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Paranoiabox.ru: Russian start-up growth decision dilemma

Alla Dementieva (Department of Management, Marketing and Foreign Economic Activity, Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Moscow, Russian Federation)
Olga Kandinskaia (Department of Finance, Cyprus International Institute of Management, Nicosia, Cyprus)
Olga Khotyasheva (Department of Management, Marketing and Foreign Economic Activity, Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Moscow, Russian Federation)

Publication date: 18 May 2022

Issue publication date: 25 August 2022

Abstract

Theoretical basis

The novelty of this case is the multidisciplinary focus where the aspects of entrepreneurship, marketing strategy and finance are mixed together. Students are expected to apply their knowledge of Business Model Canvas and Marketing 4.0, as well as learn about the new type of entrepreneurial finance such as crowdfunding. The setting of this case is novel too – the new quest games industry in Russia. Finally, the novelty of this case is its format where the protagonists’ interview is available as a podcast, and thus, the students will need to review only the tables and the appendices.

Research methodology

This decision case was field researched by the authors who interviewed the founders of this start-up and the business incubator (BI) director. No information was disguised in any way. Also, the secondary research on the main trends in the development of the international and Russian quest markets was completed by the authors in the preparation of this case.

Case overview/synopsis

Paranoiabox.ru case presents an entrepreneurial and strategic marketing decision situation. In May 2019, in Moscow, Russia, two young residents of the MGIMO University BI, Anastasia and Max, founded the start-up business called Paranoiabox.ru. This project was a quest in a new format with home delivery: a mixture of escape, detective and board game. The player received by post a box containing various objects. Interacting with them, he/she unraveled the plot thread, found clues and gradually approached the final clue. The game with complex copyright puzzles had a built-in hint system and provided mechanisms for interaction online. By July 2019, 30 boxes for their first quest were sold. The subscribers were waiting for a new quest. Despite the first sales, Anastasia and Max had no budget for hiring freelancers or outsourcing. They were faced with an urgent and challenging dilemma: whether to concentrate on the current product sales and spend all the budget on promotion or, alternatively, to launch a series of new quests and focus on the target market with high brand awareness. There was an additional funding dilemma: should they apply for crowdfunding?

Complexity academic level

This case is a multidisciplinary case with the aspects of entrepreneurship, marketing strategy and finance. This case is intended primarily for a course in entrepreneurship at the undergraduate or graduate level. This case is also ideal to be used as a capstone project in a degree programme for entrepreneurs.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express appreciation to the start-up founders Max Slesarev and Anastasia Krasenkova for providing essential real-life data from the company’s archives and their support in preparing this case. Disclaimer. This case is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. This case was compiled from field research and from published sources.

Citation

Dementieva, A., Kandinskaia, O. and Khotyasheva, O. (2022), "Paranoiabox.ru: Russian start-up growth decision dilemma", , Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 709-744. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-11-2020-0154

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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