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Case information was mainly acquired through interviews with Richard Gammans, chief operating officer. Dr Gammans was a visiting professor at Fayetteville State University for a year, and two of the case authors developed personal friendships with Richard. Interviews were conducted over a two-year period as the accelerator got started. In addition, one author conducted a team-building session with the management team and one of the bio-startup researchers. An interview was also conducted with Clayton Duncan, chief executive officer, to gain his agreement with developing the case.

The Accele website included a write-up on each of the pharmaceutical startup companies. The write-up included a company summary, description of the science (disease and cure), the size of the market, results from testing, regulatory considerations and intellectual property. A literature review was conducted as the basis for the information on the pharmaceutical industry.

This case is about a biopharmaceutical accelerator founded in 2011 by two senior executives with experience in both large pharmaceutical companies and running biotech startup companies. The founders were successful in raising capital to start their first venture capital fund which they used to invest in four biotech startups. All four startups were working in very different disease areas. For example, one developed a drug to help with hearing loss that the department of defense was funding. Another of the startups discovered drug candidates that attack antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Biopharmaceutical accelerators were relatively new. They differed from business incubators because they invest in the startups and provide operational support, but the degree of support provided varies across accelerators. The Accele BioPharma accelerator operated in virtual, network type of organization, and Accele BioPharma provided primary strategic and operational management for the startups. The challenge in this case is to identify how the leaders managed the virtual network, and what additional resources were needed so that the management team could expand their ability to assist startups to get drugs approved by the food and drug administration.

This case is suitable recommended for undergraduate/graduate strategy, undergraduate/graduate organizational behavior, entrepreneurship and health-care management courses.

Upon completion of the case study, student will be able to discuss valuation of new-age ventures and understand how it is different from the valuation of organisations with a longer history; analyse the considerations (quantitative and qualitative) while evaluating investments in new-age ventures; and develop a framework involving the various dimensions of investment readiness.

The fintech space in India has seen an upsurge of activities since 2016. The growth of Paytm, RazorPay and many such ventures and the drastic improvements in this ecosystem have been significant catalysts for this segment of new-age tech companies. Funding and valuations have seen a sharp increase, especially when businesses worldwide felt the after-effects of the pandemic, with India being home to a large number of unicorns, second only to the USA. Open Financial Technologies Ltd (OPEN TECH) is one such venture that claimed its spot as the 100th unicorn of India within a span of five years since inception. With a strong focus on disrupting the banking sector in India, this neo-bank aspires to be the equivalent of Stripe in India and eventually be a strong competitor in the international market.

Richard O’Neil is an active investor in the fintech space, based out of the UK, and he is currently looking to expand the market by considering investment options. In the process, Richard and his team have identified India as a viable and competitive market, as new venture support and funding are increasingly emphasized through policies such as Startup India, Make in India and many such more to sustain and propel its benefits. As the team was exploring ventures worth investing, Open Financial Technologies caught their attention. However, Richard, given his experience across fields and being a seasoned private equity investor, realised that valuing new-age companies is as much an art as it is a science. Multiple quantitative and qualitative aspects need to be considered while relevance of traditional valuation techniques to put a value on such entrepreneurial ventures is questioned. At this juncture, he finds it crucial to evaluate the investment readiness of OPEN TECH.

This case allows students to understand how valuation of new ventures is different from that of established companies and analyse the crucial factors worth considering while evaluating an investment proposal as a venture capitalist, which eventually helps shape the funding pitch of an entrepreneur in the space.

This case study can be useful for students undertaking graduate- and executive-level courses on business valuation and strategy and entrepreneurship, as well as entrepreneurial finance elective at the undergraduate level. One could use this case in courses on entrepreneurship and innovation, such as an introductory course on entrepreneurial finance and a course on venture capital and private equity. It also allows discussion on fintech and neobanking and the valuation of privately held companies.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and finance.

After studying and analyzing this case, students will be able to: understand and evaluate the integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategy for online businesses; understand and create the various components of an IMC plan; determine the challenges of scaling up a business and how social media marketing can help in that; learn how to assemble the positioning statement of a startup; determine and differentiate the different business models (revenue models); and understand and create the social media marketing strategy.

