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Josh Domingues had accomplished what countless young entrepreneurs long to achieve: founding a promising company that aspires to make the world a tangibly better place. Shocked to learn that international food waste cumulatively amounted to the world's third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, he founded Flashfood in April of 2016 as part of a mission to drastically reduce food waste. A once-aspiring professional hockey player with no direct industry or technical experience, Domingues was hardly the top pick to solve the crisis. Nevertheless, he set his sights on grocery stores, figuring them as not only substantial contributors to the food waste epidemic, but also practical sites to produce value for consumers, particularly those most in need. His vision driving him relentlessly onward, by November of that year, he had a working app and had secured a pilot with a specialty grocer in Canada. By mid-November, however, the dream quickly seemed to be slipping into a nightmare. Only partway through the pilot, everything was already in chaos. A lack of in-store coordination, a yet-clunky app, and an increasingly irritated district manager spelled growing disaster for Domingues. Did he pull the trigger too early in launching this venture? Maybe he should have built a more solid financial nest egg? Should he really have done this alone, or was entrepreneurship more of a team sport? To make matters more complicated, Domingues was beginning to see interest-and actual financial investment-from other sectors. Maybe he should switch to the restaurant industry, or even partner with a farmer in developing a direct-to-consumer model, and jettison grocery altogether? Despite his inspirational vision, the road that lay ahead of Domingues remained fraught with uncertainty, if only his commitment could see him through.

How do venture capital and private equity funds actually work? This Technical Note covers the "when, who, and how" details: "When": fund length, extensions, and when investors can no longer initiate new investments. "Who": who is in the General Partner entity, the importance of the firm's Management Company (the owners of the firm), how fees and carried interest flows work, and the Limited Partners' Advisory Committee. "How": key person clauses, invested capital vs, committed capital, what happens when an investor defaults on its commitment, how multiples are calculated (MOIC vs. TVPI), the difference between realized and unrealized gains/losses, how fund distributions work, and the difference between distributed and residual value.

When low-income and disadvantaged individuals start businesses-herein, poverty entrepreneurs-the experience of fear can be especially impactful on their behavior. In this article, we explore the role of fear as an obstacle and facilitator in both the launching and development of ventures by poverty entrepreneurs. Two primary fears are examined. The first, fear of failure, has been examined extensively by scholars yet has received scant attention concerning poverty entrepreneurs. Our second focus is the fear of success, which has received even less emphasis and is not well-understood in the context of business. It is a seemingly paradoxical notion that individuals can perceive negative consequences from what is otherwise a successful outcome. Using experiences from the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative-an 11-month annual intervention program that operates in 32 cities across the globe and serves over 2,000 disadvantaged entrepreneurs-we developed a series of focus groups with poverty entrepreneurs to learn more about their encounters with fear. A reconceptualization of these fears in a poverty context is provided. The potential upsides and downsides of fear when it comes to entrepreneurial behavior are examined, and implications are drawn from the coexistence of fears of failure and success.

Maria took a final glance at the company accounts, then closed her laptop. On New Year's Eve of 2022, she had mixed emotions reflecting on the journey of the past two years. In just fifteen days, it would be Merafuture's two year anniversary as a registered company. 2020 and 2021 were anything but normal for the world, and it was no different for Merafuture. In August 2021, after struggling for the first year and a half, the company began to show progress by picking up sales when schools and colleges reopened across Pakistan. Yet, still operating at a loss, she wondered if the company could afford to stay afloat for another year while waiting to make a profit.

New research shows that the way many organizations conduct innovation contests needs to be improved. The biggest takeaway: Leaders need to design their contests to match their organization’s hoped-for outcomes. Choices like the number of prizes and the identity of judges, for example, will affect the number and diversity of participants, the time they invest, and the quality of their ideas. Here’s how to choose among the possible approaches based on your organization’s goals.

