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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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KiOR: The Quest for Cellulosic Biofuels - Teaching Note
Reichelstein, S; Rosenthal, S; Sahoo, ATeaching Note SGSB-E427TN-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 €0.00
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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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United Airlines: Frequent Flyer Program
Won-Yong OhCase IVEY-9B16M037-EStrategyFrom 1980 to 2010, frequent flyer programs (FFPs) had evolved from simple customer reward programs to independent profit-generation business models. The airline industry had seen enormous success with FFPs, which had become businesses of their own. In June 2014, however, United Airlines announced that as of March 1, 2015, it would move from awarding miles based on distance flown to awarding miles for dollars spent per ticket, following in the foo...Starting at €8.20
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Nordstrom: Expansion into Canada
Won-Yong Oh; Duane MyerCase IVEY-9B16M185-EStrategyIn August 2016, it had been almost two years since American fashion retailer Nordstrom opened its first Canadian store in Calgary. Nordstrom believed Canada to be an ideal location for its global expansion. Executives identified the country as a potential US$1 billion opportunity with no language barrier and a population with a higher average income than in the United States. Despite this enticing potential market, Nordstrom executives entered Ca...Starting at €8.20
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Amazon.com: Evolving Into Offline Retail
Won-Yong OhCase IVEY-9B18M026-EStrategyIn late 2015, Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) opened its first brick-and-mortar Amazon Books store in the United States. Amazon had invested heavily in expanding in the United States through new projects, from establishing Amazon Prime Now to setting up Amazon Books and Amazon Go locations. By 2017, a rumour suggested that Amazon might acquire Whole Foods Market Inc., a natural and organic foods supermarket. Could Amazon be as successful in offline ret...Starting at €8.20
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Porter Airlines: We Want to Fly You Further
Won-Yong Oh; Minsoo Seo; Michelle JinCase IVEY-9B16M194-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn 2013, the chief executive officer of Porter Airlines, a Toronto-based regional airline, announced an expansion project to expand the airline’s destinations. The project required that Porter Airlines expand its fleet of jets to accommodate longer distances, and that its transport hub, the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, be renovated. The airport was governed by a tripartite agreement between the federal government, the City of Toronto, and P...Starting at €8.20
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Sprint: Turnaround in the U.S. Telecom Industry
Won-Yong Oh; Duane MyerCase IVEY-9B16M092-EStrategySprint Corporation, a major U.S. wireless carrier, had been losing customers and suffering financially since its merger with Nextel in 2005. Sprint was also ranked the lowest among major U.S. carriers in terms of network speed and data performance. But a new opportunity emerged when the SoftBank Group acquired Sprint in 2013. The new chief executive officer (CEO), appointed in August 2014, publicly gave himself three to five years to turn around ...Starting 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