It was late April 2021, and Mr Srinivas Rao, the co-founder and director of Mentorrd EduTech, India, was contemplating the journey of more than five years. Much had changed since the startup Mentorrd Education Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Mentorrd EduTech) was launched in 2015. From being an online artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool for analyzing and building resumes, Mentorrd expanded to specialized premium services for career development catering to MBA aspirants from India to international markets. However, during the same time, many problems had also started showing up. The competition had increased, and conversions became difficult. Mentorrd generated 95% of its leads through Google Ads pay per click (PPC) advertising. However, now, the increased competition made PPC costlier, where Mentorrd started at INR 10 per click but was now paying INR 50 per click. The customers also were only limited to searching for keywords; hence, actual lead conversion was minimal. Mentorrd was present on different social media platforms and had developed an audience: LinkedIn (close to 10,000 followers), Facebook (1,600+ followers) and Twitter (numbers), but conversions from there were only contributing to 5% of the total revenue.Mr Rao wondered that with a change in demand from general review services to specialist resume and interview preparation services such as MBA, he would have to develop a sound social media strategy integrated with the current Google Ads usage to reach the audience and generate conversions. He had a limited marketing budget which he wanted to use most effectively but was not sure how to spend across platforms.

This case can be used as an IMC strategy case for MBA courses in marketing. In a marketing course, the focus should be on components of IMC strategy, customer perception, company positioning and marketing channels. The case can also be applied as a strategy case for courses in entrepreneurship or digital marketing strategy. In an entrepreneurship course, the focus should be on the business model, growth and scaling decisions a startup needs to make to grow the business. In a digital marketing strategy course, the focus should be on social media marketing and search engine marketing decisions and the implications for revenues and profits. The case can also be used in executive-level courses to illustrate IMC, growth and digital marketing strategies for a startup.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to recognize essential considerations for the initial public offerings (IPO) decision, compare different types of fundraising options for startups, evaluate the free pricing regime for IPO pricing, examine the pricing process of IPOs, explore the issue of valuation of IPOs and assess the decision choices of the founder regarding IPO given the trade-offs and market conditions.

The case study explores the dilemma of Ghazal Alagh, the co-founder and chief innovation officer of Mamaearth, a direct-to-consumer babycare and skincare unicorn, regarding its IPO decision. Mamaearth had filed the draft offer document with SEBI in December 2022, and Ghazal was busy engaging with the investment bankers for the upcoming IPO. However, the weak market sentiments and shelving of IPO plans by many startups were forcing her to think about facing the possibility of postponing the IPO or continuing the IPO process but at lower valuations. The case study provides an opportunity to explore a startup’s financing choices. It allows for discussion of various IPO challenges from the perspectives of founders, venture investors, regulators, investment bankers and new IPO investors.

This case study is best suited for senior undergraduate- and graduate-level business school students in courses focusing on entrepreneurship, corporate finance, financial management, strategic management and investment banking.

CSS1: Accounting and finance.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Entrepreneurship.

The learning outcomes are to explain the importance of passion in entrepreneurship, develop an understanding of the business model canvas and its elements, identify typical challenges faced by a startup (during early days and while growing), explain the role of seed fund and customer feedback for small business success and identify the appropriate hiring strategy for startups.

The case traces the journey of two Saudi under-graduate software engineering students, namely, Loai Labani and Riyadh Al-Tayib, who had a vision to establish the best information technology (IT) services company in Saudi Arabia. With no previous experience of establishing a company or working for a startup, coupled with the fact that the culture of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia is still in its ascendancy, they knew it would be challenging. Nevertheless, at the same time, they were convinced it would be totally up to them to do the hard work needed to propel their vision into reality. The case, after introducing the founders, talks about their respective backgrounds and how it complemented their goal/vision of establishing an IT services company. The case, with references from the literature, also throws light on the entrepreneurship culture in Saudi Arabia but the focus is the various challenges faced by the team in setting up their business and the strategies they used in dealing with the challenges. Some of the challenges discussed are securing early customers, initial financing to support startup, business model development, managing daily operations and hiring and marketing strategy. The case ends with another challenge faced by the founders, for the readers to think about the possible ways of dealing with the challenge at hand.

