Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2011

Triangulate

by Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Abstract

In October 2010, Triangulate's founder/CEO must determine what product features to develop and what marketing programs to pursue in order to boost the odds of successfully raising another venture capital round for his nine month-old Facebook dating application. The case recounts the process of launching a consumer internet startup, from idea conception through initial efforts to validate the concept, followed by product launch and subsequent business model "pivots."

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Product Launch; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet;

Language: English Format: Print 21 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Lauren Barley. "Triangulate." Harvard Business School Case 811-055, January 2011.

Related Work

  2. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2016

    Triangulate: Stay, Pivot or Exit?

    Thomas Eisenmann, Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

    Sunil Nagaraj, Triangulate's founder had spent a few years trying to launch a dating application that matched users based on their behavior on social media. Based on input from advisors, the company changed its focus from a B2B site to a B2C dating site with a unique value proposition – offering matches using recommendations of friends who knew the person. The product got some initial traction but still did not have the virality necessary to grow profitability. The company pivoted yet again to launch DateBuzz, a fresh approach to dating that asked users to vote on bite-sized elements of potential matches before revealing their full profiles. Initial data from this approach was promising but, by now, the team and investors were tired. The company had previously raised a $750,000 seed round and Nagaraj, encouraged by the early success of DateBuzz had offered jobs to two experienced business professionals. However, his investors did not share his enthusiasm for the business. Triangulate had less than $200,000 left in the bank and 3-4 months of runway. Should Nagaraj cut the burn rate further by rescinding the offers to the new employees? Should he raise another round from angels, friends and family? He was satisfied that he had built a strong relationship with the lead investors, and felt they would support his decision if he chose to shut down the company. But, had he tried enough to make Triangulate succeed?

    Keywords: early stage; Pivot; two sided markets; Business Model; Business Exit or Shutdown; Product Launch; Venture Capital; Failure; Internet; Entrepreneurship; Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks; United States; North America;

    Citation:

    Eisenmann, Thomas, Shikhar Ghosh, and Christopher Payton. "Triangulate: Stay, Pivot or Exit?" Harvard Business School Case 817-059, October 2016.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

About the Author

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Thomas R. Eisenmann
Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration
Entrepreneurial Management

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