E140A - Session 6

Market Strategy I

Summary

CA Vision Tools has achieved great success since its founding. However,the marketing group is concerned about its role and standing in this rapidly growing venture. In particular, they are worried about the budget for the upcoming V2.0 launch. This case continues our investigation of vision and product/market strategy in start-ups.

Guest

Donna Novitsky, CEO
Big Tent is the perfect combination of Donna's personal and professional passions. A seasoned executive, Donna joined Big Tent from Mohr, Davidow Ventures where she was a Venture Partner for almost nine years, helping startups in many industries. Prior to MDV, Donna was VP of Marketing at Clarify Inc., a successful enterprise software startup that she helped build from zero to $100M revenue and was listed on the NASDAQ. Donna teaches Global Entrepreneurial Marketing in the School of Engineering at Stanford University. She enjoys playing with her two children and husband and volunteering in her children's school. She is a former board member of the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.
- Donna holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering with Distinction from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Required Readings (Policy on Required Readings.)

• Collins & Lazier, Chapter 7
• Case: California Vision Tools (a Harvard Business Review article titled "Can This High-Tech Product Sell Itself ?"). (see here for directions on downloading this HBR article); Read the first six pages of this case only (i.e., pages 24 to 29). Stop where expert opinions begin. This will be part of after-class discussion.

Suggested Readings

• Case method: C&L Chapter 1 (pp. 3-7)
• Gibbons
• Ben Horowitz (CEO of Opsware), Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager

Study Questions (Policy on Study Questions.)

1. What do the numbers tell us (per C&L Chapter 1)?
2. What has made this venture successful to date? What are their strategic challenges?
3. What marketing strategy should they choose?
4. What makes an effective marketing organization? What do you think of this marketing vice president?

Assignment

Does the marketing department of CVT need an additional $100K for a splashy product introduction? Why do you feel this way?