Stanford Graduate School of Business (USA)
-
A Note on Getting the Most Out of Your Board Meetings
Dodson, D; Pohlmeyer, SCase SGSB-E631-EEntrepreneurshipIn your first year as chief executive officer (CEO), you will encounter a host of management challenges and opportunities—all of which can be navigated more skillfully if you can tap into the insights and perspectives of a handful of seasoned operators and investors. For this reason, your board can have a significant impact on the company’s performance. Unfortunately, CEOs often get far less value out of their boards in the first few years than...Starting at €8.20
-
Political Risk in the Kaesong Industrial Complex
Rice, C; Zagart, A; McMurdo, TCase SGSB-IB103-EThe Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) is a 1.25-square-mile industrial park six miles north of the Demilitarized Zone in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The complex includes both North and South Korean workers, and is subsidized by Seoul. The result of an agreement between North and South Korea in 2000, Kaesong stood as the sole beacon of hope for economic cooperation between the divided states, and remained open for business despite a...Starting at €8.20
-
Landlocked Homes: Catching a Falling Knife
Abbey, D; Mahowald, C; Lamont, MCase SGSB-RE137-EStrategyWhen Jacob Harold became head of the Hewlett Foundation’s Philanthropy Program, he began to see GuideStar as much more than just a website. GuideStar was the result of founder Arthur “Buzz” Schmidt’s vision of bringing transparency and accountability to the world of nonprofits. At its core, the organization compiled information that U.S. nonprofits submitted on their IRS filings into an easy to use database. It supplemented that information wi...Starting at €8.20
-
Branch Metrics: "Failing" into the Idea
Mandelbaum, F; Pohlmeyer, SCase SGSB-E586-EEntrepreneurshipThis case explores the Branch Metrics’ cofounders’ early days as a team and their pursuit of a viable idea for their startup. The three original cofounders, who met in business school, transformed their business concept entirely several times before finding the idea for Branch Metrics. Starting with a fitness collar for dogs, then starting over with developing a mobile application for low-cost, high-quality photobooks, and ultimately developing a...Starting at €8.20
-
2016 Search Fund Study: Selected Observations
Kelly, P; Dodson, D; Grousheck, IH; Pohlmeyer, S; Rosenthal, SCase SGSB-E605-EEntrepreneurshipSince 1996, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) has conducted a series of studies on the performance of search funds. These studies endeavor to gather data and gain insight into all known search funds. The studies aggregate the characteristics of search funds, present their principals’ backgrounds, and evaluate the investment returns generated by first-time search funds to their origina...Starting at €8.20
-
San Leon Energy: Hydraulic Fracturing in Poland
Rice, C; Zagart, A; Myers, ACase SGSB-IB101-EThis case explores how to manage the political risks of using a controversial energy extraction technology in the European Union. San Leon Energy, an Irish energy firm, was committed to developing large unconventional shale gas reserves in Poland. To reach these reserves, San Leon needed to use a technique called hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Pioneered in the United States during the early 2000s, fracking involved pumping a mixture of water...Starting at €8.20
-
Engyn in Iraq: Choosing Between Baghdad and Erbil
Rice, C; Zagart, A; Nicas, CCase SGSB-IB102-EWhen the Iraqi Oil Ministry held its first licensing round after the fall of Saddam Hussein, more known oil reserves were put up for bid than at any other moment in history. Allured by the opportunity, the chief executive of Engyn Oil & Gas (a fictional firm) began exploring ways to enter the Iraqi market. The CEO soon discovered that the endeavor was fraught with risks. The biggest political minefield was the long running power-sharing disput...Starting at €8.20