Both practically and morally, corporate leaders can no longer sit on the sidelines of major societal shifts or treat human and planetary issues as "someone else''s problem." For their own good, they must play an active role in addressing our biggest shared challenges. The economy won''t thrive unless people and the planet are thriving. In this bold manifesto, consultant and author Andrew Winston and former Unilever CEO Paul .....more

In May 2020, Chris Lyons, a partner at leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz receives the news that his company has reached a verbal agreement with one of Silicon Valley''s hottest social-media startups to lead its ''Series A'' funding round, in a deal that values the startup in the nine figures. Lyons has been instrumental to Andreessen Horowitz''s efforts to secure the deal: he created and led The Cultural .....more

In May 2020, Andreessen Horowitz secures an agreement with Clubhouse, one of Silicon Valley''s hottest startups, to lead its ''Series A'' funding round. One of the factors that insiders saw as pivotal in the race to be Clubhouse''s VC firm of choice was Andreessen Horowitz''s ability to secure celebrity appearances on the app, most notably by stand-up comedian and actor Kevin Hart, a limited partner in the VC .....more

Y Combinator (YC) was a business startup accelerator based in Mountain View, California. Originally founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2005, by 2021, YC listed 2,830 companies amongst its alumni. More than 80% of these companies were still active, had been acquired, or had gone public in June 2021 (see Exhibit 1). By comparison, more than 80% of companies receiving traditional early-stage investment failed within 10 years. In 2021, YC''s .....more

Third Place Winner; DEI Global Case Writing Competition. This case focuses on Lemon Tree Hotels, a leading Indian hotel company that employs large numbers of people with disabilities and other socially marginalized groups including orphans, divorcees, widows, survivors of acid attacks, and members of the transgender community. Unlike other hoteliers, Lemon Tree puts these "opportunity deprived Indians" (ODIs) in front-line positions. Launched .....more

GSH Conserves was an artisanal jam producer in Singapore that specialised in using tropical fruits, such as dragon fruit, lychee, mango, etc., to handcraft high-quality jam in small batches. Founded in 2013 in a home kitchen, the demand for GSH Conserves jam and bottled fruits had grown organically through word-of-mouth over the years. In 2016, GSH Conserves moved to a new factory that could cater to a larger production capacity in order to meet .....more

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case SMU960

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 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