MedfirstIndia Trading Private Limited was a privately owned e-commerce start-up in India. The firm's goal was to establish a first-of-its-kind medical devices e-commerce platform catering to various underserved market segments, such as small hospitals and independent medical practices. The firm relied primarily on digital channels for branding and customer outreach. However, the founders did not have a structured data-driven decision-making strategy in place despite the wealth of data flowing in through web analytics. In 2018, after three years of operations, the firm closed its doors. The case highlights the challenges of strategizing and managing the digital marketing operations of an e-commerce start-up.

In November 2023, the board of OpenAI, one of the most successful companies in the history of technology, decided to fire Sam Altman, its charismatic and influential CEO. Their decision shocked the corporate world and had people wondering why OpenAI had designed a governance structure that made such a decision possible. In the last year, the company had introduced ChatGPT, the fastest growing app in history, and achieved a valuation of almost $90 billion. Altman had become the public face of AI and was instrumental in making the remarkable progress possible. Over five chaotic days, the company went through three CEO changes, had 90 percent of its employees almost move to Microsoft, and saw five of the six original members of the board resign and be replaced by two new members. The extraordinary high-stakes saga brought together the combustible mixture of idealism, capitalism, and power in the context of different world views of the promise and peril of the AI revolution. The case traces the history of modern AI, OpenAI's groundbreaking developments, its wrestle with the dual forces of commercial success and ethical responsibility, and finally its dramatic leadership upheaval. By highlighting the challenges of balancing advancing AI technology with protecting humanity's interests, the case offers a comprehensive exploration for educators in leadership, strategy, technology, ethics, and governance.

Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH) faced the challenge of scaling a low-tech business in the incense stick market. Led by Prakash Agarwal and his sons, MDPH secured a substantial domestic market share through competitive pricing and extensive distribution, aiming to achieve a ₹10 billion turnover by 2026. The company had to choose between expanding their core business or diversifying into related or new product lines. Expansion entailed deeper market penetration and product variation, while diversification presented opportunities in sectors like home fragrances or personal care products. The chosen strategy had to align with MDPH's economic and non-economic family goals, considering market dynamics and consumer trends. By leveraging their brand equity and distribution networks while staying true to their values, MDPH had the opportunity to navigate industry challenges and realize their growth ambitions.

Luke Thomas, owner and operator of Healthy Eats (HE), was considering the future direction of the business following an inflow of cash from a silent investor. HE was a meal prep delivery service located in London, Ontario that focused on fueling healthy lifestyles with locally sourced ingredients. Having proven the business model in London, Thomas was considering two distinct growth alternatives: opening a second kitchen in Hamilton, Ontario, or doubling down on securing new corporate clients. Regardless of his decision, Thomas also wanted to revisit HE’s fiscal 2023 marketing strategy to ensure sales projections were met despite a limited budget.

Fawn Weaver, as a Black woman and industry outsider in a capital-intensive, highly regulated, competitive and male-dominated spirits industry, successfully overcame numerous obstacles to launch a premium American whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest in 2017, which became the fastest growing and most awarded whiskey brand in America. By October 2023, Weaver announced the company's plans to expand into cognac to support her vision of building the next major conglomerate for alcoholic beverages. However, she still heavily relied on capital and needed to convince new investors that her plans for cognac would yield success.

STEPN was a one-year-old lifestyle app designed to incentivize routine physical activities like walking, jogging, and running by providing individual financial rewards for participants. The app was part of the move-to-earn (M2E) category of blockchain games. Within a short time, STEPN had established an exceptional track record of both financial performance and enterprise valuation and had achieved unicorn status. However, by January 2023, the Web 3 app was on the verge of being caught in what was known in the world of blockchain games as a death spiral. The prices of its flagship product and its exchange medium were both dropping, and the company’s net profits were also in decline. The co-founders needed to determine not only how to head off a death spiral in the short run but also how to sustain the business in the long run.

