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New approach to accelerating the development of innovation through corporate venturing by creating partnerships between startup venture and established corporations through the launch of the Global Sports Venture Studios created by R/GA Ventures and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Founded in 2017, Choosy is a data-driven fashion startup that uses algorithms to identify styles trending on social media. After manufacturing similar items using a China-based supply chain, Choosy sells them to consumers through its website and social media pages. Since its official launch in July 2018, Choosy has been fine-tuning its business model. Now, in September 2018, founder and CEO Jessie Zeng must decide what the startup's next steps should be. Should Choosy switch to a low-cost drop shipment model, even though it might negatively impact Choosy's brand and customer experience? Additionally, should Choosy shift its product mix to appeal to a wider customer demographic or stick to its original value proposition of offering trendy, celebrity-inspired styles?

When Ben Smith's call-center job is outsourced, he and his wife, Jane, decide to open a catering company to build on Jane's cottage business selling baked goods. They have an opportunity to cater a holiday party hosted by Ben's former employer; however, the Smiths are new to the business and are unsure of the price they should put on their labor. An out-of-state friend in the catering business recommends using his rule-of-thumb, which is doubling or tripling the cost of food and alcohol. As they prepare to launch their new venture, the Smiths assess the various costs they will incur and consider the different forms of value and risk that go into determining a pricing schedule that is both fair to their clients and profitable for Crystal Catering.

Student spreadsheet for case W18813

In January 2018, Manoj Sinha-founder and CEO of Husk Power-was contemplating raising $20 million to scale operations for a second time. From 2007 through 2013, Husk built 80 biomass waste plants that provided electricity to 250,000 villagers and shop owners spread across 350 villages in rural India and Africa. But in 2015, Husk underwent a major pivot. Rather than providing power through biomass gasification alone, Husk shifted to plants that used biomass gasification, solar energy and battery power in tandem, allowing for power generation nearly 24-7. And rather than serving households as their core customer demographic, Sinha shifted Husk's focus to village commercial centers. To bring this vision to reality Sinha ceased operations of nearly all of the existing plant locations and began the conversion to new locations built around the "new" hybrid plant. Thus in 2015, Husk was operating a mere 10 power plants and serving roughly 2000 customers, down from the 80 plants and roughly 250,000 customers they had prior to this shift. After downsizing and reorganizing operations, was Husk Power once again ready to scale? Would impact investors be interested in providing the capital? Traditional, value-neutral investors? And which type of investors should the founders of Husk prefer?

The chief executive officer of Bamboos Health Care Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. (Bamboos) started her entrepreneurship journey in 2005 with a telephone and a fax machine. She created a platform to match the demand from patients or their relatives with the supply of services from health care professionals. After 12 years in operation, following one consistent business model, Bamboos was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Despite several challenges in its early years, the Bamboos business model proved to be sustainable in Hong Kong and became resistant to change. In early 2018, the founder was considering entering the health care market in mainland China and changing the company’s business model for the first time. Could the current business model in Hong Kong be modified to enter mainland China and other countries? What changes would be required with respect to strategy and management?

In April 2017, the co-founder and vice-president of Hitch Health in Minneapolis Minnesota was faced with an intriguing but challenging strategy decision. Hitch Health had been created as part of Upstream Health Innovations at Hennepin County Medical Center to improve transportation services for its many vulnerable patients. By using human-centred design, Hitch Health had succeeded in developing a system of ride sharing and sophisticated information technology that met its initial goal of reducing missed appointments. However, the development of Hitch Health had also presented a new opportunity to engage patients in many aspects of their own care. The co-founder realized that she had to make a key strategy decision. Was Hitch Health just a practical solution to Hennepin County Medical Center’s transportation problem? Could it solve transportation problems at similar hospitals across the country? Could it be an idea big enough to serve as a platform with the potential to disrupt health care delivery?

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. Chapter 1 examines the motivational attributes of entrepreneurs. It considers such factors as the need for achievement, risk tolerance, locus of control, and belief in self efficacy, among others.

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. This chapter offers an overview of how organizations come into existence and identifies what roles the entrepreneur plays in that process, the activities that the entrepreneur might be engaged in during the process, and the skills that the entrepreneur should acquire in order to be effective in that process.

