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A set of financial and strategic decisions confront the management of a company trying to develop a technology for creating "electronic ink." If successful, the company will be able to create "radio paper," essentially turning a piece of paper into a computer monitor that has all the characteristics of paper but is digitally controlled.

Sendwine.com, an online retailer of premium gifts of wine by the bottle, faced decisions about its growth strategy in mid-1999. Mike Lannon, president and founder, had established his company as a prominent player in an increasingly crowded field. But with success came a difficult choice: How should Sendwine.com spend the venture capital money it subsequently had attracted? Should the company consolidate its niche position in wine gift giving? Or should it aggressively expand into new gift-giving categories under the "Send.com" name?

Describes the creation of the first private equity fund in Nigeria and the fund's potential first investment in GS Telecom, a Nigerian telecommunication service company. The fund's managers are keenly aware that a bad first investment could create a vicious circle for the fund. Thus, whether to invest and under what terms is of crucial importance. Can also be taught as a country case on Nigeria with a focus on entrepreneurship, telecommunications, and venture capital.

Sam Huttenbauer is trying to get two companies, in high-pressure food preservation and in nutraceuticals, off the ground. This case covers strategic, marketing, and financing challenges. It also looks at innovative technologies in the food industry and the role of the entrepreneur in commercializing them.

Two recent Harvard Business School graduates start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet.

Describes a second-year MBA's attempts to make money for a fledgling Web-hosting business. As the case ends, he must both sort out the company's business model and financing needs, as well as select from an array of financing and acquisition alternatives.

Susan Bishop started Bishop Partners with the aim of making it the best boutique executive-search firm in the business. Specializing in television, radio, and publishing industries, her plan was to beat out her larger, established competitors through superb execution. Great service would lead to happy clients, which would lead to more business, which would keep clients happy, which would lead to even more business. A virtuous circle, right? Wrong. Before long, she and her staff grew weary of jumping through every hoop their clients could think of--trying to find candidates for lower-level positions in remote locations at below-market rates, for instance. But what could they do? How could they afford to disappoint any customer when they didn't have that many to begin with? In this vivid first-person account, Bishop describes how she and her staff came to an answer that was highly counterintuitive: stop trying to make everyone happy. Focus instead on making the right customers happy. Raise their prices. Limit their searches to high-level positions in their field of expertise. Stick to companies big enough to give them repeat business. As hard as it was to define the right clients, it was even harder to say no to the wrong clients. One member of the staff had to turn down work worth $120,000; Bishop herself had to turn down $250,000 from her largest client, Coca-Cola. But in the end, those clients came back with higher-quality work, and her company was on its way from chaotic little start-up to successful, professional enterprise. Bishop tells the classic entrepreneur's story, one with important lessons about strategy making, courage, and discipline for all business people.

Lending small amounts of cash to fledgling entrepreneurs has been successful in developing countries but hasn't worked as well in America. The authors suggest reforms for U.S. microcredit programs.

In preparation for the opening of a new canoe manufacturing shop, the owner has developed a business plan. He plans to manufacture 30 canoes per year out of a small rented shop. He has accumulated fixed and variable cost data, and now must decide what price he should charge for the canoes. He must also solidify his marketing strategy and set an advertising budget.

In preparation for the opening of a new canoe manufacturing shop, the owner has developed a business plan. He plans to manufacture 30 canoes per year out of a small rented shop. He has accumulated fixed and variable cost data, and now must decide what price he should charge for the canoes. He must also solidify his marketing strategy and set an advertising budget.

Describes the dilemma a board member faces when he learns that the CEO of the company is having an affair with another executive of the firm, an affair that is ending his marriage.

The case explores who the customers are for a new beverage product, their desires as customers for this product, and their desires when ordering this product from a local specialty store location.

The case explores who the customers are for a new beverage product, their desires as customers for this product, and their desires when ordering this product from a local specialty store location.

Greg Erman and Nancy Benovich-Gilby have assembled a team and selected a market for the launch of a high-potential venture based on using an Internet-based service to manage the flow of sales leads between principals and their distribution channel partners. Their development process is key.

Texan entrepreneur Trisha Wilson has founded an interior design firm and watched it grow into one of the most successful firms in the hospitality design services industry. After 20 years of building a company that is truly a reflection of her own personality, Wilson grapples with changes in the firm's work environment during growth, and what will happen to the firm when it comes time for her to retire. Does she have the proper systems in place to ensure that the "Wilson way" of doing business can be replicated and scaled?

Describes the situation at WebSpective, a software company that develops products to help companies manage the network of servers that support their Websites. Describes the use of "concept engineering" tools to interview customers, determine their needs and the resulting product requirements, and prioritize these requirements as the basis for a product and marketing strategy.

In 1987, John Peterman started the J. Peterman Co. with a $500 investment and a $20,000 unsecured loan. What began with an ad in the New Yorker and a single product prospered for years. But in 1998, the company slid harrowingly into bankruptcy proceedings. What happened? As Peterman tells it, it all started with a trip he took to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he bought a coat. It was a long, sweeping cowboy duster, and he liked the way wearing it made him feel. He suspected that other people would like to buy something that made them feel romantic and individualistic, too. He was right. With Don Staley writing the copy, Peterman issued the first catalog in 1988. It contained just seven items. By 1989, the company did $4.8 million in sales; by 1990, that figure had grown to $19.8 million. But the business model was always implicit--a mistake. They should have developed a precise mission statement. In hindsight, Peterman says, it would have been easy. The business concept could have been summed up in six words: unique, authentic, romantic, journey, wondrous, and excellent. The most successful items evoked all of those things. The business grew, and as more items were added to the catalog and the retail stores expanded, everyone in the company had difficulty focusing. Rapid expansion in the late 1990s brought more staff, more backers, more risk, more rules, and less focus. Time ran out when a cash-flow crisis ultimately squeezed the life out of the company. Looking back, Peterman draws a number of transferable lessons about creating a dream and building a culture, and about the nature of trust and control in a growing organization.

The management team at ING Bank of Canada was preparing to launch Canada's first discount bank. Initially, the bank planned to serve its customers using mail and telephone. Later, it planned to supplement the telephone banking service with an interactive voice response system and an Internet-based service. ING hoped to attract customers by offering significantly higher interest rates on its savings products than any of its competitors. There was some skepticism about the viability of the proposed business model. At the time of the case, the president and CEO of ING Bank was reviewing the proposed launch strategy.

Canada's largest privately owned department store, the T. Eaton Company Ltd., founded in 1869, had recently emerged from bankruptcy protection and was now planning to raise $175 million through an initial public offering (IPO). Investment bankers must determine the appropriate share price and consider the appropriateness of the timing for the issue. The case describes North American retail industry trends and the bankruptcy protection process and provides a detailed discussion of the IPO process and valuation considerations. Detailed comparables are provided for such firms as Federated, Nordstrom's and Dillard. The case provides an opportunity to apply a number of valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow, price-to-earnings multiples and enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples.

The founder of English Street has decided to take the company to a group of venture capitalists. English Street is an Internet company that provides multimedia content for teaching English to Hong Kong and China residents. She has developed the idea of English Street into a prototype Web site, and is putting together a prospectus (proposal) for a presentation to obtain funding for full development of her business plan.