Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

Scaling Swagbucks (A)

by Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

Abstract

In early 2014, Chuck Davis (HBS '86) has joined Swagbucks as its first professional CEO to scale a successful and profitable brand promotion and consumer research business. Davis came into the job while serving as a venture partner at TCV, a growth stage VC firm, concurrent with TCV’s $60 million investment in the company. As a hired-gun CEO, Davis had grown and sold Shopzilla (formerly Bizate) to Scripps and then, again as CEO, Fandango to Comcast, so he had a well-honed playbook for scaling tech companies. But Swagbucks was different. Its founder Josef Gorowitz had grown Swagbucks by sourcing talent from family and friends – literally. The result was an organization built around a culture based in the deeply-held religious beliefs of the founding employees, nearly all of whom were ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews. This presented challenges, starting with the requirement that the company shutter operations every week in observance of the Sabbath and throughout the year for major and minor Jewish holidays. Davis was on board to scale the business, but he wrestled with how exactly to mainstream its culture without breaking the thing that had made Swagbucks successful.

Keywords: loyalty management; scaling; Scale; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Leading Change; Growth Management; Religion; Technology; Online Technology; Internet; Transition; Leadership; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry;

Language: English Format: Print 22 pages Educators

Citation:

Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Matthew G. Preble. "Scaling Swagbucks (A)." Harvard Business School Case 818-070, January 2018.

Related Work

  1. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

    Scaling Swagbucks (B)

    Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

    “Swagbucks (B),” HBS No. 817123, picks up in mid-2014 following the events described in “Swagbucks (A),” HBS No 817122. Davis and Gorowitz were successful in their efforts to position the company for scale without negatively affecting the company’s foundational culture, and developed a close working relationship. In early 2016, the company now has the opportunity to acquire MyPoints, an established competitor with millions of members and the chance to grow revenues at an even faster pace, but Davis and Gorowitz want to first discuss whether the company is strong enough to incorporate the new business and its employees.

    Keywords: loyalty management; scaling; Scale; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Leading Change; Growth Management; Religion; Technology; Online Technology; Internet; Transition; Leadership; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry;

    Citation:

    Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Matthew G. Preble. "Scaling Swagbucks (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 818-071, January 2018.  View Details
    CiteView Details Related

About the Author

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Jeffrey F. Rayport
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Entrepreneurial Management

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