CAVA is opening 12+ CAVA Grill locations a year in an effort to rapidly spread the brand. People are still learning what CAVA is today, and in new markets, these stores tell that story. To optimize their return on what is typically a $2.5M investment per location, Brent Renner, VP of Real Estate, and Jeff Polhemus, VP of Development, have to work together to streamline the process and reduce overall costs. How do Renner and Polhemus cut costs or achieve a better return while staying on track with CAVA’s mission, values, and strategic objectives?

Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza currently has 49 open locations in five different states along the East Coast. Anthony’s restaurants are always centrally owned and never franchised. Anthony’s ambiance, culture, and foodservice rely heavily on identifying and hiring the best people. Their approach has always been to hire for personality and train for skill. However, growth has placed a strain on their ideals about hiring, and with limited time for interviews, it is difficult to tell if a potential hire is a right fit for the Anthony’s atmosphere. What efficient but effective means might Locke utilize to source and hire staff suited for the Anthony’s mentality?

Brittany Klatt, Recruiting Coordinator, discusses recruitment strategies and hiring processes at X-Mode. How can we recruit qualified candidates in our emerging market for positions such as a data protection officer, which is prevalent in the UK and EU but not here in North America?

Capital Sports Ventures is a very small company based out of the DC Metro Area. Although they are not a traditional deal-based organization, they have discovered a large learning curve when it has come to deal-flow. Even though their efficiencies have been improving, they are well aware that they need to be careful about how many projects/investments they take on considering their limited staff. The only alternative to hiring and training costly staff members would be to improve efficiencies even further. At this point, their largest operating cost consists of salaries.

UrbanStems is a young company very focused on growing their revenues and margins. Whether they are raising capital from investors or evaluating where to make their next significant investment, they face decisions about whether to invest in marketing (a perennial favorite, as it generates revenue directly) or in Information Technology (which may be less glamorous, but over time can lead to higher margins and lower labor costs on the supply chain side of the business).

What factors should UrbanStems consider regarding acceptance or rejection of new projects? Should they invest in marketing or technology?

Mary Hall, Research Analyst, and Brandon Segal, Data Scientist, discuss the current product and service methods and challenges of X-Mode. Smart cities and big data—how do we leverage today’s capabilities? What sort of challenges do you think X-Mode can solve for smart cities with the data they collect?

ThinkFun’s management has been designing and testing toys, puzzles, and games for decades to meet educational standards.  However, they have never been widely adopted within traditional education, despite the educational content their games provide through activity. With the “gamification” of teaching and learning practices on the minds of education policy and decision-makers, the tide is turning and new opportunities are emerging. However, progress in education moves slowly, because the stakes are high and new approaches can seem risky. Andrea sees an opportunity to offer up ThinkFun’s long-seated expertise in promoting critical thinking and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills as a catalyst to educational change, while capturing greater market share.

What approach should ThinkFun take to ignite demand and capitalize on this potential growth market?

ThinkFun has gone through multiple adaptations to address changing industry trends, however, when it comes to the ever-changing digital landscape, they have had difficulty catching up. As a creator of STEAM related educational games, the business is set to grow, but to maximize the value they need to fill gaps in their expertise, specifically marketing.

How do you hire for a position in which you yourself do not have expertise?

ChefXchange is looking to spice up their online explainer videos to generate excitement surrounding their service. They are toying with ideas such as having chefs wear GoPro cameras while they cook to service the digital marketing space, or even having the chef lead a cooking lesson on the meal they would prepare for their clients. What are some interesting and creative ideas you would implement that would help ChefXchange reach a wider variety of people, and showcase how cool their chefs really are?

Social media is a massive marketing channel for contemporary companies. Since KIND Healthy Snacks targets Generation X, Generation Y/Millennials, and most recently Generation Z, social media has the potential to be a very effective platform. One challenge with social media is that the average consumer of information is constantly inundated with advertisements and other marketing techniques. KIND Healthy Snacks is trying to figure out how to reach prospective and current customers through all of the noise while staying true to their brand and they need your help.