The case will be used for under-graduate level students.

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 3: Entrepreneurship.

This case series describes the startup of Farm to School of Park County, an emerging nonprofit organization in the US state of Montana. Case (A) describes the community, the need, and the origins of Farm to School in Livingston, Montana. The leaders of Farm to School face a budget crisis and need to evaluate four options to decide whether, when, and how it should become an independent organization. As Case (B) begins, Farm to School has decided to enter into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the local community foundation. The next task for the organization's leaders is recruiting founding board members. They need to decide whom to ask and how to do it. In Case (C), the board develops a strategic plan and establishes committees. However, the board members and leaders start to feel fatigue in the face of the demands of a startup organization, leading to questions about what is truly strategic and how work will get done. The Farm to School organization in Case (D) has just issued its first annual report, filled with meaningful accomplishments. The leaders of the organization begin to plan to build an organization that will outlast them and the founding board members.

In 2009 Wikia was the Internet's largest for-profit provider of hosted open-source wikis, with over a million daily users. After five years of existence, the organization had supported a wide range of exploratory activities, experiencing both success and failure. With approximately $3 million of cash on hand, Wikia turned cash flow positive in 2009, with revenues of approximately $4.5 million, affording it time and flexibility to try new things. Some of the company's employees and investors suggested that Wikia should attempt to expand and market itself more aggressively, but which strategic direction should receive priority? The case presents many of the issues and tradeoffs facing CEO Gil Penchina as he formulates these priorities.

The case seeks to teach students about the general business challenges facing a new firm in the area of Web 2.0, also popularly known as social networking. The case also exposes students to wiki technology and how it facilitates collaborative behavior.

This case series describes the startup of Farm to School of Park County, an emerging nonprofit organization in the US state of Montana. Case (A) describes the community, the need, and the origins of Farm to School in Livingston, Montana. The leaders of Farm to School face a budget crisis and need to evaluate four options to decide whether, when, and how it should become an independent organization. As Case (B) begins, Farm to School has decided to enter into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the local community foundation. The next task for the organization's leaders is recruiting founding board members. They need to decide whom to ask and how to do it. In Case (C), the board develops a strategic plan and establishes committees. However, the board members and leaders start to feel fatigue in the face of the demands of a startup organization, leading to questions about what is truly strategic and how work will get done. The Farm to School organization in Case (D) has just issued its first annual report, filled with meaningful accomplishments. The leaders of the organization begin to plan to build an organization that will outlast them and the founding board members.

This case series describes the startup of Farm to School of Park County, an emerging nonprofit organization in the US state of Montana. Case (A) describes the community, the need, and the origins of Farm to School in Livingston, Montana. The leaders of Farm to School face a budget crisis and need to evaluate four options to decide whether, when, and how it should become an independent organization. As Case (B) begins, Farm to School has decided to enter into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the local community foundation. The next task for the organization's leaders is recruiting founding board members. They need to decide whom to ask and how to do it. In Case (C), the board develops a strategic plan and establishes committees. However, the board members and leaders start to feel fatigue in the face of the demands of a startup organization, leading to questions about what is truly strategic and how work will get done. The Farm to School organization in Case (D) has just issued its first annual report, filled with meaningful accomplishments. The leaders of the organization begin to plan to build an organization that will outlast them and the founding board members.

This case series describes the startup of Farm to School of Park County, an emerging nonprofit organization in the US state of Montana. Case (A) describes the community, the need, and the origins of Farm to School in Livingston, Montana. The leaders of Farm to School face a budget crisis and need to evaluate four options to decide whether, when, and how it should become an independent organization. As Case (B) begins, Farm to School has decided to enter into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the local community foundation. The next task for the organization's leaders is recruiting founding board members. They need to decide whom to ask and how to do it. In Case (C), the board develops a strategic plan and establishes committees. However, the board members and leaders start to feel fatigue in the face of the demands of a startup organization, leading to questions about what is truly strategic and how work will get done. The Farm to School organization in Case (D) has just issued its first annual report, filled with meaningful accomplishments. The leaders of the organization begin to plan to build an organization that will outlast them and the founding board members.