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• Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2020 (Revised July 2020)

  Justice-as-a-Service at RightNow

  Shikhar Ghosh and Amir Reza Rezvani

  The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as minimal viable product, defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a pivot, investor relations, disruptive business models, as well as business conduct in continental Europe. In 2017, Dr. Torben Antretter, a former competitive tennis player and academic researcher, founded RightNow with his two co-founders. RightNow was set out to provide consumers with “Justice-as-a-Service” by purchasing their legal claims that they would not pursue otherwise. Just one year after its inception, the company had closed a €25 million financing to increase its market share and leverage further growth opportunities. Upon closing of this financing round, matters took a sudden and unexpected turn when the National Supreme Court announced a ruling that airlines were no longer required to refund flight tickets. This decision wiped out RightNow’s profit margins. Antretter and his co-founders had to decide what they should do with the business. How should the founders approach investors? Should they quit and walk away from their entrepreneurial dream or try to reinvent the business with a different focus? What would be the strategy going forward?

  Keywords: legacy business; teams; Startup; business models; Pivot; Entrepreneurship; Law; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Legal Services Industry; Germany;

  Citation:

  Ghosh, Shikhar, and Amir Reza Rezvani. "Justice-as-a-Service at RightNow." Harvard Business School Case 820-117, May 2020. (Revised July 2020.)  View Details

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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | July 2020

  Instabeat—Crossing the Finish Line

  Shikhar Ghosh, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

  An examination of the strategic, operational, and personal challenges facing the founder of a startup in the "wearable" technology space.

  Keywords: entrepreneurship; start-up; technology; hardware; wearables; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Operations; Management; United States; Lebanon;

  Citation:

  Ghosh, Shikhar, Nicole Tempest Keller, and Alpana Thapar. "Instabeat—Crossing the Finish Line." Harvard Business School Supplement 821-012, July 2020.  View Details

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• Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | July 2020

  Digital Platforms: An Introduction

  Chiara Farronato, Michael W. Toffel and Feng Zhu

  Keywords: Technology Industry;

  Citation:

  Farronato, Chiara, Michael W. Toffel, and Feng Zhu. "Digital Platforms: An Introduction." Harvard Business School Technical Note 621-016, July 2020.  View Details

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