Business school case simulation
For your class: five people, one desk each, run Halden Components year by year for eight years against three rivals that play to win.
A classic case: a mid-sized manufacturer at a crossroads. This one opens as Halden Components: A case for business school teams: a mid-sized manufacturer facing low-cost importers and one dominant rival. Rename it, reprice it, or describe the market you want and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady team ends up with
Played steadily for all eight years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady team ends with 28% of the market, finishing #2 of 9, on $63m of revenue in the last year.
The team inherits it as it stands today: 650 buyers, 90 staff and $4m in the bank.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $63m
Profit in the last year: $3.5m
Buyers at the end: 877
Share of the market: From nothing to 28%
Where it finishes: #2 of 9
Years and decisions: 8 years, yearly
What you'll decide each year
Each year you price for each kind of buyer, set how much you can make, choose what to spend on quality and efficiency, and decide whether to borrow to grow.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your buyers are
Few buyers, big orders and thin margins: one large account can make the year, and an importer's price can take it away again.
2,500 buyers in all, across United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Distributors: They buy by the container and squeeze every point of margin. About 875 of them, worth $84k a year each.
Specialist buyers: They need it made to a spec and will pay to have it right. About 625 of them, worth $78k a year each.
Large accounts: A handful of names worth half the year, with audits and penalties. About 250 of them, worth $180k a year each.
Small workshops: Short runs, odd sizes, and payment terms nobody else offers them. About 750 of them, worth $18k a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The national manufacturer: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 30% of the market.
The low-cost importer: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 22% of the market.
The specialist family firm: Hasn't changed in years and is living off the customers it already has. Holds about 12% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of buyer, three rivals and five markets.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe the market you want in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady team ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included; everyone else at the table is $1 a seat. Then run it year by year for eight years.
Also for
mba · business school · case study · strategy · executive education
How much does the business school case simulation cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this market, change anything in it and see what a steady team ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included; everyone else at the table is $1 a seat.
Can I change the market for my class?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the buyers and what they pay, the rivals, the markets, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe the market you want in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. To play a real company's numbers, upload its profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to them.
Is it a fair contest for a class?
It is tuned to be one: played steadily, a team should end with between 5% and 40% of the market — enough to be a real business, not so much that one ordinary plan walks away with it. This one's preview comes to about 28%. Teams that read the market well do better.
Can my class play it together?
Yes — it is set up for a table of five, one desk each: chief executive, marketing, finance, product and operations. Starting it gives you a link to invite the other four, and every year their decisions land together. A bigger group starts one simulation per table of five.
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