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How does a small business set its online media budget? The HBS Executive Education Division can be viewed as a small-to-medium sized business unit with annual revenues of $107 million. As we watch it change its culture, practices, and organization from offline to online marketing, we have an opportunity not simply to see the metrics used in online marketing budget allocation, but also the stresses involved in the birth of a new go-to-market culture.

The case highlights the evolution of a wide-area-network (WAN) optimization company from its founding day to its potential IPO. It explores the various challenges faced by management along the way, both in terms of determining what characteristics are needed in VP of sales role as well as how to determine which go-to-market model is most appropriate. OptiGen emphasizes the risks of channel conflict and forecasting inaccuracies, particularly for a company that wants to go public. The case opens with Robert Campos, CEO of OptiGen, preparing for a series of meetings with investment banks to discuss the prospects of an IPO. His company has recently missed its operating plan for the second time in three quarters. Campos is concerned that the spotty track record will harm its chances on the public market. Campos highlights two key, interrelated problems that must be addressed immediately: a broken forecasting process and inconsistent quarter-over-quarter revenue growth. Internally, there is no connection between the forecasts provided by the sales team at the beginning of any given quarter and the operating plan set forth by management.

The case describes the journey of Gilles Morel, the VP of Mars Central Europe, as he tries to build a culture of innovation within the organization. It becomes clear that the challenge is not simply about building the proper infrastructure and systems. it is also about getting people to commit to Mars' innovation agenda. How can Gilles Morel make innovation everyone's job?

"Microfinance investment opportunities have been well received by Credit Suisse clients seeking socially responsible investments. They provide a ""double bottom line"": a positive financial return (despite the global financial crisis), and a social impact by offering first-time access to financial services to the poor. From $5 million in 2003, total assets under management in microfinance at Credit Suisse reached $1 billion by 2009, and untapped demand is estimated at $300 billion. The firm has positioned itself as a link between the TOP of the wealth pyramid (its clients) and the BOP (base of the pyramid, the poor), but as microfinance comes under fierce criticism for over-indebting the poor, and with a decline in growth, performance and portfolio quality, Credit Suisse must consider its future engagement in this sector of the emerging markets. "

A new venture team is composed of the founders, employees, and advisors who will guide an idea from its formation stage into a fully functioning company. Each of these groups plays an important role in growing the venture and putting it on the path to success. This note will explore the myriad factors to be considered when forming a new venture team. While strategy and implementation may depend on the industry, product or service, and target customer, the core tenets of forming a team will be consistent regardless. Above all, founders must instill a commitment to and passion for the idea: A compelling vision will attract a stellar team. Founders must also be deliberate about culture; this requires determining one's own personal definition of success and assuring that it is aligned with that of other team members. As important as culture is makeup: new venture teams should be a carefully balanced blend of backgrounds, functional skills, and industry expertise. Lastly, as their company grows, founders must be thoughtful in hiring employees as well as choosing advisors and investors. Issues of ownership must be considered. This note explores each of these issues in detail and provides anecdotes of successful teams which spent the time to get the group balance right before moving onward to build a product or seek funding. It incorporates the perspective of investors who have seen great ideas fail and succeed, based on the strength of the founding team.

This case is about a boutique chocolate manufacturer's decision to grow. Zotter, an Austrian company that was a pioneer in the organic and Fairtrade chocolate movement, uses the traditional confit technique to make premium hand-scooped chocolates in unusual and innovative flavor combinations. Having done many novel things to educate the market about the value of premium, organic and Fairtrade chocolate, Zotter consolidated its market position within the premium segment of the Austrian market for chocolate. The company only recently started to sell its product outside Austria. However, the time- and labor-intensive manufacturing process and the high prices of Zotter chocolates limit the scalability of the company, even though the founder desires to grow. While the founder has many ideas for the firm, it is not clear which path would be optimal for the kind of growth he desires. The case provides students an opportunity to discuss how entrepreneurs create markets for novel products, and how they can consolidate their position.

A new entrant in the nascent online peer lending space, Lending Club must decide whether or not to register with the SEC. Lending Club provided a platform through which individual borrowers could receive loans funded by individuals who chose to invest in them. The management team wanted to grow the business and also hoped to establish a secondary market to give lender members liquidity. The SEC had raised questions about whether or not the promissory notes issued to lender members were in fact securities, but there were legal arguments on both sides. While the legal situation was unclear, Lending Club considered the benefits of applying to the SEC, but had to decide whether it would be worth the significant investment of time and money, both up front and going forward.

How will U.S. consumers respond to the proliferation of alternative-fuel vehicles, such as cars powered partially or completely by electricity, in the coming decade? After a century in which fossil-fuel-powered vehicles dominated the market, it appeared consumers would have an unprecedented level of choice as to the type of car they purchased and drove. Automakers were introducing various models that used electricity for power, and other power sources, such as fuel cells, were also seeing increased attention. Some observers believed the time was ripe for widespread adoption of these new vehicles: consumers and policymakers were increasingly concerned about the fallout of U.S. dependence on fossil-fuel-powered cars-namely, adverse environmental impacts and reliance on foreign sources of oil, plus the fluctuating price of gasoline-and innovative infrastructure technology was being developed to support electric-powered cars. Despite these promising developments, it remained unclear whether consumers were ready to switch to alternative-fuel vehicles on a large scale. Would they be willing to make the lifestyle trade-offs required for grid-dependent vehicles? How should policymakers intervene, if at all, to encourage adoption, and what marketing activities and incentives might firms employ to stimulate demand?

