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Takahiko Naraki is a young entrepreneur in Japan who is trying to make his Internet-based business model work in the challenging Tokyo business world and must make a key decision: whether and how to expand his business. Discusses the work-life balance of entrepreneurs in general and this one Japanese entrepreneur in particular. Also introduces aspects of the Japanese entrepreneurial environment, including the importance of networking, the business laws regulating entrepreneurial activity, social perceptions of entrepreneurship, and the capital market for small companies in Japan.

Details the history of Juniper Networks, with specific emphasis on idea formulation and on founder Pradeep Sindhu's decision relating to funding the company as well as his relationship with its venture capital investors. Also explores the decision the company's CEO, Scott Kriens, faced when considering the path of corporate investment.

The case describes the story of three generations of a business family, who owned and managed a beautiful resort. The family story includes traumatic events like: early deaths; suicide; and remarriages and the lack of communication on succession issues. Succession took place in abrupt ways, through death of owner-managers, or threat to sell by their widows. Case (A) describes the history of the family and the business until 1996, when the second generation widow confronts the children with her determination to sell the business. Case (B), to be used after case discussion, explains what happened afterwards.

The case describes the story of three generations of a business family, who owned and managed a beautiful resort. The family story includes traumatic events like: early deaths; suicide; and remarriages and the lack of communication on succession issues. Succession took place in abrupt ways, through death of owner-managers, or threat to sell by their widows. Case (A) describes the history of the family and the business until 1996, when the second generation widow confronts the children with her determination to sell the business. Case (B), to be used after case discussion, explains what happened afterwards.

Antidilution provisions are an important element of most financings offered to entrepreneurs by venture capitalists and business angels. Yet few entrepreneurs are familiar with the different types of antidilution provisions and their mechanics. Compares the three most common scenarios for a financing round: no antidilution protection, weighted-average antidilution protection, and full-ratchet antidilution protection. Discusses the nature of antidilution provisions and provides a numerical example.

The newly appointed dean of a South American business school is eager to transform the learning process from the traditional lecture method to one that actively engages students and contributes to the development of critical managerial skills, attitudes, and world view. To be successful, a number of organizational processes must be changed, and strong alliances must be created with key members of the faculty, administrative staff, alumni, and students.

The Torre Almirante office tower, Hines' newest project in Rio de Janeiro, was a 36-story, Class AA office tower with an adjoining 420-stall parking structure and a preserved 14-story historic facade. It was completely different from anything that had previously been built in the city. It was also the first time that a developer took the risk of publicly announcing to the Brazilian business community its intention and commitment to complete such a complex real estate project on schedule. It was an impressive and unprecedented enterprise, but at this stage, the project was enmeshed in some operational complications. Several project designs were not yet ready, and discussions among the different companies involved in the development had intensified in the past weeks. Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the New York-based design architect, was debating with Hines about issues ranging from the glass window specifications to the material for the gold leaf lobby ceiling. Pontual Arquitetura, the local production architect, was concerned about the fire protection system. In addition, Racional, the local general contractor, just pointed out a serious problem in the freight elevator shaft that could force Hines to modify substantial parts of the project and, consequently, trigger a new round of required approvals. Includes color exhibits.

Four venture capitalists from leading Silicon Valley firms are interviewed about the frameworks they use to evaluate potential venture opportunities. Questions include: How do you evaluate the venture's prospective business model? What due diligence do you conduct? What is the process through which funding decisions are made? What financial analyses do you perform? What role does risk play in your evaluation? and How do you think about a potential exit route? Russell Siegelman, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Sonja Hoel, managing director at Menlo Ventures; Fred Wang, general partner at Trinity Ventures; and Robert Simon, director at Alta Partners, are interviewed.

RelayHealth provides secure, online communications for doctors, patients, and health plans. The company's services include online consultations, prescription renewals, and appointment scheduling. RelayHealth's business model derives subscription revenue from doctors and licensing fees from health plans. RelayHealth recently completed a successful pilot study and has been able to sign on a number of high-profile health plans and physician groups. The company is struggling with ways to spur growth and drive usage and adoption of its product among its three market segments: physicians, patients, and health plans.

