Identifying the next big thing is often treated as an exercise in analyzing trends. But that''s misleading. By the time a trend is established, any opportunities it presents have probably been captured by competitors. And although a company may need to reflect trends in its business plans, that may mean catching up with rivals rather than gaining a competitive edge. To take advantage of emerging trends, companies must identify them when they .....more

In April 2021, Charles Wells, founder and CEO of HelloSelf was reflecting on the company''s progress since it launched two years earlier. HelloSelf''s goal was to help the mentally ill recover and those who were mentally fit to stay well and feel even better. To do this, the company intended to provide members most in need with convenient access to PhDs in Clinical Psychology. For members with moderate needs and those seeking personal .....more

In August 2018, after nearly six months of searching, Charles Wells was convinced that he should found HelloSelf to help people improve their sense of mental wellbeing. Those feeling mentally unwell would receive support from fully qualified clinical psychotherapists, while those feeling good would receive coaching and support to feel even better. Having researched a wide range of opportunities in the "BrainTech" space, including measuring .....more

In 2020, over half of all initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States were special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), blank-check companies that typically had two years to find a business to take public, usually through a reverse merger. Together, 248 SPACs raised over $83 billion, 46% of the total US IPO proceeds in 2020. The SPAC boom accelerated in 2021. By the end of March 2021, there were 298 SPAC IPOs year-to-date, raising $96.6 .....more

Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour measurement technologies enabled customers to drive ever shorter fulfilment cycles. But the company faced a monumental challenge in forecasting demand for the wide spectrum of colours .....more

Large digital multisided platforms (MSPs) such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Apple''s App Store have made it much easier for sellers to reach new customers, but as thousands of companies large and small have discovered, conducting business on them carries significant risks and costs. MSPs sometimes exploit sellers'' dependency on them in various subtle and not-so-subtle ways. They raise fees. They change their recommendation algorithms to .....more

Distinct Software (disguised name), a global enterprise software company, is at an important point in its growth trajectory where the luster of its mantra of "grow and win at any cost" has dimmed with increasing competition and margin pressures. To help navigate its sales organization through this difficult phase and improve sales productivity, the firm has hired Sam Chadwick, a digitally savvy industry veteran as its new Global Sales Head. .....more

The case focuses on bribery and corruption in wholesale international capital markets with an emphasis on infrastructure finance - notably the theft of $4.5 billion in proceeds from bond issues by the 1 Malasia Development Berhad (IMDB) totalling $6.5 billion. The scandal ensnared the Malaysian Prime Minister, an Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund, major institutional investors and the Goldman Sachs Group in one of the largest financial frauds in recent .....more