Product Overview

Julia Madeline-Coho has decided to start a business—Uptown Hound—that will entertain pets while their owners are away from their homes in the medium-sized mid-Atlantic city of Greenwood. Madeline-Coho’s dog Louis (or Lou, as she preferred to call him) was her motivation, along with a dinner guest, Tara Holmes, who she met in her family’s house. Holmes was a Darden School of Business graduate concerned about her dog, Winnie, being home alone all day while she was working. Madeline-Coho has been doing research for her potential business and has some decisions to make, such as what services to offer these dogs and what to charge for them, and if and when she should hire any employees. Another decision was whether to expand her services to include cats as well as dogs.

Learning Objectives

This case is designed to be taught in courses for non-MBA audiences that explore aspects of entrepreneurship, such as those listed here: - Market sizing: The protagonist must estimate the potential market for Uptown Hound. - Estimating demand: The protagonist must calculate the demand for different types of services. - Pricing economics: The protagonist must calculate at what price she will make the most revenue for her services. - Branding: The protagonist must debate the merits of different logos and choose one to go with. - Operational estimates: The protagonist must estimate the number of customers she needs before hiring employee support, and how many employees she will need if things are going well with Uptown Hound. - The business economics of additional services: The protagonist must calculate the costs of providing an additional photo service and decide what she would charge for the service. - The strategy and economics of expanding markets: The protagonist must decide if she wants to extend her services to cats.