Aardvark

Thomas R. Eisenmann; Alison Berkley Wagonfeld; Lauren  Barley

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Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2011

Aardvark

by Thomas R. Eisenmann, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Lauren Barley

Abstract

Aardvark is an online social search service that allows users to pose questions and receive answers from other users in their extended social network. The case explores the process that Aardvark's founders used to design and develop their product based on intensive customer feedback.

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entrepreneurship; Product Design; Product Development; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet;

Language: English

Format: Print

20 pages

Educators Purchase

Citation:

Eisenmann, Thomas R., Alison Berkley Wagonfeld, and Lauren Barley. "Aardvark." Harvard Business School Case 811-064, January 2011. (request a courtesy copy.)

About the Author

Thomas R. Eisenmann

Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration

Entrepreneurial Management

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Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2020

Poppy (B)

Thomas R. Eisenmann, Scott Duke Kominers, Jeff Huizinga and Allison Ciechanover

Avni Patel Thompson, founder and CEO of Poppy, an online marketplace for on-demand childcare, revisits the venture's final months, and discusses the steps she took in the wake of the shutdown. This case explores experiments the company conducted to refine its original business model, as well as how Patel Thompson rekindled her entrepreneurial ambitions. It is part two of an A and B case, the A case being: Poppy: A Modern Village for Childcare Case 818 075, November 2017.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Marketplace Matching; Business Model; Business Exit or Shutdown; Personal Development and Career; United States;

Citation:
Eisenmann, Thomas R., Scott Duke Kominers, Jeff Huizinga, and Allison Ciechanover. "Poppy (B)." Harvard Business School Case 820-715, March 2020. View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2020

Aereo

Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jacey Taft

Aereo aimed to disrupt television program distribution by providing consumers access to local broadcast TV programming using offsite antennas, cloud-based DVRs, and an Internet connection. With Aereo, consumers could “cut the cord” and avoid the high cost of a cable TV subscription. Soon after launching service in NYC in 2012, Aereo was sued by broadcasters, who asserted that the startup was distributing their programs without permission — and without paying retransmission fees. After Federal District and Appeals Court victories for Aereo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the startup in 2013, and it was shut down, after investing $97 million. The case looks at Aereo's journey and offers reflections from founder/CEO Chet Kanojia.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Failure; Lawsuits and Litigation; Internet; Media; United States;

Citation:
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Jacey Taft. "Aereo." Harvard Business School Case 820-043, March 2020. View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019 (Revised December 2019)

Anthony Soohoo at Dot & Bo: Bringing Storytelling to Furniture E-Commerce

Thomas R. Eisenmann, Allison M. Ciechanover and George Gonzalez

The case provides students an opportunity to examine the founding of an e-commerce startup that used storytelling and compelling images to sell furniture and home accessories to millennials. The case describes the rapid sales growth the company experienced, as well as the challenges it faced with operations, delivery, and order tracking. Finally, the protagonist is poised to raise a Series C financing he hopes will value the company at $200 million.

Keywords: e-commerce; Startups; furnishing; Leadership; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Internet; Failure; United States;

Citation:
Eisenmann, Thomas R., Allison M. Ciechanover, and George Gonzalez. "Anthony Soohoo at Dot & Bo: Bringing Storytelling to Furniture E-Commerce." Harvard Business School Case 820-036, September 2019. (Revised December 2019.) View Details

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Aardvark

Abstract

Citation:

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