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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Teaching Plan | HBS Case Collection | July 2012 (Revised March 2018)

Dropbox: 'It Just Works'

Thomas R. Eisenmann

Citation:
Eisenmann, Thomas R. "Dropbox: 'It Just Works'." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 813-007, July 2012. (Revised March 2018.) View Details

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Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2018 (Revised February 2018)

Making Markets

Thomas R. Eisenmann and Scott Duke Kominers

Explains how to identify and capitalize upon marketplace design opportunities. Defines markets and marketplaces and describes the basic functions of each. Discusses attributes (e.g., heterogeneity of participants' preferences and asymmetry in available information) that determine whether and how marketplaces create value. Explains common causes of market failure; presents a framework for designing marketplaces in response. Discusses tactics for building trust and liquidity when launching new marketplaces, as well as challenges encountered as marketplaces mature (e.g., congestion and disintermediation).

Keywords: market design; auctions; marketplace matching; marketplaces; Two-Sided Markets; Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Market Participation; Market Transactions; Market Entry and Exit; Market Platforms; Auctions;

Citation:
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Scott Duke Kominers. "Making Markets." Harvard Business School Technical Note 818-096, January 2018. (Revised February 2018.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2017

Shift Technologies, Inc.

Thomas Eisenmann and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, management at Shift, an online marketplace that uses a “high touch,” concierge approach to buy and sell used cars, was formulating plans for the San Francisco-based startup’s next phase of expansion. One option was to preserve Shift’s current business model and grow through geographic expansion. Another option was to decentralize more tasks to sellers and/or buyers, for example, management of inspections and repairs. While decentralizing tasks would reduce Shift’s labor per transaction and thereby improve the venture’s unit economics and its scalability, Shift might risk undermining users’ trust by handing off responsibility for critical tasks.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States;

Citation:
Eisenmann, Thomas, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "Shift Technologies, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 818-002, October 2017. View Details

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Aardvark

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