In January 2023, Ajit Padmanabh, founder of Who VR (virtual reality), and his team worked tirelessly on product, price, distribution, and promotion to create an overall marketing strategy for Who VR, a virtual and augmented reality brand. Who VR offered content focused on Indian history, arts, and culture through multi-sensory immersive experiences. The company created a buzz in the marketplace by winning a few large and impactful projects, and its initial success was remarkable. Its presence in various industrial exhibitions had attracted widespread attention. And its Bengaluru office was inundated with inquiry calls. But Padmanabh knew that the initial momentum had to continue for long-term success. With each day, pressure was building among the team to release deliverables.

Three college friends-Rijin John, Vivek George and Arun Ghosh-came together to realise their decade-old dream of starting an enterprise. They launched Santa Express, an on-demand delivery service, for the pickup and delivery of handy and nonperishable goods in Kochi. Their idea of Santa serving customers was based partly on market research and intuition. However, lately, things have been difficult for Santa Express because of scaling issues, lack of an able/reliable workforce, funding, lack of long-term planning, co-founder's shifting commitments and pricing. The time had come for the co-founders to decide whether to continue the venture or shut it down. The case poses a real-life situation for students considering or planning to establish new ventures. They will have to struggle with many of the questions facing Santa Express. Some students may be naturally inclined to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Others may allow all the uncertainties and associated risks-real and imagined-to give them an excuse to take the safe road. This case allows the students to experience both the appealing facets and bothersome ambiguities of a start-up.

BigBasket.com had emerged as one of the major players in highly competitive Indian online grocery retailing market by employing inventory based model. On March 22, 2016, Big Basket had secured Series D funding worth USD 150 million from the United Arab Emirates-based Abraaj group for driving its future growth. A few days later, the Government of India came out with guidelines on March 29, 2016, through its Press Note No. 3 (2016 Series) which stated that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the inventory based model of e-commerce would not be permitted. As BigBasket grappled with the challenges of a growing and expanding business, BigBasket team had to evaluate the existing business model. This case traces the predicament of BigBasket in formulating a business strategy for taking the online grocery retailing business further.