Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2016 (Revised November 2016)

Mark43

by Thomas Eisenmann, Mitch Weiss and Halah AlQahtani

Abstract

The founders of Mark43, an early-stage startup that provides software for law enforcement agencies, must decide whether to bid on a request for proposals (RFP) from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). On the one hand, LAPD would be a second large and influential customer for a startup that has just successfully deployed software for its first customer, the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. On the other hand, pursuing the LAPD RFP could consume most of Mark43’s engineering resources for the coming year, pushing other business development opportunities off their roadmap, in particular, plans to target small and medium-sized police departments.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; start-up; software applications; government markets; rapid growth stage; public entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Software; United States; New York (city, NY);

Language: English Format: Print 21 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Eisenmann, Thomas, Mitch Weiss, and Halah AlQahtani. "Mark43." Harvard Business School Case 817-016, November 2016. (Revised November 2016.)

Related Work

  1. Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2016 (Revised November 2016)

    Mark43

    Thomas Eisenmann, Mitch Weiss and Halah AlQahtani

    The founders of Mark43, an early-stage startup that provides software for law enforcement agencies, must decide whether to bid on a request for proposals (RFP) from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). On the one hand, LAPD would be a second large and influential customer for a startup that has just successfully deployed software for its first customer, the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. On the other hand, pursuing the LAPD RFP could consume most of Mark43’s engineering resources for the coming year, pushing other business development opportunities off their roadmap, in particular, plans to target small and medium-sized police departments.

    Keywords: entrepreneurship; start-up; software applications; government markets; rapid growth stage; public entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Software; United States; New York (city, NY);

    Citation:

    Eisenmann, Thomas, Mitch Weiss, and Halah AlQahtani. "Mark43." Harvard Business School Case 817-016, November 2016. (Revised November 2016.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  2. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | June 2018 (Revised July 2018)

    Mark43

    Thomas Eisenmann, Mitchell Weiss and Matt Higgins

    Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-016. The founders of Mark43, an early-stage startup that provides software for law enforcement agencies, must decide whether to bid on a request for proposals (RFP) from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). On the one hand, LAPD would be a second large and influential customer for a startup that has just successfully deployed software for its first customer, the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department. On the other hand, pursuing the LAPD RFP could consume most of Mark43’s engineering resources for the coming year, pushing other business development opportunities off their roadmap, in particular, plans to target small- and medium-sized police departments.

    Keywords: Sales; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Software; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Making; Technology Industry; District of Columbia; Los Angeles;

    Citation:

    Eisenmann, Thomas, Mitchell Weiss, and Matt Higgins. "Mark43." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 818-104, June 2018. (Revised July 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

About the Authors

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Thomas R. Eisenmann
Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration
Entrepreneurial Management

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Mitchell B. Weiss
Professor of Management Practice, Richard L. Menschel Faculty Fellow
Entrepreneurial Management

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