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In March 2020, as COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the U.S., Everlywell founder Julia Cheek considers how to respond as a small start-up specializing in at-home lab testing. After making dramatic budget cuts, she decides to pivot the organization to address the country's testing shortage. But after a hectic few weeks building capacity at her partner labs to 30,000 COVID daily tests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) releases a statement warning the public that it has not granted approval for at-home tests. Cheek must decide whether to return to her core business or persist in focusing her nascent organization on COVID-19 tests, an opportunity whose commercial merit is unclear.

In late 2018, the chief executive officer and founder of Tunaiku, a new digital consumer-lending financial technology (fintech) company in Indonesia, faced a dilemma. Although he had set out in 2014 to revolutionize Indonesia's consumer lending by providing people in the underserved lower segment of society with small unsecured loans, he now faced his most crucial challenge—dealing with Indonesia’s changing regulatory environment. When he had launched the venture in 2014, fintech was unknown, and the founder had eventually decided to offer the product through a bank. But after Indonesia introduced a new fintech regulation, he needed to reconsider his earlier decision. Should Tunaiku move to a fintech licence or remain as a bank?

In October 2018, the president of a business school student (BSS) society must decide on the viability of marketing a line of business school apparel. The school had been selling its brand of products with moderate success and the president had to determine the best option going forward. She faced a number of decisions: How to increase sales? What should be included in the clothing line? Should the product line be branded under the school’s or the student society’s logo? What strategy would be the most successful?

Pratham is a non-governmental organization, focusing on high-quality, low-cost and replicable interventions to address gaps in the Indian education system. Co-founder Madhav Chavan is interested in using technology for education but differed in the way it is used in schools in India. He believes that technology allowed flexibility and non-linearity in exploring knowledge while the school classroom is based on a rigid and linear path of learning textbook lessons for the sake of examinations. Keeping this in mind, Chavan designs a digital initiative, PraDigi Open Learning, to improve basic numeracy and literacy skills among children in rural India. Electronic tablets pre-loaded with content are distributed in a few villages to help increase children's engagement with learning. Self-directed peer group learning is encouraged. The tablets trigger the children's curiosity. Post-COVID 19, when children are not able to attend class because of the lockdown, Chavan wonders how PraDigi Open Learning can be scaled and aligned with school education to ensure uninterrupted learning.

Two young, Minnesota based, entrepreneurs set a goal to grow their blood clotting innovation into a robust medical products business. They had, somewhat serendipitously, discovered an idea with real market potential and as a result had made surprisingly good progress in developing a patented product. They had successfully launched a small test in the veterinary market and had been informed that they were only a few months away from gaining FDA approval for use in human markets. To launch their long-term strategy, they needed to answer two key questions. First, how big were the human and animal markets relative to each other? And second, should they continue to build a position in the veterinary market, or should they focus on launching into the human wound treatment market? If so, which segment of the market was the most strategically attractive considering the resources at their disposal? Because of the likelihood of full FDA approval, they were under pressure to bring a clears and defensible strategy to their board within the next 2-3 months. Furthermore, as nascent entrepreneurs, they realized that they would have to come off the fence and propose a strategy in advance of having complete data, while their understanding of the market and entrepreneurial strategy was still emerging.

The Rowell & Mackenzie case follows husband-and-wife executives Sarah Rowell and Scott Mackenzie as they weigh the decision whether or not to embark on a search fund. The case addresses the potential benefits and drawbacks of the search fund experience including financial outcomes, lifestyle impact, alternatives, and career trajectory.

Black entrepreneurs encounter many unique obstacles when raising capital to start and grow a business. During their second year at Harvard Business School (HBS), MBA students Kimberly Foster and Tyler Simpson decided to do something to make a difference for early-stage Black technology entrepreneurs seeking funding. In just four months, they created the inaugural Black New Venture Competition (BNVC), which attracted 300 applicants and became the largest student-led business plan competition for Black entrepreneurs in the U.S. Over the course of the competition, Foster and Simpson were able to begin to identify some of the biases and frictions in the evaluation and funding of early-stage Black ventures. Was there bias in the selection rubric? What would happen when these Black founders faced traditional white VC investors in their next funding round? Now Foster and Simpson needed to decide what to keep and what to change for future iterations of the BNVC. Were they, and their successors, even thinking big enough for BNVC 2.0?

