Publications

August 2015 (Revised June 2016)
Supplement

Dinr: My First Start-up (B)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Kristina Maslauskaite

Keywords: Business Exit; Business Startup; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Food

August 2015
Case

Yesware (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Payton and Ali Huberlie

Matthew Bellows founded Yesware, a Boston-based tech startup, to solve a problem that he'd encountered as a sales manager: sales people hate entering data, rarely do it accurately, and almost always input data that can't be synthesized in a way that is useful for the... View Details

Keywords: Firing; Culture Change; Startup; Technology; Hiring; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation; Sales; Human Resources; Technology Industry; Boston

August 2015
Case

Yabbly (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In November 2013, with less than 10 months of cash on hand, Tom Leung, the founder and CEO of Yabbly, must decide where to focus his resources. His startup, a question-and-answer application for shopping decisions, had benefited from a strong showing at the SXSW... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Mobile; Online Product Reviews; Consumer Products; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; North America; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

August 2015 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Sam Martin & Cathy Slater

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Michael J. Roberts and Christopher Payton

July 2015
Case

Uncharted Play (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Ali Huberlie

The case recounts the process of launching an early stage venture, from idea conception through initial efforts to validate the concept, followed by product launch, and fund raising. It emphasizes the Customer Value Proposition of the business model, and asks – Who is... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage; Female Protagonist; Value Proposition; Team Building; Founders' Agreements; Start-up; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Business Startups; Sports; United States; North America; Nigeria; Africa

March 2015
Case

Entrepreneurial Finance Lab: A Founding Story (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Joan Farre-Mensa and Christopher Payton

March 2015
Case

Yamsafer

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

February 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Case

CrossFit (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Ali Huberlie and Christopher Payton

The case provides a sense of motivations of venture capital firms, the pivotal role that founders play, and explores the limits of founder-driven growth.
CrossFit (CF) describes the approach taken by its founder Greg Glassman in setting up one of the most... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Venture Capital; Strategy; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Franchise Ownership; Innovation and Invention; United States; North America

March 2014 (Revised February 2015)
Case

Loki Capital Management

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble

In December 2013, Michael Kane was preparing to launch his start-up's first hedge fund. While pleased with the development of the business, he wanted to address a few lingering issues before going any further. He debated whether or not to fire the company's chief... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Hedge Funds; Equity Split; Fundraising; Investor Clientele; Team Building; Human Resource Management; Human Capital; Human Resources; Equity; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2014
Technical Note

Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector

By: Ramana Nanda and Shikhar Ghosh

In this note, we examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. The need for a revolution in clean energy is driven not just by environmental consequences of energy... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Financial Services Industry

January 2014
Case

Maricopa, Inc.: Finding the Right Treatment for Growth

By: William A. Sahlman, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

The founders of Maricopa, Inc., a startup that sold proprietary hair-care products directly to salons, were preparing a board presentation to address the young company's inability to meet financial projections. While the products had caught on with customers, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financial Condition; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Planning; Fashion Industry; Iowa

January 2014 (Revised December 2014)
Case

MuMaté: Funding Growth

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Joseph B. Fuller, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Alex Godden and Andrew Sandoe

Keywords: Startup; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Consumer Products Industry; United States

January 2014
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

Steven Carpenter reflects on the successes and failures of his recent venture, Cake Financial. Carpenter had just sold the four-year-old startup and was at work on a new business plan. But first, he wanted to understand why Cake Financial, a service that allowed users... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

October 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Myomo: Getting Sales in Motion

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble

In late 2012, the management team of Myomo, a startup which had designed a unique myoelectric arm brace for patients with dysfunctional arms, was deciding which of the three sales models the company had tested to pursue as its sales strategy going forward. Each model... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry

June 2013 (Revised February 2014)
Case

FanMode: Launching a Global Sports Venture

By: Shikhar Ghosh, William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Neven Murugan is developing FanMode, an app that allows sports fans all over the world to broadcast their reactions in real time into stadiums where their team is playing. It also provides social networking across sports fans. The company is growing, and its founders... View Details

Keywords: App Development; Location Choices; Structure Of The Firm; Global; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United Kingdom; South Africa

December 2011
Case

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: Confidential Information for Negotiation with Keurig

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Shikhar Ghosh and James K. Sebenius

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) senior executives in a negotiation to license technology from Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution. The... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2011
Case

Keurig and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

By: Paul W. Marshall, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Shikhar Ghosh and Lauren Barley

Provides background information for a negotiations exercise in which students will represent either Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), a fast-growing premium coffee... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2011
Case

Keurig: Confidential Information for Negotiation with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Shikhar Ghosh and James K. Sebenius

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of senior executives of Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, in a negotiation to license technology to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). The... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Food and Beverage Industry