Although Noodle Markets is embedded within its parent, The Noodle Companies, CEO Nicole Neal feels it is important to build an individual startup culture distinct from, yet aligned with, the parent’s brand.

What are the key building blocks of a healthy culture that Nicole’s team needs to consider?

Devin Andrews, VP of Engineering and Architecture discusses the details, process, and challenges of creating productized features with the company.

Should we deploy features quickly but not fully productize, or slow down on feature development in the interest of productizing everything along the way?

At UrbanStems, the primary customers are in the 25–35 age demographic, but they have noticed a trend of repeat purchasing behaviors in the 35–55 group that they would like to capitalize on.

How should UrbanStems approach potential partnerships—and with whom—to capture more of this demographic and their repeat behaviors

WeddingWire has been growing at an exponential rate over the last several years, operating with over 650 employees in two main offices (DC and Barcelona, Spain). Although there are many employees that have been with the company since the beginning, their dedication and contribution to the company may not be the best indication of how well they can manage people. As with every high-growth company, the question is: Is it better to develop/promote/hire internally or seek external hires--with their unique skills and experience levels--to fill roles?

This case asks students to weigh the benefits of the US Market for t-shirts against the potential opportunities and challenges of expansion internationally. Marc needs a clear go-to-market strategy for select regions that are deemed attractive. Advise Marc in detail how would you recommend CustomInk progress in expansion over a period of time.

What steps can be taken immediately, and what metrics would you aim for to define success?

In 2014, WeddingWire chose to expand by way of the acquisition of a Barcelona-based company, Bodas.net. Bodas.net currently operates in 12 countries including Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Mexico, and Brazil. WeddingWire faced several strategic alternatives, from focusing on existing territories to initiating further expansion.

What should WeddingWire’s next steps be to make most of their investment?

Austin Allan launched Tio Gazpacho because he loved the taste of traditional Spanish gazpacho and wanted to bring it to the U.S. Though it has been an uphill battle to define a new category in the U.S. food and beverage space, Tio and its product have made significant gains with partners such as General Mills and Michelin star chef José Andrés. As Tio’s story progresses, so do its opportunities for collaboration. Allan simply wants to know: where should he look next with new or current partners?

Case Focus

Analyzing the social media and content marketing of celebrity chef José Andrés Foods and tracking purchasing KPI’s to measure sales conversion of campaigns such as seasonal recipes and cooking demonstrations.

Case Introduction

Marisol Plata is the Senior Brand Manager of the ThinkFood Products, the curated line of José Andrés Foods, which are co-branded premium Spanish culinary staples and gourmet foods imported to the US to showcase Spanish cooking. Through various social media marketing growth initiatives, Marisol's marketing team has found the most effective way to reach the consumer is through content like seasonal recipe books and cooking demonstrations using these high-end gourmet Spanish products.

The challenge is to understand how to bridge the gap between marketing and retail purchasing.

Case Focus

Analyzing the distribution and retail options to reach the end customer for a small line of gourmet food products leveraging the powerful brand of the celebrity chef José Andrés

Case Introduction

Marisol Plata is the ThinkFoodGroup Senior Brand Manager of the ThinkFood Products, José Andrés’s curated line of co-branded premium Spanish culinary staples and gourmet foods imported to the US from the renowned chef’s favorite sources. Products are currently distributed across the US in natural grocers, supermarkets, local gourmet wine and cheese shops, and online retailers (LaTienda.com, Amazon.com). Given the distribution options in the evolving gourmet food marketplace and the various new ways consumers can access specialty foods, what innovative distribution channels would you recommend ThinkFood Products use to reach their customers?

Today, Framebridge is headquartered in Washington, D.C.; it has grown to operate a manufacturing facility in Kentucky and boasts a team of entirely virtual employees for customer support. For Betsy Hayes, director of human resources, keeping employees across teams and locations engaged is a major concern as Framebridge continues to grow.

What tactics can Hayes use to keep virtual employees connected to the work of the teams at their headquarters and factory?