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Wow! Momo Foods Private Limited (Wow! Momo), a quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain, was a Kolkata-based start-up that sold a variety of momos, a Tibetan food. The restaurant’s specialty was a pan-fried variety of momos prepared to suit the Indian palate. In late 2018, the founders were reviewing the company’s financials and considering how they could improve the company’s growth. Their goal of becoming a widely recognized brand, both nationally and internationally, seemed elusive. How could Wow! Momo make momos a front-line fast food like pizza and burgers? Should they create a niche market, or should they seek to make Wow! Momo a mainstream fast food? And, ultimately, how could they first make Wow! Momo a national brand alongside other leading multinationals in India before expanding the business internationally?

Igraj Uči Rasti (IUR), which meant “play, learn, grow” in English, was the name of a company in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that produced educational materials to teach basic literacy skills to children aged 3 to 10. The company’s founder and chief executive officer had envisioned IUR products being present in all homes and schools across BiH. However, in May 2019, IUR was at a crossroads, and the founder faced challenges regarding his distribution strategy, operations, product offerings, target markets, and staffing. He was considering several possible options to increase profits and scale his business, but he wanted to analyze potential outcomes and assess how they would affect his personal goals and overall business feasibility. As he considered several possible options to drive additional profits and scale his business, he wanted to use both quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine potential outcomes in relation to his goals and to the business’s long-term viability.

Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own money and funds from friends and family members. Their initial product sells reasonably well, but not enough to remain profitable. When they introduce a reformulated product, Totaled, its social media presence explodes. Young consumers upload many videos to YouTube that record the impacts of consuming large quantities of Totaled that earn millions of views. Totaled becomes a star brand on social media and sales skyrocket. The company is inundated with distribution requests. The founders see success looming. As sales of Totaled and similar products increase, so do reports of binge drinking and its negative consequences. Emergency room doctors and public health officials express concern about the combination of high levels of alcohol and caffeine in these products. Rapidly expanding distribution of the beverage through convenience stores gives underage drinkers easier access to the beverage. All these factors attract national media coverage. The founders are unprepared to deal with the bad reputation their product is gaining and regulatory and public-relations crisis they face. As the case ends, they are deciding how to respond. "Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?" can be used with undergraduate and MBA courses in entrepreneurship, marketing, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, general management, and public health.

Igraj Uči Rasti (IUR), which meant "play, learn, grow" in English, was the name of a company in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that produced educational materials to teach basic literacy skills to children aged 3 to 10. The company's founder and chief executive officer had envisioned IUR products being present in all homes and schools across BiH. However, in May 2019, IUR was at a crossroads, and the founder faced challenges regarding his distribution strategy, operations, product offerings, target markets, and staffing. He was considering several possible options to increase profits and scale his business, but he wanted to analyze potential outcomes and assess how they would affect his personal goals and overall business feasibility. As he considered several possible options to drive additional profits and scale his business, he wanted to use both quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine potential outcomes in relation to his goals and to the business's long-term viability.

Following the successful launch of Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company (Beau’s) in all 10 Canadian provinces, the craft brewer had its sights set on the next step forward: international markets. The brewery wanted to distribute Beau’s internationally, and agents from numerous distribution agencies had contacted the export manager about the United States and Europe. The export manager was also considering Asian markets as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of that emerging market. In his view, this market was less congested than the competitive European and American craft beer markets. While market selection was an important consideration, the export manager wondered about how to pursue international growth as a viable strategic option for a craft brewer. Did exporting craft beer make sense? With Beau’s being Canada’s largest producer of organic craft beer, the export manager knew that he had to determine the strategic fit for Beau’s growth aspirations in advance of meetings with prospective agents.

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 minimal viable product, 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?

In September 2019, the founder of Carmién Tea, based in South Africa’s Western Cape province, faced a dilemma. Her company, founded in 1998, was a producer and supplier rooibos tea, which was unique to the mountainous area north of Cape Town. After a new South African government was elected in 1994, the deregulation of the agricultural industry enabled the founder to start a rooibos export company. This political environment and the founder's entrepreneurial orientation shaped both the firm’s origins and its early internationalization. As 98 per cent of the company’s sales were being exported and 84 per cent were still sold as bulk, the founder needed to determine whether the company had the resources and capabilities to ensure that the Carmién Tea brand and its value-added sales would grow in an increasingly competitive international environment. Where should she begin?

