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Kaleidofin was co-founded in 2017 by Puneet Gupta and Sucharita Mukherjee; former CFO and CEO of IFMR (Institute for Financial Management and Research) Holdings Pvt Ltd. As part of their roles at IFMR, Gupta and Mukherjee focused on designing products and developing technology to push for financial inclusion. In their field interactions, the co-founders had an epiphany of the challenges faced by people while trying to save towards important life goals. They saw an opportunity in the large segment of financially under-served people in India and quit their jobs to start Kaleidofin. Kaleidofin was conceptualised as a digital platform that offers customised financial solutions to help customers meet their life goals. The start-up partnered with mutual fund companies for solutions on one hand and network partners (NGOs, microfinance organizations, cooperative banks) on the other for access to their existing customers.

Kaleidofin grew from 50 customers in January 2018 to 15,000 customers by March 2019. Aiming to grow to 1 million customers in the next 30 months Kaleidofin faces a dilemma about its future course. The start-up could continue to grow by expanding its current target segment which is the low-income households and preserve its vision at the risk of increasing costs. The second option would be to look at other potential target segments, such as, middle-income households and risk diluting their vision. The case study highlights the unique customer-centric model of Kaleidofin and the need for start-ups to understand the value proposition of their products/services.

Customers often sign lengthy offer documents, running in several pages, without reading them or understanding their contents. Later, they discover the contract has exclusion clauses or unfavourable terms. Are the terms binding on the person? The case explores the UK High Court judgement in Coys of Kensington Automobiles Limited v Tiziana Pugliese, which is on the theme of the signing of an offer form. The case explores themes frequently encountered in forms, including the following: The font size is small and terms not conspicuous. The form refers to more terms without enclosing them. The applicant is not fully familiar with the language.

This case study aims to understand the criticalities of hiring in a knowledge-based start-up; the various ways of retaining talent in a knowledge-based start-up; the competency requirements of human resource professionals in start-up organizations; the trade-off between business profitability and the R&D drive of the company; and the various organizational structures available for a knowledge-based start-up.

Ayush Jain, a first-generation entrepreneur, is facing a challenge with his start-up, TechShlok. TechShlok is an IT solution provider with its headquarters in Jaipur, India. The company is doing very well and is able to achieve many accolades. As the company grows in business and employee strength, it is facing talent acquisition and retention challenges. Ayush is in a fix to solve the talent issue and retain the key talent of the organization.

The case can be taught in a Human Resource Management course, including “talent management” and “human resource planning”. The case may be taught at upper undergraduate levels. It can also be taught in courses of entrepreneurship and knowledge-based start-ups.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The case study is based on field data including semi-structured interviews with the main protagonist and related stakeholders of Karan Handicraft, a leather craft artisan enterprise. After informed consent, the interviews with the craft artisan entrepreneurs of Karan Handicraft were conducted, transcribed and analysed verbatim in the respondents’ native language, Kutchi Gujarati. The authors also used archival data given by the company. In addition, secondary data from industry reports and business magazines was used to create the case.

The case investigates the impact of digital technologies on the small handicraft artisan entrepreneurs by focusing on a family-run business of a leather craft. It traces the evolution of Karan Handicraft, based in Kutch district of Gujarat, India from the year 2007 to 2023. The third-generation artisan entrepreneur Karan Marvada attempted exploring the new-age social media platforms to showcase the products, modified his product designs to attract a new customer-base and adapted to digital marketing. However, in the wake of the crowding in the handicraft cluster, the central business problem that Karan was grappling with was, if he should scale up his artisanal entrepreneurial stint using electronic commerce (e-commerce) as a medium. Another allied issue is in such a scale-up, should he use e-commerce, i.e. as a medium of communication only or as a medium of both communication and delivery. While the latter may lead to scale, it may raise the challenge of not being able to preserve the traditional values of his ancestral business.

This case involves various issues that arise in entrepreneurship management, such as decisions related to growth strategy (remain small and unique vs become large and mass scale), to maintain a physical presence vs digital presence and the form of digital presence, are dwelt upon. The case is aimed at graduate students in an entrepreneurship or family business course. It could also be taught in other courses that focus on innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Neons Fashion LLP was an entrepreneurial venture of Arthi Ramalingam after completion of her MBA. Arthi had an interest in jewellery since childhood and she decided to focus on design, manufacturing and retailing of fashion and costume jewellery items under the brand name of Eternz through different sales channels like exhibitions, retail stores, own website and as an independent seller on e-commerce marketplaces. She initially started selling on Amazon marketplace through a third party, Cloudtail India Pvt. Ltd., and later sold through other e-commerce marketplace operators like Flipkart, Jabong and FirstCry. As her business grew, Arthi planned to add the kids' shoes category and also decided to participate in Bangalore Fashion Week to build the Eternz brand. However, in November 2016, Cloudtail terminated her contract which played havoc with the sales and profitability of her start-up. Neons Fashion LLP (A) provides details of how independent sellers are at the mercy of marketplace operators and ends with the need to review the choices of sales channels for different categories like fashion garments and fashion accessories, and for the upcoming launch of kids' shoes. Neons Fashion LLP (B) describes the events after the Bangalore Fashion Week that ultimately led to closure of business.

After working through the case, the students should be able to understand Indian political economy and the brand building process of NaMo; identify the media mix strategies used to build the brand NaMo in India; evaluate possible future growth strategies for brand NaMo; and compare and contrast brand NaMo with business brands.

