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  • August 2017 (Revised August 2018)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Busbud: Building a Data Company

By: Srikant M. Datar, Alistair Croll and Caitlin N. Bowler
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:20
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Abstract

The case features the work of LP Maurice (HBS '08) as he decides to take on the fragmented bus travel industry and launch an online business that aggregates and shares bus schedules for routes around the world. His first challenge: finding that the data he needs is scattered, siloed, and sometimes offline. The case follows him and his team as they take on challenges as the start-up evolves and develops. Topics include acquiring data, web-based prototyping to understand customer preferences, and customer acquisition and retention metrics (SEO & SEM), and strategic choices around transforming from a B-to-C organization to a B-to-B enterprise. This case was written for the second-year MBA course "Managing with Data Science." The course provides MBA students with no programming experience an introduction to the field of data science and its applications in business. Students learn to (1) carefully articulate the business ask, (2) reason carefully from the “ask,” through metrics and models, and outputs; and (3) evaluate outputs from models to (4) develop a plan for action.

Keywords

Data Science; Analytics and Data Science; Business Startups; Knowledge Acquisition; Customers; Measurement and Metrics; Transportation Industry

Citation

Datar, Srikant M., Alistair Croll, and Caitlin N. Bowler. "Busbud: Building a Data Company." Harvard Business School Case 118-011, August 2017. (Revised August 2018.)
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About The Author

Srikant M. Datar

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Related Work

    • August 2017 (Revised August 2018)
    • Faculty Research

    Busbud: Building a Data Company

    By: Srikant M. Datar, Alistair Croll and Caitlin N. Bowler
Related Work
  • Busbud: Building a Data Company By: Srikant M. Datar, Alistair Croll and Caitlin N. Bowler
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