In 2018, the group president of Sapna Book House, operating in two South India states, was determined to take the family business to the next growth level. However, he was concerned about the threats and challenges posed by a rapidly changing competitive environment. As a third generation entrepreneur, he had executed some of the initiatives planned by his father and uncles, and had upgraded the technology to reach existing and new technology-savvy customers. His future plan was to increase the number of stores fivefold by 2020 and make the company a global brand. He believed that adding professional employees, rather than only family members, to the management team of the business was the only way to ensure the massive expansion and growth that would enable the top management family members to focus on strategic decisions and business resources, while allowing professionals to carry out routine tasks. Another issue of concern was how to raise funds from external sources to support his plan for growth, which most family members opposed.

In 2018, the group president of Sapna Book House, operating in two South India states, was determined to take the family business to the next growth level. However, he was concerned about the threats and challenges posed by a rapidly changing competitive environment. As a third generation entrepreneur, he had executed some of the initiatives planned by his father and uncles, and had upgraded the technology to reach existing and new technology-savvy customers. His future plan was to increase the number of stores fivefold by 2020 and make the company a global brand. He believed that adding professional employees, rather than only family members, to the management team of the business was the only way to ensure the massive expansion and growth that would enable the top management family members to focus on strategic decisions and business resources, while allowing professionals to carry out routine tasks. Another issue of concern was how to raise funds from external sources to support his plan for growth, which most family members opposed.

The case is set in mid-2015, as Vodien Internet Solutions' founders Alvin Poh and John Jervis Lee consider their company's journey from a small-business serving web design and development studio to a full-fledged web hosting company, which now aspires to become the dominant player in the Asian market. Vodien began in 2002 as a business dreamed up by two enterprising university students that built its customer base by advertising online. It pivoted in 2006 to phase out time-intensive client design solutions by focusing on web hosting. Six years had passed since Vodien had become a fully realised Asia-based hosting and support company. The future of the company is tied to scaling up its operations and making the hires needed to fuel its growth - a far cry from the bootstrapped, two-man operation that it had started with. But Poh and Lee are wary of bringing more players to the game. Vodien needs the capital to expand, and they have, up to that point, run a lean business, directly re-investing profits into the company (both founders drew low salaries so that the company would have greater financial resources). As they consider their options, whatever they choose, a measurable return on investment is crucial for the good of the company. Expanding into new countries requires aggressive, experimental moves that are capital intensive. The duo could: 1) reinvest their own capital, drawing into their personal funds, 2) take on more debt as a company, 3) sell out to a private equity fund, or 4) merge with an existing web hosting company. What would be the most appropriate choice, and how would they arrive at the right decision?

Frustrated with the available means of working out while travelling, the three founders of PikoGym, a start-up out of Erlangen, Germany, had the idea to build a workout device that allowed users to train anywhere and everywhere. The lightweight and compact solution would be combined with a progressive web application to facilitate customers meeting up for workouts, provide motivation, and build community. PikoGym would be entering a growing but highly competitive and relatively fragmented market. Although competitors' solutions were similar to PikoGym's, they lacked the versatility and comfort offered by the latter. The three entrepreneurs wanted to ensure that their intellectual property (IP) management strategy aligned with their business goals and long-term plans for the company's success.

Frustrated with the available means of working out while travelling, the three founders of PikoGym, a start-up out of Erlangen, Germany, had the idea to build a workout device that allowed users to train anywhere and everywhere. The lightweight and compact solution would be combined with a progressive web application to facilitate customers meeting up for workouts, provide motivation, and build community. PikoGym would be entering a growing but highly competitive and relatively fragmented market. Although competitors’ solutions were similar to PikoGym’s, they lacked the versatility and comfort offered by the latter. The three entrepreneurs wanted to ensure that their intellectual property (IP) management strategy aligned with their business goals and long-term plans for the company’s success.

Huemen was a new men’s cosmetics start-up founded in mid-2018 by two business students. In 2018, the market for men’s makeup was in its infancy. Stigmas and stereotypes dominated ideas about men investing in their appearance, but the founders believed that cosmetics created for male-type skin could improve the confidence of those who chose to use it. Huemen’s go-to-market strategy and positioning would be pivotal to success. The founders and their team scheduled a meeting with an entrepreneur-in-residence at the business school, a seasoned marketing expert with strong corporate and entrepreneurial experience to consider how to position Huemen in a novel market.

Huemen was a new men's cosmetics start-up founded in mid-2018 by two business students. In 2018, the market for men's makeup was in its infancy. Stigmas and stereotypes dominated ideas about men investing in their appearance, but the founders believed that cosmetics created for male-type skin could improve the confidence of those who chose to use it. Huemen's go-to-market strategy and positioning would be pivotal to success. The founders and their team scheduled a meeting with an entrepreneur-in-residence at the business school, a seasoned marketing expert with strong corporate and entrepreneurial experience to consider how to position Huemen in a novel market.

