FanMode: Launching a Global Sports Venture

Shikhar  Ghosh; William R. Kerr; Alexis  Brownell

Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2013 (Revised February 2014)

FanMode: Launching a Global Sports Venture

by Shikhar Ghosh, William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Abstract

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 face the questions of where to locate their headquarters and how to structure their company, and the legal issues surrounding these decisions, including intellectual property regulations, tax laws, and ownership structure. This case provides an example of a company that, due to the nature of its product, has had to operate globally from its earliest days and establish itself in many locations simultaneously.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; app development; Location choices; structure of the firm; sports industry; social media; global; Entrepreneurship; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United Kingdom; South Africa;

Language: English

Format: Print

21 pages

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Citation:

Ghosh, Shikhar, William R. Kerr, and Alexis Brownell. "FanMode: Launching a Global Sports Venture." Harvard Business School Case 813-190, June 2013. (Revised February 2014.)

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2020

Truebird—An AlleyCorp Venture

Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In December 2018, Kevin Ryan and Wendy Tsu faced an important decision – to finalize the CEO candidate for Truebird, an innovative, automated coffee café concept. Like many of AlleyCorp and Ryan’s companies, Truebird started with the observation of an unmet need – an inability to get good coffee at a reasonable price without a wait. Ryan’s track record as a serial entrepreneur included companies such as MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and Business Insider. The commonality across AlleyCorp’s diverse businesses was a systematic process to ideation, led by Wendy Tsu, and an emphasis on the early Co-founder/CEO. Over the years, Ryan had refined his process of identifying the most appropriate person to serve as CEO. Two strong candidates had been shortlisted for the CEO position at Truebird. Unlike traditional approaches that used the reference check as a safety net, Ryan and Tsu considered reference check interviews as a stronger indicator of on-the-job performance. How should they structure a reference check process that would allow a complete understanding of each candidate? What questions should they ask when they found people who had worked with, or for, each of the candidates?

Keywords: Startup; hiring; staffing; recruiting; Business Ventures; Finance; Leadership; Management Skills; Management Teams; Jobs and Positions; Job Interviews; Human Resources; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States;