This note develops a comprehensive new set of concepts to understand buying processes of parents choosing among complex educational services using the example of Montessori private schools.

This note develops a comprehensive new set of concepts to understand buyer behaviour for complex high technology consumer products using the example of notebook computers.

Darlarna is a manufacturer of high-end Swedish-style furniture. It has grown rapidly since its formation in 2005 and is currently attempting to expand into the U.S. market. In early 2009, after releasing the financial statements from the accountants, the owner became very concerned about a dramatic decrease in profits and all the bad news relating to the financial crisis in the United States. A chartered accountant was hired to conduct an analysis of Darlarna's operations and to make recommendations for future actions within the week.

In the wake of the meltdown among US auto manufacturers in 2009, Jay Rogers - CEO of Local Motors - has a new approach for the automotive industry: Decide which models are produced through online design competitions, and then allow customers to "build their own cars" from the winning designs. The case focuses on two key issues: Can Local Motors build a thriving online design community at a reasonable cost? And can customers be convinced to add their own sweat and labor to the manufacturing process? The case is written from the perspective of a start-up company seeking funding while trying to implement a novel business concept.

Applied Research Technologies, Inc. (ART) is a diversified technology company which has used its entrepreneurial culture and encouragement of innovation as an ongoing competitive advantage. The case concentrates on the challenges faced by Peter Vyas, the Filtration Unit manager, who must decide whether to request $2 million in project funding from the divisional vice president, Cynthia Jackson. Similar Filtration projects have failed twice before, damaging the credibility of the Filtration Unit and Vyas personally. Jackson has recently been challenged to turn around or shut down the unit. Students must determine a strategy from the perspectives of both a unit manager and a division VP. This two-tier focus provides the opportunity to analyze the management decision process at different levels of the organization. Topics include empowerment, project management, and managing innovation.

The Petrobras case explores the debt financing decisions of one of the largest oil companies in the world. The task is to decide on debt issues that are needed to finance growth investments of Petrobras. Learning objectives: The case gives the opportunity to price a corporate bond issue, and understand the mechanics behind bond markets. Some of the topics that can be covered are: expected costs (percentage yield) that Petrobras will incur, ratings and spreads, financial crisis, coupon rates and the value of the bonds, underwriter discount, all-in-cost of the bond.

The case puts students in the position of a young analyst working for a Chicago-based student housing developer. The premise is that the analyst, Tricia, must prepare a report for the firm's partners detailing her recommendations regarding a variety of green upgrades for a potential value-added acquisition project. The redevelopment project is based on two multifamily student housing redevelopment projects in Denton, Texas (led by Iconic Development). The case focuses solely on the operating expense reduction that took place at the property and does not address potential changes to property revenues.

Arup, an engineering firm, collaborated with PTW Architects and China Construction Design Institute to develop a design for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Aquatics Center design competition. Their winning concept for the Water Cube combined elements of Chinese culture with innovative materials and sustainability requirements. The multidisciplinary and cross-company team, based in Sydney, Australia with counterparts in Beijing, faced project management challenges and cultural differences. The Water Cube became an iconic image during the Olympics and managers at Arup now wonder how to leverage the impact within the company.

Vitality is part of a $2 billion start-up South African and U.K. health insurance firm. It has achieved excellent results in rewarding people for promoting their health. It is now contemplating how to enter the U.S. market.

The case, in a non-profit project-oriented setting, introduces fundamental risk management principles and processes that are easily applicable to private sector settings. Gentry Lee, senior systems engineer and de-facto chief risk officer, is applying a new comprehensive risk management system to a $600 million high-profile Mars landing mission. The case illustrates JPL's risk culture for high-visibility and expensive missions in the post-Challenger era with tightly constrained budgets. It introduces risk analytics, such as heat maps, and the management process and governance system centered around continuous challenge and "intellectual confrontation." Students will consider JPL's strategy and constraints, measurable technical risks, non-measurable external risks and societal pressures in making a decision about whether to launch or delay the Mars mission launch. The case calls for an appreciation of the role of the chief risk officer, and in general, of leadership, in risk management.

In late January 2009, Thomas Fekete, Managing Director at Barclays Wealth in London, redeemed the most illiquid positions in the so-called Wealth Absolute Return Fund (WAR), one of Barclays Wealth's most promising offshore funds of hedge funds, and halted the Fund's investment activities. For Fekete, the decision to declare the WAR funds a ''failed experiment" marked a turning-point. In May 2009, money from the redeemed underlying funds would become available, and by that date, he had to develop a new investment strategy. Fekete faced two options. Option one was to revive the WAR Fund. Option two was to shelve the WAR Fund and launch a new fund of UCITS regulated funds domiciled in Europe with UCITS qualification. Which strategy would be the best way to invest during this period of crisis, to the benefit of both Barclays Wealth and its clients?

On July 5, 2004, Pfizer's China team received disappointing news. China's patent review board just invalidated the company's existing patent on one of its most successful drugs, Viagra. Making matters worse, a Guangdong-based pharmaceutical company laid claim to Viagra's street name "Wei Ge" (Great Brother), arguing that the term was not a well-known trademark in China. With two lawsuits related to intellectual property rights now pending in China, Pfizer wondered whether trade politics or the rule of law would prevail.