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. Chapter 3 explores some of the research that has been done on the personality traits of founders and most of the work in this area has been done by researchers interested in the overall phenomenon of entrepreneurship. Founders start businesses for numerous reasons, and it is difficult to identify a set of personality traits that can associated with everyone who starts a new business. In fact, a fair number of businesses are started for reasons not chosen by the founder, such as when the founder loses his or her job with an employer.

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. Chapter 4 considers a founder's duties and liabilities in founding a business. Much of the planning for a new business occurs before a new legal entity, such as a corporation, has been formed and founders need to understand that even though a legal entity does not exist, they still have important duties and are subject to potential liabilities to one another, to the new entity and to investors and other outsiders.

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. Chapter 5 considers some of the various issues that founders need to consider when they begin a venture. Such questions include the form of legal entity for their new business (e.g., corporation, partnership, or limited liability company); the relationships among cofounders with respect to ownership, management, and control of the business; and the amount of time each cofounder will spend on the venture. When properly discussed, answers to these questions will protect the rights of each founder while creating incentives to help the business grow.

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. Chapter 6 examines the role of the founders in creating a venture's organizational culture.

Founders are pivotal to the success of any new business. Founders bring the original business idea to the table, and influence the organizational culture and values and goals of the initial managers and employees. This book covers a variety of topics about founders, beginning with an overview of the motivational traits of prospective entrepreneurs, the role that entrepreneurs play in launching new businesses, the personality traits and skill sets of those who seek to form new business, and a discussion of some practical issues relating to founders with respect to their preformation duties and liabilities, particularly their relationships with prior employers, and their relationships and agreements with other members of the founding group. The book also examines the influence that founders have on the organizational culture of their firms and the positions that founders occupy if and when their firms complete an initial public offering of their securities. This book is a "must have" guide for prospective entrepreneurs. It is also an excellent resource for attorneys and other professionals advising their clients, as well as academics teaching entrepreneurship classes. Chapter 7 considers the various roles founders play and how these roles evolves as their ventures grow and reach the stage where they have an initial public offering.

In late 2017, the leader of the implementation circle at iQmetrix, a software firm based in Vancouver, Canada, was reviewing her company’s progress with Holacracy. This radical new organizational design was centred on employee self-management and based on a philosophy that focused “on roles (accountabilities for work), not souls (people).” All parts of the organization were now arranged in circles, which were the basic building blocks of the Holacratic organizational design, and all employees had completed their initial training and were now meeting in circles to fulfil the work of the organization. But was it enough? Could iQmetrix truly consider that it was now fully Holacratized? Nearly one year after the launch of Holacracy, the implementation leader looked back over the past year and assessed whether the implementation of Holacracy was now complete, whether the process had been a success, and what to do next.

Burro was a growing start-up in Ghana with a mission to provide “tools for a better life” to Ghanaians by distributing products that addressed local needs. In February 2015, after seven years of operation, the company had finally become profitable. Demand for Burro’s sustainable products was growing quickly in the booming Ghanaian market. The country manager wanted to determine a strategy for growth to maximize the success of Burro's future.

In late May 2014, the founder of Liyu Ethiopia Tours was considering his options to grow the company. The small but reputable tour company had become successfull in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in only seven months. The founder, who faced the challenge of continuing to grow the business on a limited budget, was considering several strategic decisions: should he increase the company’s online presence by using the services of Google AdWords or TripAdvisor; expand local and national partnerships with hotels or with tour companies in neighbouring countries; or participate in a major trade show, with the hope of developing international partnerships. The founder wondered how to align his company’s goals with its capabilities.

Formula E founder and CEO Alejandro Aga obtained the rights to develop a new electric car racing series from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Agag needed to develop the series from scratch-developing a race car, finding teams willing to race, cities willing to host races, and sponsors, media partners, and investors willing to fund the series. The first race was one year away. How should Agag go about developing this new series?

Formula E's season three is nearly complete. CEO Alejandro Agag needs to examine his business model to ensure the racing series is positioned to grow sustainable in the years to come.