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As Google incorporated in 1998, in the midst of dot-com mania, it faced the need to raise growth capital after the 2000 dot-com crash, when VC investments and IPOs had considerably slowed. Yet despite the crash's lingering chill, which crushed thousands of new ventures, Google survived and ultimately prospered. This case reviews the early history of search engines and discusses the four key components of Google's success: strategy pivots to protect its search dominance; horizontal integration to expand information capture and revenue growth; vertical integration to extend digital-ad-industry penetration; and "moonshots" to exploit its technology and financial depth. In making the case for Google's industry leadership, the case also enumerates the key threats to Google's dominance in its field-including rivalry with major competitors Amazon, Facebook and Apple-while suggesting that the company's past successful strategic pivots bode well for its future nimbleness

This case is a continuation of "How Peloton Built the Foundation for Enduring Success (A)," CaseWorks case #210404A (CU274). Connected fitness company Peloton enjoyed triple-digit growth every year between FY 2014 and FY 2020, posted its first positive operating cash flow in FY 2020, and saw its market capitalization exceed $40 billion following its September 2019 IPO. Despite growing competition, founder and CEO John Foley believed Peloton's best days lay ahead. But was the company's business model robust and resilient enough to realize its founder's aspiration?

This case follows the experiences of Peloton Founder John Foley from concept creation in 2011 to large-scale success in 2020. Foley created his own playbook for a product whose category-"connected fitness"-he created from the ground up. Foley faced, and overcame, product design, technological, manufacturing, and financing challenges before arriving at a marketable stationary cycling product that connected virtually to instructors. Soulcycle and Flywheel, established in-person cycling studios, both rejected Foley's proposal to partner with his new venture. Along the way, Foley was turned down by 400 VC's before landing his first institutional investor after almost three years on the money hunt. But Foley persevered. At the end of FY 2020, Peloton had revenues in excess of $1.8 billion, earned $376 million in operating cash flow, served more than one million subscribers, sold bikes and treadmills in more than 100 stores in four countries, and delivered 175 million fitness classes through its global virtual network. This case brings students a close-up look at an entrepreneur's journey-and asks them to consider if the company's success will likely continue beyond 2020.

In 2001, the Yellow Tail brand of wines, launched in partnership with Australia's Casella Wines, achieved considerable success in the US market, despite intense competition from Californian, Italian, and Chilean wines. However, although Yellow Tail's first years were marked by exceptional growth-early batches sold out so quickly that extra bottles had to be shipped by plane-sales began to slow by the decade's end. Should Yellow Tail change its strategy? And should it consider investing in other products, or even product categories? In this case, students analyze how a brand like Yellow Tail can regain its momentum.