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Publications
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- June 2025
- Case
Redefining the Edge: Jahez’s Strategic Pivot in Saudi Arabia’s Food Delivery Battle
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Ahmed Dahawy
Jahez made its mark in Saudi Arabia’s food delivery market by serving customers willing to pay more for reliable, high-quality service—a segment largely overlooked by other platforms. As the company grew, it expanded into the mass market and developed a network of... View Details
- April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
- Background Note
Customer Acquisition and the Cash Flow Trap
By: E. Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
Startups as well as existing firms recognize the need to invest in order to acquire customers for their new ventures. And as each customer is expected at some point to have generated sufficient gross margins to cover their CAC, management expects that, soon enough, the... View Details
- April 2025
- Supplement
Customer Acquisition and the Cash Flow Trap Supplement
By: E. Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
- April 2025
- Teaching Note
Tabby: Winning Customers' Digital Wallets
By: Eva Ascarza
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 524-056. Tabby, a Saudi-based fintech founded in 2019, rapidly became one of the MENA region’s first unicorns by offering buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services with a unique twist: instead of charging end consumers, it partnered with... View Details
- April 2025
- Case
Sharon Goldberg and BastionZero
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, James Barnett and Maxim Pike Harrell
In December 2023, BastionZero co-founder and CEO Sharon Goldberg considered her startup’s future. Established in 2017 as a blockchain company focused on improving the security of cryptocurrency trading, in March 2020 the VC-backed startup shifted focus to a new... View Details
- February 2025
- Case
Blue Owl Financing of Ping Identity
By: Victoria Ivashina and Srimayi Mylavarapu
In the fall of 2022, Blue Owl Capital's investment committee evaluated a potential investment in the technology sector. The proposed transaction centered on Ping Identity Corporation (“Ping”), a fast-growing identity access management (IAM) software company that was... View Details
- February 2025
- Article
Improving Customer Compatibility with Tradeoff Transparency
By: Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi
Through a large-scale field experiment with 393,036 customers considering opening a credit card account with a nationwide retail bank, we investigate how providing transparency into an offering’s tradeoffs affects subsequent rates of customer acquisition and long-run... View Details
- December 2024
- Supplement
Core Innovation Capital: Investing in Fintech for Good (B)
In 2017, Core Innovation Capital invested $725,000 in Hugo Insurance, a pay-as-you-drive auto insurance startup targeting the non-standard market. Core followed with $300,000 in 2019 during a Seed II round. By 2022, Hugo founder, David Bergendahl, sought $10 million in... View Details
- November–December 2024
- Article
Scaling Up Transformational Innovations
By: Peter Koen, Ananya Sheth, Mike DiPaola and Linda A. Hill
For large companies operating in mature sectors—such as Procter & Gamble in consumer goods, Apple in consumer electronics, and Adobe in cloud software—driving growth is a perennial challenge. Growth through acquisition is always an option, but companies often quickly... View Details
- November 2024 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Precision Agriculture at AGCO
By: Rajiv Lal, Alicia Dadlani and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone
In 2024, AGCO, a leading agricultural equipment manufacturer, sought to improve its customers net farm income by 20% over five years by becoming a comprehensive one-stop precision agriculture solutions provider and strengthening its dual channel sales approach—retrofit... View Details
- October 2024
- Teaching Plan
Teamworks: Tackling a Forecasting Fumble
By: Lou Shipley and Stacy Straaberg
In late March 2018, Teamworks CEO Zach Maurides learned Q1 2018 sales were at risk for a large forecasting miss. Founded in 2004, Teamworks’s software application assisted support staff in messaging, scheduling, and sharing documents with collegiate and professional... View Details
Keywords: Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Communication Strategy; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Cycles; Technological Innovation; Sports; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Sports Industry; Technology Industry; United States; North Carolina
- August 2024
- Case
Oculii
By: Andy Wu and Lucas Defilippo
It was a bright June day in 2016. Steven Hong, co-founder and COO of Oculii had just signed a letter of intent agreeing to a 51% stake acquisition by Nexteer Automotive, a global steering and driveline supplier company that developed advanced driver assistance systems... View Details
- July 2024
- Supplement
Fail Safe Testing, Inc. (A)
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: Fail Safe Testing, Inc., founded in 1988, was the leading provider of fire hose pressure testing, ground ladder and pump... View Details
Abstract: Fail Safe Testing, Inc., founded in 1988, was the leading provider of fire hose pressure testing, ground ladder and pump... View Details
- July 2024
- Supplement
Fail Safe Testing, Inc. (B)
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: Fail Safe Testing, Inc., founded in 1988, was the leading provider of fire hose pressure testing, ground ladder and pump... View Details
Abstract: Fail Safe Testing, Inc., founded in 1988, was the leading provider of fire hose pressure testing, ground ladder and pump... View Details
- July 2024
- Case
Knowledge-Enabled Financial Advice: Digital Transformation at Edward Jones
By: Lauren Cohen, Richard Ryffel, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan
Edward Jones, a wealth management advisory firm that prided itself on its interpersonal connections and face-to-face interactions, was eager to augment their services with AI capabilities. Built on 1-to-1 close-knit relationships, the firm had more than 15,000 offices... View Details
Keywords: Fintech; Innovation And Strategy; Financial Advisors; Big Data; Artificial Intelligence; Digitization; Financial Institutions; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Technology Adoption; Business Plan; Technological Innovation; Interpersonal Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Communication Strategy; Transformation; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Customer Relationship Management; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Strategy; Financial Services Industry; St. Louis; Missouri; United States; Canada
- June 2024
- Case
SnapTravel: Betting on 'Super.com'
By: Reza Satchu and Tom Quinn
This case explores SnapTravel, a travel startup offering discounted hotel rooms, and its founders’ desire to pivot to a “super app” that saved customers money across many different purchase types. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hussein Fazal and Henry Shi saw SnapTravel... View Details
Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Plan; Business Startups; Change Management; Disruption; Transformation; Volatility; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Decisions; Income; Entrepreneurship; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Health Pandemics; Surveys; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Risk Management; Consumer Behavior; Game Theory; Risk and Uncertainty; Adaptation; Diversification; Expansion; System Shocks; Accommodations Industry; Technology Industry; Canada; United States; Las Vegas
- June 2024
- Teaching Note
Beamery: Using Skills and AI to Modernize HR
By: Boris Groysberg, David Lane, Susan Pinckney and Alexis Lefort
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 424-004. Unicorn human relationships startup Beamery evaluates it growth versus depth strategy as its strategic partners and customers could become future competitors in a quickly changing AI based human resources and talent management... View Details
Keywords: Analysis; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; Business Plan; Disruption; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Decisions; Diversity; Ethnicity; Gender; Nationality; Race; Residency; Higher Education; Learning; Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Growth and Development; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Job Offer; Job Search; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Product; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Strategy; Equality and Inequality; Valuation; Value Creation; Employment Industry; United Kingdom
- June 2024
- Supplement
Zeswitz Music (A)
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details
- June 2024
- Supplement
Zeswitz Music (B)
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details
- May 2024
- Background Note
Net Revenue Retention: Unpacking the Dynamics of Customer Monetization
By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
Firms and investors alike are beginning to recognize the importance of tracking how revenues from existing customers are evolving over time and to appreciate the value in understanding what might explain changes in these revenues. Consequently, in addition to looking... View Details