A Better Yoga Block: Shanti Creek Yoga Products

Abstract

This case follows a protagonist as he tries to secure start-up capital to get his entrepreneurial venture going. With the company still in its conceptual stage, students must evaluate everything in a business plan, from the initial product design, to marketing, fabrication, and logistics. The case ends with a pitch scenario to a potential investor.

Excerpt

UVA-ENT-0190

Rev. Jan. 22, 2019

A Better Yoga Block: Shanti Creek Yoga Products

Calvin Gorelick looked out the bedroom window of his Alexandria, Virginia, townhouse and saw the sun coming up. It was time to get ready for work, which meant that he needed to finish the email message he had been working on since 4:00 a.m. The response to this email, he believed, would determine whether he moved forward on starting his business.

Gorelick had an idea for an improved version of an existing product: a yoga block slightly larger and more ergonomic than those typically available. He had found a supplier, done initial market research, and established a distribution mechanism. He was confident that, once in motion, his enterprise would almost automatically generate profit.

Thus far, he had self-funded, doing the necessary work during personal time so as not to jeopardize his day job. He thought his new idea could be the cornerstone of a complete line of yoga products, which could allow him to fulfill his longtime dream of being an entrepreneur.

. . .

Keywords: entrepreneur, China