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This case follows a protagonist as he tries to secure start-up capital to get his entrepreneurial venture going.

Jane Darcy stared in dismay at the spreadsheet. As the editor of Bolt, a free daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Darcy had been working since January 2007 to build a devoted readership. Published Monday through Friday, Bolt featured topics such as local news and sports and was written in a snappy style for readers between 18 and 34 years old. Advertising had been steadily climbing. But its parent company was suffering, and Bolt might therefore be on the chopping block. What could Darcy do to save her beloved paper?

David Brown sat at his desk in the stock room of his toy store, Huckle Buckle Beanstalk, looking at the three résumés in front of him. He needed a new store manager, and these three résumés were his top choices. Each offered a different mix of skills and experience, and he hoped he would have the unusual luxury of having one rise to the top in the afternoon interviews. He had fired his previous store manager just over a month earlier for theft, and he knew that the business would suffer if he had to continue managing the store himself.

Elizabeth Franks, CEO of VBV, had a week until her July 2010 board meeting. VBV had just completed a six-month marketing and advertising campaign for a new product line and strategic rebranding, and early responses from the board had indicated mixed feelings.

Marjorie Burnett knew she was taking a gamble and wondered whether the potential new business she was considering would be worth the investment. Was expansion-offering even more products-the answer to increasing revenue, and would that decision be more profitable than her present business?

This case series is appropriate for undergraduate, MBA, executive education, and MBA Exec audiences but is specifically designed for decision analysis, a first-year MBA core course. The Part II case affords the opportunity to examine downstream decisions and a real option regarding how fast to harvest the fish when the virus hits. Monte Carlo simulation would be used to incorporate uncertainties about when the virus hits, if it hits, and mortality, and to generate the risk profile of contribution for the option alternatives and to compare whether to use 1 or 2 squads to harvest the fish. Based on the simulation results, an evaluation will be made of what to pay for the option.

Photographs that record the early days of Groupon, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Twitter, and eBay, much as the iconic 1978 Microsoft photograph does for that company.

Describes the role of business development (BD) managers in technology companies, detailing the following: 1) BD managers' key responsibilities at each step in the process of creating a partnership agreement, 2) how the nature of the BD function evolves as a technology startup matures, and 3) the attributes of effective BD managers.

This case is a supplement to Goats: The Green Alternative (A). The (B) case can be used independently of the (A) case if the professor wishes to focus exclusively on capital budgeting. See also Goats: The Green Alternative (C) 9B15D001.

Describes the role of product manager (PM) in technology companies, detailing: 1) PMs' responsibilities; 2) different ways to organize the product management function; 3) how PMs interact with other functions within technology companies (e.g., engineering, product marketing); 4) how the nature of the PM role varies depending on context (e.g., early vs. late-stage startups, business- vs. engineering driven cultures); and 5) the attributes of effective PMs.

Firms that follow a hypothesis-driven approach to evaluating entrepreneurial opportunity are called "lean startups." Entrepreneurs in these startups translate their vision into falsifiable business model hypotheses, then test the hypotheses using a series of "minimum viable products," each of which represents the smallest set of features/activities needed to rigorously validate a concept. Based on test feedback, entrepreneurs must then decide whether to persevere with their business model, "pivot" by changing some model elements, or abandon the startup. This note describes, step-by-step, how to follow the hypothesis-driven approach when evaluating entrepreneurial opportunity; explains how the approach mitigates cognitive biases that otherwise can contribute to poor decisions; and considers conditions that are best suited for lean startup methods.

This note defines a business model and its major elements: a customer value proposition, a technology and operations management plan, a go-to-market plan, and a profit formula. For each element, the note lists questions that an entrepreneur must address when evaluating an early-stage opportunity. The note explores in greater depth several business model issues that are especially relevant to entrepreneurial ventures, including the impact of network effects and customer switching costs; conditions when a startup should consider vertical integration; the nature of first and late mover advantage; and conditions that favor viral marketing. The note concludes with practical guidelines for early-stage entrepreneurs on how to conduct business model analysis.

Provides background information for a negotiations exercise in which students will represent either Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), a fast-growing premium coffee roaster interested in licensing Keurig's technology. The negotiation will determine the royalty to be paid to Keurig by GMCR, who will bear capital expenditures, and whether GMCR secures exclusive distribution rights to Keurig's system.