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed Tyro to enhance safety and reduce maintenance costs in commercial trucking. However, they encountered a critical ethical and strategic decision when a potential design flaw was identified, presenting a safety risk. This dilemma tested their commitment to product integrity and customer safety. The case study details APA Technologies' journey from inception to facing this pivotal decision. Highlighting their user-centric design approach and rigorous testing procedures, it reflects on the company's ethos of prioritizing product quality and safety. The founders' philosophy of continuous improvement through customer feedback and iterative development is underscored. The narrative explores the implications of the recall decision, not just financially, but also in terms of customer trust and company reputation. It presents the founders' analysis of the risks and benefits, reflecting the complexities of ethical decision-making in a competitive business landscape. Additionally, the case study delves into strategic challenges such as managing financial strains, navigating market penetration, and considering partnerships. It illustrates the balance between innovation, ethics, and strategic growth in the tech startup ecosystem.

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed Tyro to enhance safety and reduce maintenance costs in commercial trucking. However, they encountered a critical ethical and strategic decision when a potential design flaw was identified, presenting a safety risk. This dilemma tested their commitment to product integrity and customer safety. The case study details APA Technologies' journey from inception to facing this pivotal decision. Highlighting their user-centric design approach and rigorous testing procedures, it reflects on the company's ethos of prioritizing product quality and safety. The founders' philosophy of continuous improvement through customer feedback and iterative development is underscored. The narrative explores the implications of the recall decision, not just financially, but also in terms of customer trust and company reputation. It presents the founders' analysis of the risks and benefits, reflecting the complexities of ethical decision-making in a competitive business landscape. Additionally, the case study delves into strategic challenges such as managing financial strains, navigating market penetration, and considering partnerships. It illustrates the balance between innovation, ethics, and strategic growth in the tech startup ecosystem.

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed Tyro to enhance safety and reduce maintenance costs in commercial trucking. However, they encountered a critical ethical and strategic decision when a potential design flaw was identified, presenting a safety risk. This dilemma tested their commitment to product integrity and customer safety. The case study details APA Technologies' journey from inception to facing this pivotal decision. Highlighting their user-centric design approach and rigorous testing procedures, it reflects on the company's ethos of prioritizing product quality and safety. The founders' philosophy of continuous improvement through customer feedback and iterative development is underscored. The narrative explores the implications of the recall decision, not just financially, but also in terms of customer trust and company reputation. It presents the founders' analysis of the risks and benefits, reflecting the complexities of ethical decision-making in a competitive business landscape. Additionally, the case study delves into strategic challenges such as managing financial strains, navigating market penetration, and considering partnerships. It illustrates the balance between innovation, ethics, and strategic growth in the tech startup ecosystem.

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed Tyro to enhance safety and reduce maintenance costs in commercial trucking. However, they encountered a critical ethical and strategic decision when a potential design flaw was identified, presenting a safety risk. This dilemma tested their commitment to product integrity and customer safety. The case study details APA Technologies' journey from inception to facing this pivotal decision. Highlighting their user-centric design approach and rigorous testing procedures, it reflects on the company's ethos of prioritizing product quality and safety. The founders' philosophy of continuous improvement through customer feedback and iterative development is underscored. The narrative explores the implications of the recall decision, not just financially, but also in terms of customer trust and company reputation. It presents the founders' analysis of the risks and benefits, reflecting the complexities of ethical decision-making in a competitive business landscape. Additionally, the case study delves into strategic challenges such as managing financial strains, navigating market penetration, and considering partnerships. It illustrates the balance between innovation, ethics, and strategic growth in the tech startup ecosystem.