Founded by Chris Czerwonka, John Roberts and Julie Monniot-Gaillis, Mosabi is an app-based solution addressing the lack of financial literacy education and financial inclusion for informal sector entrepreneurs in Africa. By providing an alternative to traditional credit-scoring through education, Mosabi seeks to empower its users in the long-term, generating a multiplier effect on their lives. It is designed to be financially sustainable as it also reduces the high cost of accessing the underbanked for the financial services providers (FSPs). In order to achieve its social and financial objectives, Mosabi measures both financial and social impact and ensures the two go in lock-step.

In November 2019, Sandra Richter, co-founder and CEO of Soofa, a network of advertising-supported digital bulletin boards, must decide between two different fundraising and expansion plans for her company. One plan entails raising $15 million in a Series A round and pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy, while the other represents a more modest $3 million raise to bring the company to operating profitability. Richter had developed the $15 million plan with an executive introduced to her by her venture capital board members with extensive fundraising and startup experience; however, after months of pitching to investors, the aggressive expansion plan had failed to produce a term sheet. Richter must decide whether the rapid expansion is the right course of action for the company as she begins to question whether her business could realistically meet the plan's projections even if she could secure the financing to fund it. Meanwhile, Soofa's capital was rapidly dwindling. Richter must raise another round of capital by early 2020, or will be forced to lay off the majority of her staff and close her operations. Should she continue pursuing the aggressive expansion plan, pivot to the more modest plan based on operating profitability, or attempt to pursue both plans simultaneously? And how should she navigate the growing tension on her board given the company's struggles?

This article develops a framework for driving innovation under highly ambiguous conditions. An analysis of the most novel medicines of the past 20 years shows that a very large group of small companies created more breakthroughs, at considerably less overall cost, than a much smaller group of very large companies. This article's findings present the first large-scale empirical validation of the theoretical literature predicting the superiority of decentralized parallel searches in ambiguous environments. Accordingly, companies that attempt to "de-risk" the innovation portfolio by narrowing their search efforts to minimize failures run the risk of filtering out the next breakthrough.

Diana Uribe was a successful cultural personality in her native Colombia, best known for her national radio show about world history. Since 2000, the show had aired every Sunday on Caracol Radio, Colombia's most popular news radio station. On October 9, 2018, Caracol Radio announced to Uribe the unilateral termination of her contract, effective in one week. Uribe felt pressured to act. She knew that her future work opportunities would depend on her ability to remain visible and popular with a diverse audience. The unexpected termination prompted Uribe to think of alternative options to continue to communicate with her audience and ensure continuity for her team. Was the time ripe to move to podcasts?

Unprecedented competition and emergent technologies have posed a challenge to many traditional retailers in recent years. Yet within this competitive environment, emerging innovative business models have thrived and successfully disrupted the industry. We analyze the nature of disruptive business-model innovations and the ways they disrupt the fashion retail industry. To that end, we examine three disruptors in the industry: born-digital brands, AI-enabled demand forecasting and product design, and collaborative consumption. After introducing the concept of disruptive business-model innovation, we discuss the three disruptors' effects on the fashion industry. We find that all of these models keenly answer fundamental needs unmet by current business models, such as offering quality products at a competitive price, curated services, and sustainable consumption. At the same time, all three disruptors suggest effective operation models for handling demand uncertainty, inventory management, and timely responses to the market, all of which are inherent issues for current push supply chains and forecast-based, inventory-driven systems. Based on this analysis, we discuss important implications for both academics and industry practitioners.

While entrepreneurship in developing economies at the base of the pyramid is receiving growing attention, scholars have devoted less effort to exploring entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty in advanced economies. Yet, poverty rates have not meaningfully changed in most developed economies in 50 years, and the income gap between rich and poor continues to widen. In this article, we examine entrepreneurship as a source of empowerment for the economically disadvantaged. We explore the nature of poverty and its implications for various aspects of entrepreneurship, identify problematic aspects of the typical low-income startup, and present the SPODER conceptual framework for fostering entrepreneurial development among the poor: (S) supportive infrastructure, (P) preparation of the entrepreneur; (O) expanded opportunity horizons; (D) finding sources of differentiation; (E) a well-designed economic model; and (R) leveraging community resources. We conclude by drawing from the framework implications for those involved in breaking the cycle of poverty.