個案總覽

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.

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.

Supplements the (A) case.

Cambridge Laboratories is essentially a fee-for-service provider of laboratory tests. It spends less than 0.5 per cent of revenues on research and development and holds relatively few patents for a biotech company. It now has an opportunity to invest $5 million to establish a joint venture with an Australian proteomics company that operates on a drug discovery (royalty) model. The founder of this company believed that his technology could eventually result in the discovery of new drugs that would generate significant royalties. While the proteomics firm has superb technology, some of the intellectual leaders in the field on its staff, and partnerships with some impressive companies, its technology is yet unproven. Cambridge Labs is also concerned that its existing relationships with big pharmaceutical companies could be jeopardized if it begins to take an intellectual property position in proteomics. In addition, the Australian company consists primarily of PhDs in molecular biology, while Cambridge Labs is dominated by business executives whose primary focus is generating strong financial returns for shareholders. The cultural differences between an Australian science-oriented laboratory and a publicly traded American outsourcing company become apparent during the negotiation phase of the joint venture proposal. Students are asked to evaluate the joint venture and consider whether the cultural and strategic differences can be reconciled.

The need to play catch-up in biotechnology has led Germany and Japan to adopt novel technology policies. Whereas policies to assist domestic industries have traditionally been geared toward incumbent firms, current trends revolve around "science entrepreneurship"--reforms in the national R&D system and targeted incentives for biotechnology scientists to file patents and start up their own firms. Japan, in particular, has recognized that catching up with the United States in basic science and in the commercialization of scientific research represents a kind of final frontier.

An entrepreneur comes up with a great idea for a new business that would service what he calls "the time-starved" segment. Using Wal-Mart as the warehouse, eBay as his storefront, and the U.S. Postal Service as the distributor, he would pick up and deliver products to businesses, conserving staff resources. He must think of as many opportunities as possible and determine any barriers that might occur.

Two experienced venture capitalists have decided to create a new venture capital fund. They have requested $70 million as a lead order from National Bank Financial Inc. and are looking to raise $110 million in capital to form the fund. However, there were several unresolved issues: a main issue was the strategy for deployment of the fund, as well as type of investment, average size of investment, number of concurrent investments, geographic and industry focus, timing and fund management issues such as staffing and governance structure. The partners must develop the investment strategy in order to prepare the equity fund offer memorandum to present to potential investors.

Provides an overview of how a new venture needs to change as it passes from the initial start-up to the growth phase. Explores how a venture's leadership, strategy, and execution need to evolve to deal with rapid growth.

Audible Inc. is one of the largest providers of audio content, such as books, magazines and newspapers. The company has a large library of hours of content, strong alliances with partners including Microsoft, Amazon and Random House, and a growing customer base, but the company has lost money since it began. The chief executive officer and chief financial officer must decide how to raise funds to keep the company going, while maintaining its partner and customer relationships.

CNS is a small biotech company. The founder of the company is deciding if it's worth applying for phase I approval that will allow the company to continue its research. He must determine the value of the research. Using the traditional DCF valuation method, he is not sure if this captures all of the value of the research and must decide if either the Black-Scholes or binomial model would more accurately determine the value.

This technical note explains the functioning of the venture capital industry in Canada in 2004. Venture capital, is a segment of the invesment community called private equity. Firms in this industry deal primarily with debt and equity investments in private, non-publicly listed companies. The note defines industry terminology and explains the investment process.

The CEO of ING Direct (U.S.) has to decide: (1) whether and how to coordinate his organization's branding effort with its parent, ING Group, and (2) how fast to grow the business. Includes color exhibits.

Social and professional networks are crucial to innovation. New research reveals that it takes just a few key players to catalyze the agglomeration of many small networks into larger ones and boost innovation across a whole region.

Reviews the start-up and growth of Gordon Biersch, a brewpub chain. As the case ends, the founders want to roll out the concept nationally and are considering the issues of organizational design and financing. They are also considering selling a majority stake to one investor.

Tom Bird and Ken Saxon are two young MBAs who buy a company after graduation. Chronicles their efforts as they grow the company from $600,000 in sales to $5 million. The two confront the issue of hiring succession management.

Shurgard, a U.S.-based firm that rents storage facilities to consumers and small businesses, is considering financing options for rapid expansion of its European operations. Five years after entering Europe, Shurgard Europe has opened 17 facilities in Belgium, France, and Sweden. Along the way, Shurgard has encountered skepticism from both European consumers and investors about the unfamiliar self-storage concept and internal debates on how much to adapt the U.S. business model to European lifestyles. Wall Street analysts also do not value the impact that the European expansion could have on Shurgard's U.S. performance as a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). As an alternative, to finance this expansion, Shurgard received a proposed deal from a consortium of banks and other investors where they would provide private equity financing spaced over the next few years plus a line of credit. In return, the investors would receive a large share of Shurgard's equity and control of its board, which could force a public offering in less than two years. The decision focuses on whether Shurgard Europe should accept the conditions and valuation of the proposed deal or seek another deal at a later point in time. Students must assess whether the self-storage business model can deliver the growth rate in Europe that the company has promised his potential investors. Involves calculating some basic estimates of the company's value from financial exhibits (enterprise value using a pEBITDA multiple). Main focus is to assess this as an entrepreneurial venture. Students do not need to be familiar with REITs.

Sony's first household robot, AIBO, couldn't do much of anything useful. By reframing AIBO as a pet, the company found a way to capitalize on the product's imperfections and attract an unusually diverse group of new customers.

In 2002, Apax Partners had to decide whether to accept a less-than-perfect offer for one of its portfolio companies or to refinance it. This company, a maker of paper industry consumables with a global presence, had been purchased in 1999 and performed extremely well since then. Despite being a solid, cash-generative operation, it didn't excite a lot of interest in the market. An early exit at a good multiple would be helpful for Apax's current fund and future fund-raising efforts, whereas refinancing would allow Apax to take some money off the table and share in future upsides. Which is the better choice?

Set in the fall of 2003, covers managerial challenges facing the CEO and COO of Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit charter school management company. In operation since 1999 and funded by prominent national foundations and venture philanthropies, Aspire operates 10 public charter schools in northern California. The leadership team at Aspire is contemplating expanding to Los Angeles, a move rich with operational and strategic complexity. Covers in detail Aspire's financial, operating, and instructional models.

Abstract to follow.