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed Tyro to enhance safety and reduce maintenance costs in commercial trucking. However, they encountered a critical ethical and strategic decision when a potential design flaw was identified, presenting a safety risk. This dilemma tested their commitment to product integrity and customer safety. The case study details APA Technologies' journey from inception to facing this pivotal decision. Highlighting their user-centric design approach and rigorous testing procedures, it reflects on the company's ethos of prioritizing product quality and safety. The founders' philosophy of continuous improvement through customer feedback and iterative development is underscored. The narrative explores the implications of the recall decision, not just financially, but also in terms of customer trust and company reputation. It presents the founders' analysis of the risks and benefits, reflecting the complexities of ethical decision-making in a competitive business landscape. Additionally, the case study delves into strategic challenges such as managing financial strains, navigating market penetration, and considering partnerships. It illustrates the balance between innovation, ethics, and strategic growth in the tech startup ecosystem.

Digital technologies challenge incumbent firms to rethink their established approaches to customer relationships. This article examines how a corporate bank reconfigured its relationship-oriented business model to benefit from digital transformation. The case analysis reveals a gradual transition toward a blended service model that first replaces, then complements, and finally augments physical with digital in increasingly complex customer interactions. While replacing and complementing human-enabled services with digital offerings are necessary steps of the digital transition, the associated competitive advantages are perceived as unlikely to endure. In contrast, augmenting human-enabled services with sophisticated digital technologies holds the potential for sustainable competitive advantage.

In 1954, Elise Sørensen, a home-care nurse, met with the plastic-packaging manufacturer Aage Louis-Hansen to discuss a new idea she had developed: a disposable ostomy bag made of the new wonder material, plastic. Aage was reluctant to become involved, but his wife convinced him to give Elise and her idea a chance. This was the beginning of a billion-euro global success. In 2022, the resulting company, Coloplast, had around 12,000 employees worldwide and turnover of more than EUR 2.5 billion from different medical products, with the ostomy bag as the core product. However, in the 1950s, Aage and Elise were just two people making decisions in a world of uncertainty where no one could predict the future. In short, they were in precisely the same situation as many of those working with start-ups in the 2020s. The case is untraditional, as it is not about a dilemma. Instead, it is designed to spur broader discussions about innovation and entrepreneurship. However, one dilemma that could be considered based on the case is plastic as a wonder material that makes life better versus plastic as problematic waste and part of an unsustainable petroculture. The ostomy bag made life better for millions, but was it also a good innovation from a global environmental perspective? Nevertheless, this dilemma is not the main focus of the case, where the history of Coloplast is told as a start-up story taking place in the mid-1950s. Students follow how Elise got the idea, how she met Aage, and how production began.

Doubble is a Danish dating app founded in October 2021 by Dennis Rosenlund, a bachelor's student at Copenhagen Business School. Challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions placed on in-person events, the first-semester student developed an app to facilitate "double dates." Users signed up for the app and connected to their friends. Then they looked for other pairs with which to have double dates. This made it easier to initiate contact by chat and reduced the awkwardness of first dates. Doubble's first users were Dennis's fellow university students. However, over time, network effects facilitated growth beyond this initial niche. The case allows for a discussion of effectuation principles at the earliest stage of venture development and the financing needs of new ventures, especially those with a platform-business model.

On a fine winter morning in January 2021, in an office in downtown Copenhagen, Henrik Isaksen, the founder of GreenMobility, pondered the future of his company and his role in it. GreenMobility, a pioneer in electric vehicle (EV) car sharing, had established itself as an industry leader in Denmark and had taken the first steps towards globalizing its business. The company was operating in seven cities in four countries. Moreover, it had recently been listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen's Main Market and had plans to unroll operations in major European markets. However, Isaksen found himself at a crossroads. Despite some early success, the path to globalization had been fraught with challenges. GreenMobility did not have a proven business model. It had struggled with leadership challenges, with five different CEOs in as many years. The global pandemic, which started in 2019, had placed unprecedented strain on the entire transportation industry. GreenMobility needed a new strategy, not only to weather this turbulent period but also to continue expanding into new markets and establish itself as the global leader in the EV car-sharing segment. What approach to internationalization would best enable GreenMobility to achieve its ambition? Was Isaksen the person best suited to lead the company through the next stage of internationalization?