Ilya A. Strebulaev, Justin Randolph
2013
The case profiles the protagonist, Vineet Rai, managing partner of Aavishkaar Venture Management Services (an Indian, early stage VC firm with a focus on rural, underserved regions and sectors), as he seeks to build on the initial traction of his first…
Ilya A. Strebulaev, Justin Randolph
2013
The case profiles the protagonist, Vineet Rai, managing partner of Aavishkaar Venture Management Services (an Indian, early stage VC firm with a focus on rural, underserved regions and sectors), as he initially formulates the concept for the Aavishkaar…
Jim Lattin, Peter Levine, Justin Randolph
2013
The case profiles Sujay Jaswa, VP of Business Development at the enterprise software company Dropbox, along with the company’s “freemium” business model and Dropbox’s sales organization to date. The case discusses the mechanics of a freemium product…
Nicholas Bloom, John Van Reenen, Sheila Melvin
2013
In August 2007, the United States-based private equity firm the Blackstone Group acquired a 50.1 percent stake in Gokaldas Exports for $116 million. The investment was a two-part deal that included an “open offer” to Gokaldas shareholders for another 20…
Nicholas Bloom, John Van Reenen, Sheila Melvin
2013
Gokaldas Exports was a family-owned business founded in 1979 that had grown into India’s largest apparel exporter by the mid 2000s. Its founder, Jhamandas H. Hinduja, had bequeathed control of the company to three sons, each of whom brought in his own…
Robert A. Burgelman, Robert Eric Siegel, Ibrahim Elbouchikhi, Jonathan Karmel, Alan Chiu
2013
An update of Google’s Android operating system since 2009. The case discusses the incredible success and market growth of Android and its impact on the global mobile market. Google adeptly added features and functions to make the OS competitive with Apple…
William Meehan III, Davina Drabkin
2013
In 2007 a group of eight friends wanted to give. With so many charities out there, the friends wanted to know which ones were doing the most good. They had two basic questions: (1) what did the charitable organization do with donors’ money and (2) what…
Steven Callander, David Hoyt
2013
In 2011, The Walt Disney Company and other content owners aggressively lobbied Congress to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The intent was to prevent unauthorized copying and transmission of copyrighted materials. This had been largely eliminated…
Michael Kennedy, Debra McCoy, William Meehan III, Sheila Melvin, Paul Pfleiderer
2013
This case describes the formation and operation of Leopard Capital, a “Frontier Market Private Equity Fund” from its establishment in 2007 up through the end of 2012. The case focuses on the fund’s founder, Douglas Clayton, and his history doing business…
H. Irving Grousbeck, Sara Rosenthal
2013
The MobiChair case describes the story of Lucy Ahn and Josh McKinnon, graduates of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business who are also in a relationship, who take on the role of co-CEOs of a power wheelchair company after being offered the position by a…
Robert Siegel, Austin Kiessig
2013
The La Boulange: Exiting to a Large Strategic Buyer case follows the evolution of the La Boulange bakery and café chain and its eventual buyout by Starbucks Corporation. First, the case relates the founding story of La Boulange by its CEO Pascal Rigo….
Robert Siegel, Austin Kiessig
2013
The La Boulange: Exiting to a Large Strategic Buyer case follows the evolution of the La Boulange bakery and café chain and its eventual buyout by Starbucks Corporation. First, the case relates the founding story of La Boulange by its CEO Pascal Rigo…
Jim Ellis, Justin Randolph
2013
The case profiles the protagonist, Ilana Stern, founder of Weddington Way (http://weddingtonway.com)—a wedding-related e-commerce site—during the company’s early formation stage.
The case begins with an introduction of Stern’s professional background…
Peter B. Kelly, Lacey Wismer
2013
The Vestige Capital case follows a search fund team comprised of two 2009 Stanford GSB alumni as they decide to raise a search fund in Mexico, procure search capital from U.S. and Mexican investors, and source deals over the ensuing two years. The case…
George Foster, David Hoyt
2013
In early 2009, following the collapse of the housing market, Doug Brien and Colin Wiel began buying single family homes (SFH) to renovate and rent. SFH rental had previously been a mom-and-pop business due to scaling difficulties—buying and managing…
George Foster, Sara Rosenthal
2013
This case profiles the launch and growth of Tough Mudder, a startup founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone in the mud run/adventure challenge space. Dean, an avid triathlete and marathoner, found these solitary endurance events boring, and wanted to…
Ken Shotts, Sheila Melvin
2013
On June 27, 2012, the storied British bank Barclays admitted that it repeatedly attempted to rig the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) over a four-year period from 2005-2009. In its settlement, Barclays agreed to pay $453 million in fines and…
William Meehan, Paul Pfleiderer, Sheila Melvin, Debra McCoy
2013
Zephyr Management was founded in 1994 with the goal of specializing in emerging markets, both in marketable securities and private equity. Having decided to expand in Asia, it chose India as the best location for a global PE firm with its skill sets and…
Rob Chess, Peter Reiss. Justin Randolph
2013
The case profiles the protagonist, Chas Eggert, CEO of OPXBIO—a bio-based, renewable chemicals startup—as he decides on the job positions and specific individuals and candidates to hire after a recent successful round of venture financing. The case…
H. Irving Grousbeck, Justin Randolph
2013
The case is a series of four short, fictional vignettes. Each vignette shines a light on the case’s macro-theme of ‘’motivating others in a management context,” and discusses the considerations involved in getting subordinates to achieve specific company…
Maureen McNichols, Nate Blair
2013
In July 2011, the European Banking Association (EBA) published EU-wide stress test results for 91 banks, which collectively represented 65 percent of the total assets of the European banking system. The aim of the test was to provide transparency…
Jesper Sorensen, Debra Schifrin, Kevin Hettrich
2013
“Health Leads (B): Entering the ‘Proof Period’” presents the decisions the health care nonprofit made in 2009 - 2010 about its expansion options, and the success it had in raising millions of dollars in 2011-2012 to support that strategy. The (B) case…
Jonathan Levav, Russell Siegelman, Justin Randoplh
2013
The case profiles the protagonist, David Neeleman, a serial “airline” entrepreneur (previous founder and CEO of the US Airline, JetBlue), as he develops the concept for Azul Airlines International – a low-cost, customer service-centric Brazilian airline…
Jim Ellis, Katherine Rudolph Bose
2013
For the last year, Mountain Hardware (MH), a leading hardware retailer in the Rocky Mountain region, had evaded bankruptcy and liquidation. The week prior, John Preston, the company’s CEO, learned that the acquisition offers he had…