Narendra Modi popularly called as NaMo was the current Prime Minister of India. He belonged to Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which won India’s general elections in two consecutive terms 2014 and 2019. NaMo was recognised worldwide for his prudence in leading the country to greater heights of achievement. NaMo started his political journey as the worker of BJP at a tender age. His rise in political career was akin to flagship brand overtaking the parent brand. All the steps taken in the past to position himself as a cult brand, will it fortify to NaMo’s victory in 2024 general elections? Business firms may follow NaMo’s strategies. What can the business brands emulate from NaMo to market and position themselves? Can political success be transpired to business success?

This case is designed for use in a graduate-/postgraduate-level marketing course in segments on brand management, brand expansion and the marketing strategies of a market leader. The case can also be used in a brand management course to discuss brand management models (e.g. Keller’s brand resonance pyramid and brand value chain). This case has particular application for classes that focus on brand equity, STP for any brand (segmentation, targeting and positioning) and brand value chain. The case looks in detail at the Indian political market and brand building process of NaMo and examines competitive moves since its inception. This case can be used in brand management, media management courses. The dilemma can be explained as part of a marketing course for postgraduate and executive programmes.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Nicolas Dupont, the owner of Chateau de Montana, a struggling (and old) boutique hotel in Crans-Montana Ski Resort, Switzerland, wished to renovate and reposition his family-owned hotel to target higher room rates. Dupont commissioned Olga Mitireva and Yulia Belopilskaya as consultants to assess the proposition. The consultants had to extract cues for the room rate of the repositioned hotel from comparable hotels. However, the room rates varied significantly across similar hotels due to their differing characteristics and locations. It was a cognitive challenge to read the patterns from a few comparable hotels. They collected the data of 200 hotels from similar locations and simulated room prices using hedonic regression models.

The case study incorporated a combination of primary and secondary data collection approach. The authors interviewed Dr Varghese, the co-founder of Sunbird Straws and the protagonist in this case study. In addition, secondary data was obtained from various sources such as newspaper articles, journal publications and company reports.

On a rosy and vibrant morning in 2017, Dr Saji Varghese, a professor at Christ University in Bangalore, stumbled upon a curved coconut leaf on the campus resembling a straw. This sparked his motivation to transform coconut leaves into a natural straw, prompting him to initiate experiments with coconut leaves in his kitchen. The process of boiling and straining leaves became his method for crafting an eco-friendly straw. After numerous attempts, he successfully produced straws from coconut leaves, introducing a distinctive and creative concept incubated at IIM Bangalore. These unique straws, crafted by Varghese, prioritised environmental friendliness and were also crafted entirely from biodegradable materials, free from harmful chemicals. These straws demonstrated durability in hot and cold beverages for up to 3 h, maintaining their integrity without becoming soggy or leaking. As the business flourished, it reached a critical juncture. The primary challenge centred around product marketing, mainly due to consumer unfamiliarity with such sustainable straws. This was a product that also fell under the category of low involvement for consumers. Raising awareness about the product and persuading consumers to purchase presented a significant hurdle. In response, Varghese assigned his team to develop cost-effective marketing strategies. Given the start-up nature of the business, advertising budgets were constrained, and the objective was to achieve a positive return on advertising spend for every investment in advertising the product. In addition, the focus was on increasing the likelihood of selling the straws on both business-to-business and business-to-consumer levels. In this case study, Varghese’s role and predicament exemplify the delicate equilibrium that entrepreneurs frequently grapple with, striking a balance between marketing strategy and return on ad spent to steer the trajectory of their businesses. It offered a valuable examination of the nuanced decisions marketers encounter as they strive for both profitability and customer-centric products.

The case study is relevant to the marketing discipline. All undergraduate and postgraduate-level marketing courses in higher education institutions can use this case study. It can also be used in integrated marketing communication or digital marketing classes. It can be used further in the hospitality and management fields. Also, online courses in marketing can include this case study.

The case is meant for teaching business management students at the Postgraduate and Executive levels. It can be incorporated in the marketing management, entrepreneurship and international business course curriculum.

Since its inception in 2015, VAHDAM India had carved a niche for itself in the Global Tea Industry in a span of just seven years. The 29-year-old Founder-CEO, Bala Sarda was the first to create India’s largest born-global direct-to-consumer (D2C) premium wellness brand by bridging the gap between demand and supply of the country’s finest teas and superfoods globally. The venture also became a poster child for sustainability by strengthening its green credentials over the course of time.Having attained profitability in FY21, VAHDAM now aims to become a ₹500 Cr. brand by FY24. To push the goal across the line, channelisation of marketing will take centre stage. The case highlights the management’s dilemma of using green marketing as the pivot for increasing its market share in the emerging economies and boosting revenue. The underscored opportunities and challenges have to be addressed so as to formulate a green marketing mix suitable for the emerging market scenario.

Participants will develop an understanding about the evolving consumption landscape inclining towards eco-friendly wellness products and the relationship between green marketing mix, brand equity and its channelisation towards revenue generation. They will also get an overview of marketing challenges faced by a premium D2C wellness brand while entering an emerging market. The readers shall be able to analyse and suggest ideas for the formulation of an effective green marketing mix to meet the consumer expectations and achieve desired brand positioning.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

HSBC (The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) Holdings Plc. is a part of various trade finance consortia which aimed to digitise the traditional paper-based trade finance process. It had successfully executed multiple trade finance pilots using a blockchain based platform Voltron and was launching its Contour blockchain trade finance platform as a service to its clients. The trade finance market was estimated to be USD 18 trillion on an annual basis and HSBC had a 12% share in the trade finance transactions worldwide. This case revolves around the challenges facing banks/consortia while porting the traditional trade finance process to the blockchain based system. The crux is how the banks form the consortia, implement blockchain and facilitate trading globally given that it is a new technology and will require bringing all the stakeholders involved in the trade finance value chain to the blockchain based platform. HSBC is facing some decision questions on the formation, governance and management of the consortium, on the interoperability between consortia and on how to price its services to its customers.