In the winter of 2019, the Brazilian entrepreneur and founder of Insolar was proud of what he had accomplished in the five years since the company’s launch. His vision to democratize access to solar energy in Brazil was finally starting to become a reality. Insolar had installed solar panels that were providing a sustainable energy source to 5,000 residents in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The company had also founded an institute to train low-income residents on the installation of solar panels and was continuously designing new innovations to increase the institute’s impact. The founder was ready to make an additional investment and expand the Insolar brand. He had just received word from his research and development team that the final version of his most recent project, the solar kit, would be complete within the next year. However, he still had reservations about launching the product and had to make some key decisions before it could be ready for the market. What would be his next steps on the path to democratize solar energy?

The case describes how FAVAC emerged and consolidated. During the Foundation's first 15 years, the care of elderly people - many of them with physical and mental disabilities, some living on the streets, displaced by violence or abandoned by their families - was possible with financial support from various sources: state entities, international friends, a French association, local companies, institutional events and self-sustaining profitable projects. In mid-2008, Albeiro received the feasibility study for the construction of a facility for senior citizens belonging to the wealthiest families of Bucaramangan society. This project would finance up to 30% of the care costs of the vulnerable elderly people to whom Albeiro had dedicated his life. The decision to either create the second center to serve the elite or instead remain focused on serving the vulnerable elderly people and consolidating the portfolio of funding sources concludes the first part of the teaching case.

The case describes how FAVAC emerged and consolidated. During the Foundation's first 15 years, the care of elderly people - many of them with physical and mental disabilities, some living on the streets, displaced by violence or abandoned by their families - was possible with financial support from various sources: state entities, international friends, a French association, local companies, institutional events and self-sustaining profitable projects. In mid-2008, Albeiro received the feasibility study for the construction of a facility for senior citizens belonging to the wealthiest families of Bucaramangan society. This project would finance up to 30% of the care costs of the vulnerable elderly people to whom Albeiro had dedicated his life. The decision to either create the second center to serve the elite or instead remain focused on serving the vulnerable elderly people and consolidating the portfolio of funding sources concludes the first part of the teaching case.

This case follows the story of Jay Davis and Jason Pananos, classmates from Harvard Business School who started a search fund, Nashton Partners. The case covers their decision to launch a search fund, their investment objectives and goals, and then the search process over a two-year period. The core of the case discusses two specific acquisition opportunities the fund is considering - United Energy Services and Vector Disease Control Inc. There are clear advantages and drawbacks to both opportunities, and the partners must make a decision about what to do before the search fund runs out of money.

The president of Atotam Productions, a media production company near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was dedicated to helping industry meet its social licence to operate by creating positive stories of existing and mutually beneficial media projects. He wanted to show that partnerships among industry, the government of Canada, First Nations communities, and the Canadian public could exist, and Indigenous people could be consulted and engaged in major industrial projects. Though he was aware of the long-standing and inherent disconnect among these groups, he understood how changing market conditions in the oil and gas industry in Alberta could influence a First Nation member-owned media. Should his company continue pursuing work with the oil and gas industry or consider branching out into other industry sectors? If the company branched out, which sector(s) could it focus on? He wondered how industry could best convey to the communities that worthwhile benefits could be shared through cooperative and collaborative approaches in industrial development projects. How could the First Nations communities be assured that industry would take their culture and history seriously? More specifically, how could Atotam Productions best address the need for meaningful and respectful communication and knowledge sharing among these groups in the context of market volatility and change?

In late January of 2020, Hratch Jabrayan of Homeland Foods contemplated international expansion into North America and increasing exports to Russia. Would potential customers appreciate and pay a premium for the high-quality, organically-produced dried fruits and nuts. Was the product line’s brand name (“Vozni” was Armenian for “hedgehog”) culturally transferrable? Was it financially feasible to bring the product to Canada and the United States? How would other elements of the marketing mix need to be adjusted for Homeland’s entry into both the Canadian and American markets for dried fruit products?

The RealReal Inc. (Real), a San Francisco, California-based start-up engaged in the trade of used luxury goods, experienced significant growth in its revenue and customer base in fiscal year (FY) 2018, but it was yet to turn profitable after nine years in the business. The reported accumulated losses until the quarter ended March 2019 were US$280.98 million. On June 27, 2019, Real launched its initial public offering (IPO) at US$20 per share. Would investing in the company be worthwhile for investors? What parameters would realistically indicate the future prospects of an emerging growth company like Real?

