Case Studies
Leeds offers a collection of rigorous case studies presenting new and better ways to explore the topics, principles and challenges of creating enduring value in business. They indicate the energy of our faculty and students, and our region’s broad expertise in cleantech, natural products, and the outdoor industry. They build on the rich environment of cleantech, natural products, and outdoor industry in Boulder to provide opportunities to examine lessons in deploying sustainable practices to build successful businesses. Our case studies provide thought-provoking materials for use in graduate and undergraduate courses, and for executive education programs. The examples and conclusions in Leeds cases studies will inspire transformation in business management across industries, sectors, and disciplines.
Overview
Student Driven. Faculty Tested.
Within the context of sustainable products, processes and practices, each Leeds case examines real issues students may face on the job. We have designed the case library in response to a growing demand from students at the University of Colorado at Boulder interested in studying sustainable models in traditional business courses. Professors and instructors from Leeds faculty oversee the development and classroom testing of cases. The Instructors Notes made available with cases add insight into the interpretation and analysis of an individual case to promote inspired instruction and effective learning.
“It’s one thing to be exposed to the theory of sustainability, it’s another to actually sympathize through the case with the entrepreneur’s attempt to carry out that mission. Students can see that the perfect can be the enemy of the great. You can’t get that out of a text book."
—Professor Chris Leach, Finance
English Retreads
The founder of English Retreads, a recycled fashion company, considers how to adapt and grow a business that started as a hobby and became a legitimate venture with exciting opportunities for growth in the conscious consumerism market.
Namasté Solar: Making a Business of Values / Redefining Management
Namasté Solar is a leading Colorado solar installer in the residential market. Colorado’s favorable market conditions attract new competitors, putting pressures on price and market share. Unusual management structure and values systems, and public incentive structures complicate a pending decision to grow the residential market or develop a commercial installation business. Students must analyze the solar market, public incentive structures and financial scenarios to decide how this renewable energy company should grow.
This case contains a selection of three case studies that can be used to: Discuss a company’s core values, culture, and vision and examine how the corporate culture should be maintained or adjusted as the company experiences rapid growth; and to analyze target market selection in the context of competition, financial returns, and core competencies.
Tendril Networks, Inc.
The transformation of Tendril Networks from a software company offering a widely distributed set of services, to both a software and hardware company with a narrow focus, provides an excellent case study of the decisions made to cross a chasm, lead standards, and deploy a disruptive technology in a market.
This case addresses the challenges associated with “verticalizing” a company that was once a mile wide and an inch deep. The case also analyzes the decisions made to pursue the focused goal, once it was identified. Requiring significant resources, Tendril’s focus on an underdeveloped market was both ambiguous and far from safe.
Aurora Organic Dairy: A Whole Other Business
Focuses on strategic decision-making at Aurora Organic Dairy, a sustainable venture in the organic food industry. The founders, having pioneered the first national organic dairy brand in 1999, established this packaged private-label organic dairy product company in 2003 during a period of rapid growth and relative stability for the organic industry. The company aggressively pursued sustainability initiatives and a vertical integration strategy to reduce the use of outside resources.
Pharmaca: Finding the Integrative Health Consumer
This case study explores the model of Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy and examines whether a viable market exists for its integrated retail concept. The distinctive model combines a traditional pharmacy with a front-of-store retail concept offering natural medicines, herbal supplements, and natural health and beauty products.
The structured assignments then take the student beyond marketing theory to derive strategic and tactical recommendations to educate consumers, attract investors, inform store location decisions, and ultimately increase revenues. Students will analyze the company, consumer, and competitive landscape to see how Pharmaca has positioned itself in this niche market. Students will then be asked to draw key consumer insights from survey and market data and to apply these to strategic business decisions for Pharmaca’s future from a marketing management perspective.
Eco-Products, Inc.
This case study examines entrepreneurial finance in the context of sustainable venturing and rapid sales growth. By presenting the cash needs, financial performance data, alternative sources of funding, and strategic priorities of Eco-Products, one is able to explore various aspects of structuring financial capital for a growing venture.
The case explores a proposed offer from a private investor and requires one to determine whether the offer is beneficial and fair in light of the company’s goals, values, and competitive position. This case has also been included in the fourth edition of Entrepreneurial Finance, the leading entrepreneurial finance text used in business school courses, coauthored by Leeds professors Chris Leach and Ron Melicher. It presents various aspects of finance in the context of entrepreneurship, company growth, and sustainable venturing and is suitable for any discussion covering financial decisions.
Eco-Products, Inc., is a leading supplier of environmentally friendly food service containers based out of Boulder, Colorado. As a company, Eco-Products is committed to responsible management and environmental sustainability. When demand for products made from renewable resources skyrocketed in 2007, the company faced rapid growth which was hard to sustain in light of their lengthy supply chain which tied up cash and made it difficult to stock the demanded inventory. Eco-Products therefore sought additional sources of funding through private equity to feed the company’s hurried growth.