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Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company GSX in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008-2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software development. By mid-2012 Leboyer believed GSX was positioned to invest in product development. His investment partner, however, wanted the company to focus on increasing profitability and cash flows.

Jade Magnet was India’s largest creative crowdsourcing platform. It had grown from an entrepreneurship project idea of two MBA students to one that had completed more than 700 projects for 200 brands through 3,000 providers that offered a range of creative services. As 2011 was coming to a close, the founders were preparing for a meeting with their mentor and angel investor to discuss a number of issues including whether to grow the business by expanding domestically in India and/or expanding internationally into the Middle East. A decision to enter the Middle East would raise further questions concerning market knowledge, competitors, external funding sources, joint ventures and branding.

Claritas Genomics was formed in January 2013 when BCH spun out its Genetics Diagnostic Lab into a fully commercial entity. Claritas offered over 100 genomic tests to detect a range of conditions, including autism and intellectual disabilities, and was developing new tests that provided clearer and more relevant information for physicians to use in treating patients. Claritas wanted to increase the speed at which genomic research discoveries occurred and translate this research into better diagnostic tests. To achieve this, it planned to collaborate with other children's hospitals through a research network it was developing. BCH was the company's majority owner, and Life Technologies (Life), a major manufacturer of sequencing equipment and services, was a minority owner. By the end of the year the CEO of Claritas Genomics, Dr. Patrice Milos, had to put Claritas in a position to grow and needed to have in place the software and IT platforms-the databases, search tools, and other programs-that would help the company reach scale.

In April 2012, the founder and owner of Lesley Stowe Fine Foods was in the final stages of selecting an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from a shortlist of proposed solutions. Founded in 1990 as a provider of premium catering services, cooking classes and specialty grocery products, the company had experienced such rapid growth after introducing a line of specialty crackers, called Raincoast Crisps, in the early 2000s that it decided to discontinue its food service operations in order to focus on production of the crisps. Their popularity across Canada meant that production volume necessitated a move from a small facility in midtown Vancouver to a large-scale manufacturing space located outside of the city. The new plant dramatically increased the company’s production capacity, but its legacy systems had not kept pace, especially its information system. The company was now positioned to enter the U.S. market with anticipated exponential growth. These conditions made the selection and implementation of the new ERP system critical to its continued success.

This note provides an overview of three key healthcare IT areas: electronic medical records and electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and telemedicine. This note also contains a glossary of key terms and acronyms in this space as well as exhibits detailing unit economics, market dynamics, and key players.

Homestrings is an online investment platform for overseas diasporas to link financially with their home countries. The founder believes crowd-funding can become a pillar for development, but U.S. regulatory hurdles and resources constraints are substantial. The company is considering targeting non-diaspora investors, introducing new products like insurance or banking, and related expansion strategies.

In February 2004, a physician working in the intensive care unit of a Toronto hospital wondered how to implement a strategy whereby an entire health care team could work towards better and consistent patient care based on best evidence. Doctors’ orders varied from one physician to another, and oftentimes the health care team had little insight into what worked best, what the best evidence was and how they could be sure their patients were receiving the best care possible. He wondered if it would be possible to adopt the airline industry’s “order sets” — step-by-step, evidence-based checklists that could be used by clinicians to order treatments for patients. He recognized that there were problems in implementing such a program, especially the lack of a standardized information technology strategy across the provincial health care system and physicians’ fear of losing their autonomy in making care decisions. Physicians already had access to clinical practice guidelines, which were designed to assist them to make informed, evidence-based decisions by removing the burden of tailored research and intervention design, but many found these to be too long, sometimes outdated and not integrated with the clinical process. How could these guidelines be integrated with physician orders to create a standardized process to ensure that every patient had access to the best care possible?

When entrepreneurs are successful in convincing venture capital firms that they are an attractive potential investment, they are presented with offers detailing many terms of the investment agreement. These are described in term sheets. Sorting through the myriad terms can be a daunting proposition for an entrepreneur. Yet, it is important for entrepreneurs to understand the terms of a proposed financing. These determine the payout the entrepreneurs will receive when the company is liquidated or sold (either to another company or to the public through and IPO), the dilution the entrepreneurs will suffer in the event of a future down round of financing, control of the board of directors, and other important matters. The Series A terms will also set a precedent for the terms of future financing rounds. This case presents a situation in which entrepreneurs receive term sheets from two venture capital firms. The two term sheets differ in many ways, and students are asked to evaluate them from the perspective of the entrepreneur.

Susie Gordon and Antonio Barile, a married couple, own a manufacturing company together. When their first child was born, they agreed that Susie would stay home with the kids while Antonio ran the business, and then, after a few years, they would swap roles. Now Susie is itching to get back to work, but Antonio is reluctant to step out of the CEO's job and return home. Does he have to honor their original deal--and what will happen if he doesn't? This fictional case study is written by Jim Sharpe and James Weber and features expert commentary by Paola Carniglia, Linda Katz, and Mike Katz.

Susie Gordon and Antonio Barile, a married couple, own a manufacturing company together. When their first child was born, they agreed that Susie would stay home with the kids while Antonio ran the business, and then, after a few years, they would swap roles. Now Susie is itching to get back to work, but Antonio is reluctant to step out of the CEO's job and return home. Does he have to honor their original deal--and what will happen if he doesn't? This fictional case study is written by Jim Sharpe and James Weber and features expert commentary by Paola Carniglia, Linda Katz, and Mike Katz.

