Cold Call

In 2021, a breakthrough in sanitation technology – developed under the Gates Foundation’s “Reinvent the Toilet” challenge – stood ready for commercialization. The Single User Reinvented Toilet (SURT) offered an off-grid, self-contained system capable of processing waste, generating water, and reducing environmental impact. Turning this technical success into a viable product, however, meant confronting intertwined challenges around behavior change, infrastructure compatibility, financing models, and stakeholder incentives. Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Maria Roche and SURT engineer Dr. Shannon Yee join Brian Kenny to discuss the case “Toilets for the Underserved: The SURT Commercialization Challenge” and the central question of how to launch and then scale a technology particularly important for underserved markets, but not a lucrative short term investment opportunity.

After launching Wasabi Technologies, a successful cloud storage company, founder and CEO David Friend was ready to scale the venture rapidly. The company had focused primarily on direct sales, but an opportunity to pivot toward channel sales was on the horizon. However, making this pivot would mean changing its sales, marketing, and staffing strategies dramatically, and effectively veering the company away from its already successful course. Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Lou Shipley joins Brian Kenny to discuss the case, “Wasabi Technologies” and the questions Friend wrestled with: Was channel sales the right play for the burgeoning cloud storage provider? If so, how should it best be implemented? They also explore ideas connected to Shipley’s new book, Unlikely Entrepreneurs.

Software startup InsightSquared had recently hit $2 million in revenue and secured an $8 million round of venture capital. However, the founders disagreed on the path ahead, specifically on the sales and marketing plan. Should they focus on a sales-centric approach to growth or a marketing-centric one? Which strategy was optimal for their venture’s next phase of growth? Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Mark Roberge joins Brian Kenny to discuss the case, “InsightSquared: Developing the Sales and Marketing Plan” and ideas related to his new book, The Science of Scaling.

A bank’s decision to experiment with being more transparent with about credit card drawbacks might help customers make better choices, but would those choices come at the expense of bank performance? Harvard Business School Professor Leslie John joins Brian Kenny to discuss the case, “Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation” and ideas related to her new book, Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing. They explore the benefits and potential drawbacks to the bank “oversharing” information with customers.

The U.S. Men’s Olympic speed skating team devised a new approach to the team pursuit event following their disappointing performance in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The team saw promising initial results from their innovations, but they faced a decision about whether to reveal their new techniques. The U.S. Team’s strategy was easily imitated if competitors witnessed it in a race, but it was a risk not to test it in competition before the Olympics. And, were here possible upsides to imitation if it improved the entire sport? Should they share their techniques, and if so, when? Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Rebecca Karp joins Brian Kenny to discuss the case, “A Winning Strategy: Innovation in Olympic Speed Skating.”