, the electronics industry's chief standards-setting organization. Working outside the IEEE's formal processes, Intel's SIG would advance a compromise that could break the deadlock. Alternatively, the SIG could provoke a backlash, resulting in the IEEE's approval of a different standard for 11n. In that event, Intel and its SIG allies would suffer a severe time-to-market setback in exploiting what promises to be a large, fast-growing chip market.

Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP), a San Francisco-based bank focusing on emerging growth companies, is considering its strategy in the context of regulatory, competitive, and legal changes. Blake Jorgensen, the chief operating officer and co-director of investment banking, must decide how best to serve TWP's clients given the Global Research Analyst Settlement, Regulation Fair Disclosure, changes in "soft dollar" commissions, decimalization, and Sarbanes-Oxley.