個案總覽

In March 2023, the co-founder of Rangoli Group of Institutes, Prahar Anjaria, was contemplating expanding his educational venture across the country. Founded in 2009 in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, the organization was a successful and award-winning preschool chain. The company was focused on imparting holistic learning with high moral, ethical, and pedagogical insight, as well as giving back to society through various social and cultural settings. With an evolving educational marketplace and new government regulations, Anjaria was wondering if this was the right time to expand across the country. What would be the impact of national expansion? How could he be sure to retain the core educational philosophy that made Rangoli Group of Institutes unique?

The Gurmukh Singh Technology (GST) group, based in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, manufactured high-precision machined parts and sheet-metal components for various industries and sectors such as agriculture and horticulture. Revenues of the group had dipped substantially in 2018 due to non-receipt of payments from some customers, and the situation was compounded by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. In January 2022, the managing director and head of marketing was planning a restructuring drive with the intention of doubling revenues and increasing the profitability of the group by 50 per cent over the next five years. He had to decide whether to reframe the group's business-to-business marketing strategy and, if so, in what respect. How should he segment customers and select the most appropriate segments? How could he incentivize these customers to buy his company's products rather than those of competitors? What should be the value proposition of the company?

Constellation Pharmaceuticals was a company focused on epigenetic therapies for cancer patients. Despite a promising start and an early deal with a leading biopharma company, the company weathered twin setbacks in the end of a major research collaboration and the decision by the same company to let an option to acquire the company lapse. In a difficult capital market, the company had begun a reboot, but needed to figure out how to weave together key corporate development threads. New CEO and returning Constellation team member Jigar Raythatha wondered if Constellation could capitalize on the current portfolio and make the run to be a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company selling its own products in the United States. He realized it would take a combination of clear goal setting, capital markets, and potentially partnering to balance this goal and returns for longtime shareholders. His background and training provide a playbook that might not apply-Constellation might not be able to secure another big pharma partnership and might instead need to put together a series of deals to secure needed capital and capabilities without trading away too much of the company's future.

After taking over from their parents, Sebastian Maxwell and Alexandra Ito, CEO and COO of Minnesota-based outdoor adventure brand Tenkara, must decide how they want to resource and grow this formerly family-run business. After outdoor activities exploded during the COVID pandemic, Tenkara boasted a growth curve that could put them on a VC-backed path. But is that the right choice for these founders and this business? And if so, which of two Series A term sheets should they accept?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 824003.

During a challenging fundraising environment, the DexAI founders received two term sheets with nearly identical economic terms but very different legal ones. The entrepreneurs had to navigate: representations and warranties (their personal guarantees that the company's intellectual property was free and clear and that its financial statements were accurate), investor control terms (protective provisions, Board of Directors composition, and matters that required investor approval), and how their founders' stock was treated (a buyback right that effectively vested their stock and how that might change upon a company sale/merger/IPO, the termination of a founder, or a founder's resignation for "good reason"). The case also explores a possible intellectual property violation with one founder's prior employer.

The success or failure of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (Dicerna) as an emerging pharmaceutical company would likely hinge on its lead drug candidate Nedosiran and the company's ability to see it successfully through clinical development. Ralf Rosskamp, Chief Medical Officer, had an ambitious clinical development plan that leveraged novel technology and a dynamic regulatory strategy to rapidly accelerate Nedosiran's development as a treatment for a rare disease. The case elaborates on Rosskamp's plan to design, operationalize and execute the clinical development plan, with a limited staff and an aggressive time line.

This case follows the entrepreneurial journey of SmartHR founder Shoji Miyata as he led his company to become the leading cloud player in the human resources space and one of only a handful of tech unicorns in Japan. By automating, digitalizing, and streamlining traditional HR functions such as onboarding new employees and managing social insurance, SmartHR was at the forefront of reducing manual HR-related paperwork in the country. Among the 1.87 million business entities in Japan, most of which still relied on manual paperwork in their HR processes, SmartHR's product offerings quickly gained traction and the company experienced exponential growth. SmartHR grew to a 45.8% market share in the labor management cloud space overall and a 71.7% market share in the enterprise segment. Although Miyata felt it was an honor to have led SmartHR, he saw the merits of voluntarily relinquishing the CEO role and passing the baton to a successor as the company became larger and might seek an IPO in the future. He felt that he could not adapt to the changes in the macro environment, ultimately deciding to let go and focus on a new venture in a rare move in business succession.

Marina Larroudé stared glumly at all the crossings out on the proposed boots order for the autumn collection. Her husband Ricardo wanted to cut her suggestions by nearly half - in models, colours and quantities. Their fledgling shoe business had begun to a promising buzz a few months ago, but last month's sales had dwindled to a trickle. Ricardo feared that Marina's bold order would leave them stranded with unsold inventory. She sipped her coffee and wondered if he was right to be cautious. Had their initial reception been a fad? Was this opportunity as attractive as they had assumed a few short months ago? Should she push back or accept her husband's cuts?

On Wednesday 15 September 2021, about 100 On team members were going to jog to the NYSE to mark the running shoe brand's first day as a publicly traded company. One of few unicorns in Switzerland, On had been founded in January 2010 by running enthusiasts David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti, together with former professional athlete Olivier Bernhard. It was one of the fastest-growing global sports brands. In a decade, On had grown from a small start-up, operating out of an old church, to a multinational company employing almost 900 people. It was known across the world, not least thanks to tennis star Roger Federer, who had joined On as an investor and partner. Culture, or "spirit" as it was called at On, was particularly important for the running shoe company. The origin story of On defined the company and was still deeply reflected in present and future aspirations. It had all started with a crazy idea to glue pieces of garden hose to an old sneaker. The highly entrepreneurial mindset - referred to as "explorer spirit" - permeated the company's DNA and was one of the key reasons for its success. The five partners believed it was crucial to maintain that spirit as the organization grew. By going public, the company aimed to secure funding for further global expansion. The funds raised would give the company the resources it needed to fulfil its dreams and help it reach the size required to play in the big league and compete with global players like Nike or Asics. The IPO was a major milestone for On but being a public company would also come with new obligations and increased expectations, from both the public and shareholders. The five partners were aware of the potential risk this represented to the company's culture.