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of senior executives of Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, in a negotiation to license technology to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). The negotiation will determine the royalty to be paid to Keurig by GMCR, who will bear capital expenditures, and determine whether GMCR secures exclusive distribution rights to Keurig's system.

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) senior executives in a negotiation to license technology from Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution. The negotiation will determine the royalty to be paid to Keurig by GMCR, who will bear capital expenditures, and determine whether GMCR secures exclusive distribution rights to Keurig's system.

A final-year student at a business school estimated the net present value (NPV) of his proposed business plan — a tourism and transport business in India — using three different methods and encountered different valuation results. He approached the professor who had taught him valuation concepts in a finance course and wanted to know the reasons for the difference.

Doug Rauch, the former president of grocery store chain Trader Joe's, had long been troubled by the amount of food, especially fresh and healthy produce, which was wasted in the food system. Simultaneously, he was frustrated by the paradox he saw in the U.S. food system: rising food insecurity, broadly defined as a lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times, concurrent with an obesity epidemic, suggesting that low-income communities lacked access not just to food in general, but to healthy foods in particular. Rauch believed he could build a non-profit grocery store model that took advantage of grocery stores' built-in waste and channeled that wasted food to be resold at a significant discount. Rauch faced significant challenges in the implementation and execution of his plan, notably legal hurdles related to selling products past their expiration date, marketing challenges, and convincing grocers to partner with him to combat waste. He had to carefully select a partner from a number of interested parties. Finally, he would need to change shopping, eating, and cooking behaviors of a community. In doing so, he hoped to leave a lasting positive health impact and a scalable model for change across the United States.

A managing partner of Pacific Community Ventures, a San Francisco-based private equity fund, had until the end of the week to decide if he wanted to invest in Galaxy Desserts, a Bay Area manufacturer of premium baked goods. PCV was a private equity firm that took a "double-bottom-line" approach, a two-pronged objective of delivering both financial and social returns.

The case is designed to generate a discussion concerning the motivations and risks of initiating policies of corporate ethics and social responsibility and the potential advantages and disadvantages of embracing these policies. It describes a situation in which an international giant in the tourist and hospitality industry must make a choice between profit maximization and the risk that a new venture has potential for contributing to sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. As such, it looks at the role of the travel and tourism industry in the sexual exploitation of children, including the ways in which airlines and hotels transport pedophiles to countries where children are available for exploitation. It also discusses national and international law and remedies regarding the sexual exploitation of children. By focusing on the Chief Executive's commitment to children and to combating child sex trafficking, the case encourages undergraduate and graduate-level students of business ethics, corporate social responsibility and leadership studies to consider the competing demands of business opportunity and social responsibility and the obligations business leaders must assume toward resolving moral issues. The case calls attention to the challenges of corporate social responsibility in a complex world

Rait Kalda, vice president of operations for AS Estonian Air, faced a challenge: how should Estonian Air address projected increases in intra-European flight demand in light of high fuel costs, competitive challenges, economic uncertainty, and last year's net loss? If Kalda's assessment led to expanding Estonian Air's fleet, he had to decide which plane model would achieve operational efficiencies, satisfy load factor requirements, and meet various other performance and financial metrics. In order to fully comprehend Kalda's challenge, the case first presents the reader with a brief synopsis of Estonia's economy; the airline industry; and the three types of competitive airline industry groups- legacy carriers, low cost carriers, and regional carriers. This is followed by an overview of Estonian Air's competitors and its opportunities for growth. The case provides detailed information regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the Boeing 737 Jet, the Bombardier Q400 Turboprop, and a used Saab 340A turboprop. Finally, the case summarizes Estonian Air's internal analysis and growth strategy, with pertinent input from conversations between Rait Kalda and the vice president of finance and administration, Andrus Aljas. Students are required to complete an operational analysis on factors such as capacity, fuel savings, and utilization rates. If Estonian Air does indeed decide to expand, the case states that the airline will continue with its past practice of leasing the aircraft. Using current financial statements, as well as information presented in the case, students can also prepare a basic net present value (NPV) model and scenario analysis for leasing each of the aircraft alternatives. Finally, students have the opportunity to combine both qualitative and quantitative factors to support their analysis.