The managing director of a fundraising organization has recently taken on the project of raising money for charity by managing the third edition of a calendar. He had guidance from the founder of the original calendar project that raised funds for the fire fighters in New York. He focused his energies on creating high quality calendars but they were still not printed as the due date drew near and he was encountering a number of obstacles. He was beginning to feel a bit let down, but he still had to decide how to market the calendars for maximum effect. This is a supplement to Wgirl, Wboy Calendars (A) and (B), products, 9B02A018 and 9B02A019.

Three engineering students consider the direction they should take with their award-winning design project, the Golf Swing Analyzer. Media attention to their project indicated that the idea had the potential to become a successful business venture. The students were unsure whether to manufacture and market the device themselves or sell the design to an interested party.

ALI Technologies Inc. is a medical information technology company that develops filmless diagnostic equipment for hospitals and clinics and is world leader in this field. An offer to acquire the company has been presented and the chief executive officer and the board of directors must determine if the offer is fair to the company shareholders and in the best interests of the company.

Millennial Net created self-organizing, ultra-low-power, wireless sensor networks, a space that was getting a lot of attention in 2004. The company was founded in 2000 and in early 2004 was looking for a second round of funding. The area had attracted a number of new ventures by impressive investors. What makes Millennial Net worth another round of backing?

Provides entrepreneurs with an understanding of how to use market research and market information to test the validity of a business concept and to refine a business plan. Introduces the key questions entrepreneurs should consider, the techniques entrepreneurs could use to gather information to address those questions, and the practical considerations for collecting and interpreting data.

Sarah Harris, a young, recent MBA student, sets out to raise a search fund and acquire a company in the hospitality business. Serves as a backdrop to role play various selling situations for a would-be entrepreneur. Five vignettes illustrate different situations where understanding the sales process and strategies would benefit the situation: negotiating the acquisition of a small reservations management company, soliciting a potential search fund investor, hiring a key employee, having the contract renewal of a key account put into question, and selling a new client.

Maxxium (B) details the addition of the 4th partner and new partnership models that it has adopted. The case raises issues around whether and how the company should grow.

Gives an account of how an entrepreneur was able to seize an opportunity to start a new business and to manage a low-cost, but effective sales operation. Khalid Gibran exhibited the hallmarks of entrepreneurial style--he viewed rules as guidelines only and was willing to adjust his organization's priorities to make the most of changing circumstances. In less than three years, he spearheaded two organizations, but in so doing, he had to make a number of important trade-offs. OneCard--his latest and most ambitious venture--was launched just before Hong Kong was beset by the mysterious SARS virus. As retail sales plummeted and Hong Kong residents avoided eating out, many businesses were bracing for more uncertainty. Gibran, however, saw a marketing opportunity amid the many challenges and a chance to grow his merchant and subscriber bases.

In May 1996, two world renowned climbers, along with some of their clients and guides, perished on Mount Everest in the mountain's deadliest tragedy to date. The accounts of survivors imply that biased decision making contributed to the tragedy. Did a decision lead to this tragedy or was it an unfortunate mountaineering accident? The case provides the opportunity to explore decision biases such as framing, escalation of commitment, anchoring, and over confidence and the issues of leadership style, group behaviour, team management and communication.

Jinjian Garment Factory is a large clothing manufacturer based in Shenzhen with distribution to Hong Kong and overseas. Although Shenzhen had become one of the most advanced garment manufacturing centres in the world, managers in this industry still had few effective ways of dealing with the collective and deliberate slow pace of work by the employees, of motivating workers, and of resolving the problem between seasonal production requirements and retention of skilled workers. However, the owner and managing director of the company must determine the reasons behind the deliberately slow pace of the workers, the pros and cons of the piecework system and the methods he could adopt to motivate the workers effectively.

Slingshot Technology Inc. (STI) is a privately held software start-up founded in 1995 focused on identifying emerging spaces in the IT services industry and partnering with vendors selling promising but unproven technologies in those spaces. The vendors used STI to extend their system development and integration capabilities to deliver on aggressive deadlines, STI gained a steady stream of consulting and engineering work plus opportunities to identify and meet follow-on needs of the vendors' Fortune 1000 customers. Four years after the company was founded with $1,000, revenue had exploded to $1.9 million on the basis of partnerships with enterprise applications development and enterprise application integration vendors. In late 1998, the founder was pondering how to set up an innovative "software factory" to complement the consulting side of the business while ensuring that STI's knowledge assets and intellectual property were protected.