When one of On's co-founders stepped into the elevator at the brand new On Labs headquarters in Zurich, a fellow co-worker asked whether it was also his first day at On. He was speechless. Less than a decade earlier, the 5 partners regularly went for lunch runs with some of the other 30 team members. And now in April 2023, On was a publicly listed multinational company with more than 1,800 employees, some of whom did not know or recognize the founders. This was disconcerting and the five partners reflected on the recent developments. The IPO in 2021 had been a great success and the company had been able to raise $746 million. The funds raised allowed On to further accelerate its growth, and the company had recently passed the CHF 1 billion revenue mark. During the pandemic, 500 new employees had joined the company. To accommodate the growing workforce, a new campus for product development, design and innovation - On Labs, with office space for 1,000 employees - was created in Zurich. After a period of exponential growth, and a number of employees being hired annually - some of them from On's close competitors - the company was facing new pressures and felt at a crossroads. Although the IPO had had a limited impact on the company culture so far, the partners wondered whether the continued dramatic growth would affect the company culture. Were they going to be able to retain their unique culture and keep it from being diluted, while continuing to grow to achieve their mission? The three founders had a unique opportunity to rethink their role and how they could best contribute to On's future success.

Jake Becraft, a PhD student at MIT disillusioned in pursuit of his dreams of becoming an academic, serendipitously finds himself discussing the potential commercial applications of his work with Tasuku Kitada, his former postdoctoral research mentor. The two decide to alter the course of both of their lives, join forces, and begin down an entrepreneurial road to found Strand Therapeutics. The journey features the genesis of Becraft's ideas, the pursuit of those ideas, the path to entrepreneurship and the associated challenges, including many bumps, twists and turns along the way.

Founded in 2015, WayCool, is an Indian agri-tech start-up that built a B2B operation acquiring fruits and vegetables from product-specific agriculture companies and small-holding farmers. It sold them to business customers, such as local retail stores, restaurants, and hotels. The B2B strategy leveraged transparency, hygienic practices, and faster material and information flow to increase farmer incomes and reduce food wastage. Next, to enhance its 'inch-wide, mile-deep' approach using technology, WayCool scaled its supply chain using six software solutions: farmer support, procurement, warehousing, distribution to B2B customers, and two retailer solutions. In 2022, it spun off its software applications as a wholly owned tech arm, Censa. WayCool evolved its mission to 'supporting 1% of the global food supply chain.' This growth was supported by funds of $161 million raised over five investment rounds. WayCool's strategy was operating multiple businesses, tackling all aspects of the supply chain, in a historically informal sector in an emerging market. But the founders had to consider the risks. Multiple business streams increased complexity, and the founders were often asked, was WayCool spreading itself too thin? To ensure sustained performance over the long term, should WayCool focus on building all its businesses or narrow its focus?

This case explores the opportunities and challenges associated with expanding the operations of a complex entrepreneurial business model. It highlights how cultural aspects of different geographies impact a startup's operational and economic models. The case also debates the considerations of expanding operations internationally versus penetrating new customer segments within a company's existing market. Lastly, the case presents the tensions that may exist between investors and entrepreneurs in deciding the desired course of action.

In March 2020, the German online travel experience platform GetYourGuide faced an abrupt drop in revenues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the drop, the company had been thriving, grown from a simple idea thought up by a group of friends in a student dormitory into a market-leading company in the travel experience industry with a valuation of over US$1 billion (a “unicorn” start-up) and more than 600 employees across fifteen global offices. Co-founder Johannes Reck and his team needed to determine a path forward—but how to prioritize responses to the crisis? What would the impact of any responses be on the company’s longer-term strategy? And how could the responses be aligned with the company’s values, which centred on entrepreneurial vision and commitment to employees? Whichever action plan was chosen, decisions would have to be made swiftly.

On December 15, 2020, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Australian event-staging company Stagekings Pty. Ltd. (Stagekings) was honoured with a SmartCompany Resilience award. Speaking at the event, he reflected on the dreadful day of Friday March 13, 2020, when a lockdown was announced due to COVID-19. In the 48 hours following this announcement, Stagekings lost all its live-event jobs. Sick to the core, the CEO decided to post an open letter asking Australians what they needed the most. Addressing many requests from people working from home, Stagekings rapidly launched a new brand, IsoKings, with a single product: a flat-pack desk. In just 15 months after its launch, IsoKing reported revenue of AU$1.5 million. As lockdowns lifted and people returned to offices, the CEO was worried: Should IsoKings be further developed, or should the company get back to its core business of making stages?

On December 15, 2020, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Australian event-staging company Stagekings Pty. Ltd. (Stagekings) was honoured with a SmartCompany Resilience award. Speaking at the event, he reflected on the dreadful day of Friday March 13, 2020, when a lockdown was announced due to COVID-19. In the 48 hours following this announcement, Stagekings lost all its live-event jobs. Sick to the core, the CEO decided to post an open letter asking Australians what they needed the most. Addressing many requests from people working from home, Stagekings rapidly launched a new brand, IsoKings, with a single product: a flat-pack desk. In just 15 months after its launch, IsoKing reported revenue of AU$1.5 million. As lockdowns lifted and people returned to offices, the CEO was worried: Should IsoKings be further developed, or should the company get back to its core business of making stages?