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  • November 2019
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Scaling at Chief

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley and Katherine Chen
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:15
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Abstract

Chief is a New York-based peer network that provides mentorship, support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community to women executives. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched the company in January 2019, and just two months later, Chief has 400 members and a growing waiting list. Now, Childers and Kaplan must determine how aggressively to scale Chief’s model to other cities. How much money should they raise in Chief’s Series A, and when? Which cities should they expand to first? What are the potential risks of moving too fast, and how can they best mitigate them?
For more background on Childers and Kaplan’s decision to found Chief, please see “Chief: Role for Carolyn Childers” (HBS No. 920-019) and “Chief: Role for Lindsay Kaplan” (HBS No. 920-020).

Keywords

Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Expansion; Growth Management; Customer Satisfaction; North and Central America; United States; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)

Citation

Coffman, Katherine B., Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley, and Katherine Chen. "Scaling at Chief." Harvard Business School Case 920-021, November 2019.
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About The Authors

Katherine B. Coffman

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Entrepreneurial Management
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Kathleen L. McGinn

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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Related Work

    • June 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Chief

    By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley, Amy Klopfenstein and Katherine Chen
Related Work
  • Chief By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley, Amy Klopfenstein and Katherine Chen
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