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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2017 (Revised December 2019)

  Delivering the Goods at Shippo

  Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Olivia Hull

  Laura Behrens Wu, CEO of software start-up Shippo, prepares her pitch for a Series A funding round following a successful seed round. Customer adoption of Shippo’s e-commerce dashboard application, which allows small and medium retailers to compare delivery rates between shipping providers and print package labels, has been steady in the nine months since it went live. But traction with the firm’s developer friendly product, an API that allows large enterprise customers to automate their shipping needs, had initially been slow until one customer single handedly tripled the API label volume in late August. Now in November 2014, with nine months of runway remaining, Behrens Wu must decide where to direct the company’s limited resources. Should Shippo stay focused on the app while raising the next round of funding, pivot to an API-focused strategy, or pursue both products?

  Keywords: application program interface; API; API strategy; customer cohorts; churn; retention; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Transition; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Valuation; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; San Francisco; California; United States;

  Citation:

  Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Jeffrey F. Rayport, and Olivia Hull. "Delivering the Goods at Shippo." Harvard Business School Case 817-065, January 2017. (Revised December 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised November 2019)

  C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil

  Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

  Synthetic biology start-up C16 Biosciences wants to solve a big problem: replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. CEO Shara Ticku has ambitious plans to supply her lab-grown palm oil to food manufacturers, who use palm oil liberally in a variety of products from ice cream to margarine. In bringing her product to market, Ticku faces a tough decision. Should she roll out the product first in the personal care market, which has lower volumes and premium prices, or go straight for food? The meteoric rise of lab-grown meat company Impossible Foods has caught the attention of an investor, who wonders if C16 should tap into excitement about lab-grown foods to raise a Series A funding round. But are there merits to starting small?

  Keywords: Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Social Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Product Positioning; Venture Capital; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry;

  Citation:

  Bussgang, Jeffrey J., and Olivia Hull. "C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil." Harvard Business School Case 820-008, October 2019. (Revised November 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019

  Chief: Role for Carolyn Childers

  Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Katherine Chen and Julia Kelley

  In 2018, Carolyn Childers is preparing to launch Chief, a New York-based peer network for women executives, and must decide whether to bring on a co-founder. After becoming the senior vice president of operations at her previous company, Childers was inspired to build a community that provided mentorship, support, and networking opportunities to women executives. Childers is now preparing to meet with Lindsay Kaplan, a marketing executive who excels at building brand experience. Should Childers bring on Kaplan as a co-founder? If Childers takes on a co-founder, what do they need to agree on?

  Keywords: Networking; founders; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Negotiation;

  Citation:

  Coffman, Katherine B., Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Katherine Chen, and Julia Kelley. "Chief: Role for Carolyn Childers." Harvard Business School Case 920-019, November 2019.  View Details

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