More from these Authors

• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

  Rand Fishkin at Moz (B)

  Thomas R. Eisenmann

  In 2016, senior management at Moz, a venture capital-backed startup providing software tools for digital marketing professionals, must decide how to address a looming cash flow crisis precipitated by failed efforts to broaden its product line. Seattle-based Moz had originally focused only on search engine optimization (SEO) software. Aiming to accelerate growth, over the past three years the startup had launched products targeted at content marketers, social media marketers, and small local businesses. Adoption of these new products had been disappointing, and the resource drain and distraction of launching them had reduced the growth of Moz's core SEO product. Management was wrestling with whether to either: 1) shut down or sell the new products; or 2) double down on the new products, funding further investment in them by selling the core SEO business or milking it as a "cash cow."

  Keywords: entrepreneurship; failure; Startups; scaling; diversification; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Diversification; Growth Management;

  Citation:

  Eisenmann, Thomas R. "Rand Fishkin at Moz (B)." Harvard Business School Case 820-003, August 2019.  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducators

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

  Rand Fishkin at Moz (C)

  Thomas R. Eisenmann

  In 2016, senior management at Moz, a venture capital-backed startup providing software tools for digital marketing professionals, must decide how to address a looming cash flow crisis precipitated by failed efforts to broaden its product line. Seattle-based Moz had originally focused only on search engine optimization (SEO) software. Aiming to accelerate growth, over the past three years the startup had launched products targeted at content marketers, social media marketers, and small local businesses. Adoption of these new products had been disappointing, and the resource drain and distraction of launching them had reduced the growth of Moz's core SEO product. Management was wrestling with whether to either: 1) shut down or sell the new products; or 2) double down on the new products, funding further investment in them by selling the core SEO business or milking it as a "cash cow."

  Keywords: entrepreneurship; failure; Startups; scaling; diversification; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Diversification; Growth Management;

  Citation:

  Eisenmann, Thomas R. "Rand Fishkin at Moz (C)." Harvard Business School Case 820-004, August 2019.  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducators

  Related

• Article | Harvard Business Review (website) | August 19, 2019

  Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don’t Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales

  Frank V. Cespedes and Tracy DeCicco

  Citation:

  Cespedes, Frank V., and Tracy DeCicco. "Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don’t Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 19, 2019).  View Details

  CiteView DetailsPurchase

  Related