Susie Gordon and Antonio Barile, a married couple, own a manufacturing company together. When their first child was born, they agreed that Susie would stay home with the kids while Antonio ran the business, and then, after a few years, they would swap roles. Now Susie is itching to get back to work, but Antonio is reluctant to step out of the CEO's job and return home. Does he have to honor their original deal--and what will happen if he doesn't? This fictional case study is written by Jim Sharpe and James Weber and features expert commentary by Paola Carniglia, Linda Katz, and Mike Katz.

Founded in 1997, Kalamandir was established in one of the poorest tribal areas in India to revive tribal dances and arts and generate livelihoods. It was now active in over 114 villages and its activities had helped increase the incomes of over 2,500 households. Despite strong achievements, much more would have to be done to make a substantial improvement in the lives of tribal villagers in Jharkhand, an impoverished region of India. The question was how to scale the activities and induce socio-economic development in a sustainable way. How could livelihood opportunities associated with arts, dance, culture and handicrafts be broadened while strengthening the region’s core agricultural income? How could the local leadership pool in villages be expanded and what mechanisms could be introduced to minimize conflicts or resolve them faster? How could Kalamandir attract dynamic professionals? Which government and private organizations did it have to develop stronger relationships with in order to access the financial resources it needed to grow?

The relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government has been characterized by conflict and change. Although the Conservative government seemed to support Aboriginal objectives when it issued an historic apology in 2007 for the abuses suffered under the residential schools program and signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in 2008, it included changes to the Indian Act in its 2012 omnibus Bill C-45 that put economic development ahead of environmental protection and violated numerous First Nations treaties. In response, a group of First Nations activists initiated the Idle No More movement, which used social media to organize demonstrations around the country, including teach-ins, flash mob round dances and blockades of major transportation routes. Although supported by many non-Aboriginal environmental and human rights groups both in Canada and abroad, the movement appeared to lose steam after the prime minister met Aboriginal leaders to outline eight key items of consensus for action to address Aboriginal and treaty rights, health care, education and employment issues and Chief Theresa Spence suspended the hunger strike that had galvanized support. How could Idle No More organizers maintain the momentum and awareness they had worked so hard to achieve?

A small publicly listed company is entertaining the idea of adding nursing home management to its medical value chain, which is currently focused on consultation. Management must rely on simulation in order to determine the feasibility of operating a nursing home according to admissions protocol and subsidies granted by a governmental agency.

A budding entrepreneur wants to start a mobile software company by developing a golf scoring and playing app called Golfgamez. He has assembled some raw data related to market size, as well as start-up and development costs, but is unsure how to proceed. He must evaluate the revenue and cost estimates for this business idea and prioritize the issues he faces. He must also consider the costs and benefits of available funding options, such as debt, equity or accelerator funding; crowdfunding; government grants; or sweat equity funding. Should he quit his successful career in banking to pursue his dream, should he try to do this part time and risk failure or should he give up altogether? Golfgamex (B): Funding a Digital Startup, 9B13E011, is the supplement to this case.

This is a supplement to 9B13E010.

The owners of a wedding videography startup, which offers three levels of services at different price points, are looking to hire someone to design a website prototype for the fledgling business. They believe the website should allow their customers to scroll through the various services included with each package, display standard prices and provide an order/contact form. They are unsure if they expect their customers to access the site using mobile devices as well as computer-based browsers, since they are worried about the cost of the different design approaches required for different screen sizes. This sets the stage for an introductory demonstration of a free visual wireframing and process prototyping tool called justinmind (www.justinmind.com).

This case was a finalist for NACRA's Curtis E. Tate Award for the best case published in the Case Research Journal in 2013. Caffébene founder Sun Kwon Kim has achieved phenomenal success in a highly competitive South Korean coffee industry dominated by American and conglomerate-founded brands. The case illustrates Kim's strong entrepreneurial orientation and describes the unusual decisions he has made to differentiate Caffébene and achieve rapid growth. Kim's success in South Korea continues to fuel his global ambition and causes him and his management team to consider entering either China or the U.S. as its next target market. The case introduces a wide range of topics relevant to entrepreneurship as well as franchising, including developing a new retail concept, creating and sustaining competitive advantage, managing rapid growth, and new market entry strategies. Kim is faced with a difficult stay-the-course vs. abandon decision when he experiences a major slipup with Caffébene's flagship store in the U.S. The discussion should raise fundamental questions about what made Caffébene successful in the first place, if those success factors are transferable to the U.S., and how Kim's strong entrepreneurial orientation affects his decision making process. Unique aspects of the case include(1) presents a rare story of an entrepreneurial service concept of Asian origin attempting to expand internationally and enter the U.S. (most cases of this sort are about companies going the opposite direction); (2) describes the process of developing and refining a new retail concept in a highly competitive market; (3) explains strategies for stimulating and managing remarkable growth in a short period of time; and (4) exposes students to Caffébene management's unorthodox thought process in the company's international expansion strategy.

SEL was set up by Mr. Ajith Kumar Rai, (who serves as its Managing Director), returned as a fresh graduate from Canada. Foreseeing a boom in the country's automobile market, Ajith decided to establish an automotive cable manufacturing unit. His clarity of vision convinced TVS Motors to invest in setting up Suprajit Engineering as a small, one-unit firm in Bangalore, a fast-growing Indian metro. Beginning in 1987 as a small-scale automotive cable manufacturer, Suprajit is now a public listed company, with some of the world's biggest automobile companies as clients, products spanning a wide range of automotive and non-automotive parts, and eight manufacturing units. This case traces the inspiring story of Suprajit Engineering Ltd., the case aims to highlight the reasons behind Suprajit's success, and is intended to demonstrate rapid growth strategies of entrepreneurial firms.

This is a supplement to Charles Chocolates (A).