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Search Funds - 2013: Selected Observations
Dodson, D; Kelly, P; Grousbeck, I; Rosenthal, S; Luther, JCase SGSB-E521-EEntrepreneurshipSince 1996, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business has conducted a series of studies on the performance of search funds. This study, as well as its predecessors, has endeavored to gather data and gain insight into all known search funds. Each of these studies portrays the aggregate characteristics of search funds, presents their principals’ backgrounds, and evaluates the investment returns gener...Starting at €8.20
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Etsy: A B Corp Start-Up Takes on Amazon
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B16M074-EStrategyAWARD WINNING CASE - This case was one of the winners of the 2016 John Molson MBA Case Writing Competition. When Etsy proceeded with an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2015, it was the second U.S. company to go public as a certified B Corporation. Etsy’s status as a B Corporation meant that social responsibility was ingrained in its mission. However, as an online marketplace for artisanal goods, Etsy faced a number...Starting at €8.20
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Viacom, Inc.: Corporate Governance in a Controlled Company
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B17M036-EStrategyViacom, Inc., a New York City-based media company, owned Paramount Pictures and popular television channels such as MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. Viacom was controlled by Sumner Redstone and run by his hand-picked second in command. In 2016, the 92-year-old Redstone, facing a claim of mental incompetency because of his advanced age, stepped down from his role as executive chair of the board. This led to several issues regarding corporate ...Starting at €8.20
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First Solar: The Module Recycling Opportunity
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B16M042-EStrategyIn 2014, the vice-president and director of recycling at the Arizona-based First Solar, Inc., the world's leading solar energy company, was considering a business plan to convert its solar panel recycling initiative from a cost centre to a profit-making business. Although the company pre-funded the recycling of photovoltaic solar panels by adding the recycling cost to the end-customers’ purchase price, Europe had recently enacted laws requiring t...Starting at €8.20
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AMC Networks Inc.: The Walking Dead Problem
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B18M203-EStrategyIn August 2017, AMC Networks Inc. (AMCN), a New York City–based cable television provider, faced a lawsuit from the creative talent behind the hit show The Walking Dead. The lawsuit charged that AMCN used its vertical integration into content development to reduce the profits available for distribution to participants. For AMCN, which was originally a content distributor, expanding into content creation through its AMC Studios had several benefit...Starting at €8.20
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Tiny Prints (A)
Child, M; Rosenthal, SCase SGSB-E426A-ELeadership and People ManagementThe Tiny Prints case describes the founding of the online stationery company in 2004, through its growth and evolution to 2007. The three cofounders bootstrapped the company from the beginning, primarily so that they could retain control over the decision-making and strategic direction of the company. While that decision allowed the cofounders flexibility and independence, it also led to capital constraints and a “good enough” culture that had ...Starting at €8.20
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KiOR: The Quest for Cellulosic Biofuels
Reichelstein, S; Rosenthal, S; Sahoo, ACase SGSB-E427-EEntrepreneurshipIn 2012, KiOR was in the process of starting biofuels production at its first plant in Columbus, Mississippi. This initial plant was to provide a commercial scale proof-of-concept of KiOR’s production technology, and the company expected to build another set of plants in Natchez, MS using “copy exact” principles. These latter plants would be three times the size of the Columbus plants, and KiOR anticipated a number of improvements in its produc...Starting at €8.20
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eBay Inc.: The Portfolio Decision
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B20M113-EStrategyIn January 2019, eBay Inc. (eBay), a California-based e-commerce company, faced an activist campaign centred on its portfolio of businesses. Elliott Management Corporation, the hedge fund leading the campaign, believed that StubHub and Classifieds, two ofStarting at €8.20
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Tiny Prints Background
Child, M; Rosenthal, SCase SGSB-E426-ELeadership and People ManagementThe Tiny Prints case describes the founding of the online stationery company in 2004, through its growth and evolution to 2007. The three cofounders bootstrapped the company from the beginning, primarily so that they could retain control over the decision-making and strategic direction of the company. While that decision allowed the cofounders flexibility and independence, it also led to capital constraints and a “good enough” culture that had ...Starting at €8.20
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Tiny Prints (B)
Child, M; Rosenthal, SCase SGSB-E426B-ELeadership and People ManagementPart B of the case explores the management team’s decision to move forward with a purchase offer from Shutterfly or to maintain control of the company and continue to grow organically.Starting at €5.74