In July 2019, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of a one-year-old start-up in Los Angeles was reviewing the path forward with the company’s new technology platform. The product helped brand managers insert their brands virtually and in real time into television (TV) and movie scenes. With each placement customized to the individual habits and personal preferences of the viewer, virtual placement was a considerable improvement over physical placement of brands as permanent fixtures in TV plots and movie scenes. The technology represented a major disruption to the product placement industry. The company’s CEO needs to resolve three dilemmas to take Ryff forward. First, how should the company find its fit with large advertising agencies that operate in a traditional placement market? Second, how should the company convert traditional industry person-to-person interactions to interactions driven by software programs? Third, how should the company take its business global?

The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a pivot, investor relations, disruptive business models, as well as business conduct in continental Europe. In 2017, Dr. Torben Antretter, a former competitive tennis player and academic researcher, founded RightNow with his two co-founders. RightNow was set out to provide consumers with "Justice-as-a-Service" by purchasing their legal claims that they would not pursue otherwise. Just one year after its inception, the company had closed a €25 million financing to increase its market share and leverage further growth opportunities. Upon closing of this financing round, matters took a sudden and unexpected turn when the National Supreme Court announced a ruling that airlines were no longer required to refund flight tickets. This decision wiped out RightNow's profit margins. Antretter and his co-founders had to decide what they should do with the business. How should the founders approach investors? Should they quit and walk away from their entrepreneurial dream or try to reinvent the business with a different focus? What would be the strategy going forward?

The case examines issues such as cascading problems within the organization, changing founder roles, founder success criteria, as well as company exit consideration. In 2017, Dr. Torben Antretter, a former competitive tennis player and academic researcher, founded RightNow with his two co-founders. RightNow was set out to provide consumers with "Justice-as-a-Service" by purchasing their legal claims that they would not pursue otherwise. Three years after inception and after overcoming numerous consecutive hurdles, the company was entering its next stage of its lifecycle. The selection of an investor type would be instrumental to the next few years of the company and the lives of the founders. With success, considerations around company exit and defining success criteria became inevitable. Different investors types had different investment criteria with regards to target returns, growth ambitions, decision rights, and ownership stakes. Antretter and his co-founders had to decide, jointly as well as individually, what they want to do. Discussions among the founding team showed that they needed to develop an 'exit strategy' in the same way that they had developed a growth strategy. When should they consider an exit and take some chips off the table? Was it more important to become rich or to remain kings of their kingdom?

On November 3, 2016, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) launched a bid for Singapore-based food and beverage company Super Group Ltd. (Super). JDE had already acquired 60 per cent of the shares but needed another 30 per cent in order to delist the company and take it private. The minority shareholders of Super faced the task of evaluating whether the offer from JDE was reasonable and whether they should tender or hold on to their shares. Their decisions would depend on the valuation of Super’s shares, based on financial and other relevant and available market information.

In 2017, the chief executive officer (CEO) and chair of the board for DSM Industrial (DSM), a family-owned business in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, was considering his retirement. The company had been started by his father in 1964, and the CEO had worked there since he was 20 years old. Now he was planning on retiring within the next few years. However, he needed someone to take over the top-level management of his family’s commercial and residential construction business along with his roles as CEO and board chair. The company had many highly capable senior people with unique skills and vision—some were members of his family and others were long-time senior staff. If he chose an outside successor, would morale at the firm be affected? Would long-time employees leave? His successor needed technical skills to lead the company and maintain the culture. The decision was complicated by changes in the construction industry, the differing visions of senior management for the future of the company, the need to placate the needs of other family members, and the recent interest from outside parties in the possible purchase of DSM’s related companies. How would his family react to a sale, and how would the culture that he had invested so much time and effort in creating fare in the face of new ownership? Did his two positions need to operate separately? How would they interplay with one another? How could he solve his succession dilemma?

In 2018, Vince Wong, the founder and chief operating officer of Toronto-based artificial intelligence firm Dessa, faced the challenge of developing a diverse workforce and a culture supportive of diversity through his hiring practices at the rapidly growing start-up. Until now, Wong had handled all of the hiring at the 30-person firm himself. However, as he expected the firm to double in size within the next year, Wong had hired an internal recruiter and was considering how to formalize and transition hiring in a way that supported expanding diversity within the firm. Wong’s main focus was on determining how to support diversity through hiring and inclusion via the development of a staffing system that aligned with his desire to develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce.