Search results
-
'It Just Works' (Spanish version)
Eisenmann, Thomas R.; Pao, Michael; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-812S02EntrepreneurshipDropbox is a venture-backed Silicon Valley startup, founded in 2006, that provides online storage and backup services to millions of customers using a "freemium" (free + premium offers) business model. The case recounts Dropbox's history from conception through mid-2010, when founder/CEO Drew Houston must make strategic decisions about new product features, how to target enterprise customers, and whether to pursue distribution deals with smartpho...Starting at €8.20
-
How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Potential Venture Opportunities
Roberts, Michael J.; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-805019-EEntrepreneurshipFour venture capitalists from leading Silicon Valley firms are interviewed about the frameworks they use to evaluate potential venture opportunities. Questions include: How do you evaluate the venture's prospective business model? What due diligence do you conduct? What is the process through which funding decisions are made? What financial analyses do you perform? What role does risk play in your evaluation? and How do you think about a potentia...Starting at €8.20
-
Abby Falik at Global Citizen Year
Kaplan, Robert Steven; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-415052-ELeadership and People ManagementAbby Falik, founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year (GCY), quickly read through the most recent news updates regarding the Ebola crisis in West Africa as she prepared for her board call on July 31, 2014. Based in Oakland, California, GCY was a five-year-old not-for-profit with a fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget of $3.5 million. Its mission was to make it much more the norm for graduating high school students in the U.S. to choose a "bridge year." GCY ...Starting at €8.20
-
AMD: A Customer-Centric Approach to Innovation
Ofek, Elie; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-507037-EStrategyAMD's launch of the Opteron microprocessor in 2003 has allowed the company to make inroads into the lucrative server segment. A long-time follower to Intel, AMD management felt it was in a position to lead the microprocessor industry in new directions. However, in 2006 it was not clear whether Opteron's success in the server segment would translate into success in other microprocessor segments, notably corporate desktop and laptop, and whether th...Starting at €8.20
-
EFI, Inc. (A)
Godes, David B.; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-508044-EMarketingEFI has a unique sales compensation challenge. They cannot allocate sales credit for their core product to individual salespeople. So, they've historically paid the sales force as a team. This has worked out fine, since they've been a near-monopoly seller of a single product category. However, this has changed. Not only are they facing new competition in their core product bu they also have diversified into other products that allow them to ident...Starting at €8.20
-
EFI, Inc. (B)
Godes, David B.; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-508045-EMarketingThis is a follow-on case to EFI, Inc. (A). It reports on Dean Mills' decision to implement a new compensation approach that pays 25% of salespeople's bonus, based on their individual sales of software add-on products. He also recommends making public each salesperson's performance against their goal in a report that ranked salespeople from top to bottom each period. Students are asked to react to this new plan.Starting at €5.74
-
Texas Pacific Group--J. Crew
Roberts, Michael J.; Sahlman, William A.; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-808017-EFinanceDescribes Texas Pacific Group's purchase and operation of J. Crew, the catalog and specialty clothing retailer. Highlights the issues involved in financing such a transaction, and then focuses on the operational challenges of turning around the business, and of TPG's intensive involvement in the running of the business. Details the improvements in the business, and then the retrenchment, leaving the business facing a significant debt payment comi...Starting at €8.20
-
A Note on the Legal and Tax Implications of Founders' Equity Splits
Wasserman, Noam; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-809110-EEntrepreneurshipThis note summarizes key legal and tax issues that founders should consider as they contemplate an equity split and ownership structure. Specific issues covered include: why founders should not delay splitting the equity, and whether they should involve an attorney or accountant when they do; the importance of considering intellectual property (IP) issues when splitting the equity and the need to do so consistent with Section 351 of the Internal ...Starting at €8.20
-
Novasys Medical
Hamermesh, Richard G.; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-810027-EEntrepreneurshipNovasys has developed a new medical device and procedure for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence that is cheaper and can be performed in doctors' offices. In spite of FDA approval, the American Medical Association has been unwilling to approve the product for reimbursement. The case deals with the company's struggle to obtain a reimbursement code.Starting at €8.20
-
Edison Schools, Inc.
Eisenmann, Thomas R.; Barley, LaurenCase HBS-813113-EEntrepreneurshipEdison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public offering and, eventually, through its decision to execute a management buy-out to exit the public market. Explores at the corporate level the tension between Edison's effort to gener...Starting at €8.20