Balaji is currently active in three businesses: TV content, film production and video-on-demand (VOD) services. Started by Ekta Kapoor and her family in 1994, the company tasted its first major success in 2000 with the TV series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. This was followed by several other hit TV shows, which earned Ekta Kapoor the moniker ""Czarina of Indian TV"". The company formally entered the film business in 2007 and .....more

Founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur, Colin Huang, Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) had become China''s fastest-growing e-commerce platform in history. PDD pioneered a new approach to online shopping that allowed shoppers to share products, invite friends to form shopping teams, and purchase together at discounted prices. The company''s rapid development helped it debut on the Nasdaq in July 2018, only three years after its inception. The fast .....more

Founded in 2006, the B Lab, a nonprofit organization, created the certified B Corporations (B Corps). B Corps are businesses that satisfy a set of standards and benchmarks defined by social and environmental impact. B Corps and their supply chains are assessed on their policies and procedures around governance, workers, community, environment, and disclosures to the public. Certification means the company is a "purpose-driven" business that .....more

Jenn Braus (HBS 2013) was half-way through the 90-day exclusivity period for her proposed acquisition of Systems Design West (""SDW""). She had completed her business and accounting due diligence. Just as she was about to ask her lawyer to begin drafting the purchase agreement, she received a call from the seller that the company had reached agreement with a large new client that would increase revenue by roughly 20%. The seller .....more

This case depicts a financial analyst trying to make sense of Starbucks'' finances and drawing from recent projects of the IASB and FASB to identify lease accounting as a key issue for the firm. The case underscores the importance of having a full picture of a company''s obligations in order to understand its overall performance. In reviewing the case, students examine Starbucks'' extensive use of leases and use spreadsheet .....more

An investor, Janice Zhuk, examines Tesla''s quarterly safety data that includes the number of miles it took to register one accident among Tesla cars driving with autopilot versus those without autopilot. The data set is small, so the validity of any statistical analysis may be compromised. The data allow one to run a simple t-test comparison of means. Because of the small sample size, the case invites a discussion on the hypothesis of the .....more

This case describes the genesis and development of a Chinese data analytics startup, TalkingData, from 2012 to 2017. It highlights the strategies pursued and capabilities that the company had built over time in order to secure its position as one of the top data analytics providers in the country. This case also identifies the main challenges that TalkingData needs to address as it continues to grow and expand its businesses and operations. This case .....more

This case describes the journey of a Chinese snack food company, LYFEN, as it developed supply-chain processes and capabilities to compete successfully in a highly competitive market. It provides detailed information about LYFEN''s quality-control processes and supply-chain management practices. A particularly interesting aspect of the case is the challenges faced by the company to deliver on customer expectations for food safety and the associated .....more

Stephane Kasriel, the CEO of Upwork, the leading platform for freelance labor, updates his progress on how to redesign its business model in 2019.

Norlha Textiles was a yak wool enterprise located on the Tibetan Plateau in China. Founded in 2007, the company designed and produced yak wool textiles made by Tibetan nomads and sold globally to customers that included such luxury brands as Herm s, Louis Vuitton, and Yves Saint Laurent. In 2015, the company employed 120 local people, enabling them to adapt to the modern world while preserving their local traditions. Also in 2015, the local government .....more