Entrepreneurship

February 2025

Oyster becomes a unicorn: fundraising for an impact-driven enterprise

By Luisa Alemany, Nicholas Andreou, Ioannis Ioannou, Nick Mickshik

In April 2022, just two years since launch, global employment platform Oyster announced it had achieved a valuation in excess of $1 billion, giving it unicorn status, after closing a $150 million Series C round. Oyster’s co-founders, Tony Jamous and Jack Mardack, put a social-impact mission fro...

September 2024

ThriveAgric case A: An Agritech entrepreneurial opportunity in Africa

By Rupert Merson

The case series surveys the formation and early development of ThriveAgric, a Nigerian-based startup facilitating the financing and effectiveness of smallholder farmers. The C case briefly surveys the growth of the business after its successful post-Covid turnaround and its expansion beyond Niger...

September 2024

ThriveAgric case (B): Entrepreneurship as turnaround

By Rupert Merson

The case series surveys the formation and early development of ThriveAgric, a Nigerian-based startup facilitating the financing and effectiveness of smallholder farmers. The B case describes the crisis confronting the business caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which initially threatened its existe...

September 2024

ThriveAgric case C: Growing the entrepreneurial business

By Rupert Merson

The case series surveys the formation and early development of ThriveAgric, a Nigerian-based startup facilitating the financing and effectiveness of smallholder farmers. The A case discusses the “need” – i.e. the poverty of smallholder farmers in Nigeria caused by structural inefficiencies ...

July 2024

Pentland Brands: Berghaus’s International Expansion

By Ioannis Ioannou, Ken Mark

Pentland Brands, a family-owned British company, aims to expand its outdoor apparel brand Berghaus internationally, with a focus on the German and Chinese markets. Berghaus, certified as a B Corporation in 2023, boasts a strong reputation for well-designed, durable products and offers unique service...

July 2018

Dollar Shave Club: Disrupting the Shaving Industry (Japanese language)

By Nader Tavassoli, Karin Kollenz-Quétard, Jamie Anderson

The case describes how Dollar Shave Club proved to be a disruptive force in the shaving industry, one dominated by Gillette for over a Century. It did so without a single patent to its name, and with a direct-to-consumer subscription and a content-based customer engagement model that was new to the ...

May 2024

Avon International: Imagining a Refill Program in Turkey

By Ioannis Ioannou, Ken Mark, Lisa Duke

The case explores the role of sustainability initiatives in Avon's business strategy and how they align with its mission of empowering women. It also discusses the potential financial and operational implications of the yet-to-be implemented idea of a refill program, including changes to supply chai...

May 2024

The HASSLACHER Group: The Capital Equipment Decision

By Ioannis Ioannou, Ken Mark

A visitor to Sachsenburg, a quiet village nestled in the Austrian Alps, might not know that it was the headquarters of the Hasslacher Group, Europe’s largest producer of glued laminated timber. It was early May 2022 and Christoph Kulterer, CEO of the Hasslacher Group, wanted to decide what to do w...

April 2024

Up in the air: Dubai’s air-taxi service

By Aharon Cohen Mohliver, Nick Mickshik

The case describes the air-taxi industry at the end of 2023 as many companies vied to join the “eVTOL revolution”: in January 2022 the Vertical Flight Society listed 600 designs from nearly 350 companies and innovators worldwide, although only about two dozen of the 600 concepts had made it to t...

April 2024

HDFC ERGO: A product ecosystem built on mindshare

By Michael Jacobides, Anubhab Goel, Dalbert Ma, Aryan Mittal

Anuj Tyagi, Joint Managing Director of HDFC ERGO, is facing the challenge of transcending the traditional limitations of insurance interactions and establishing a significant presence in customers’ minds beyond annual transactions. The case explores the context of the insurance industry in India b...