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Marketing BookBot: Developing a Project ...

Whitler, Kimberly,...

Case

Marketing BookBot: Developing a Project Charter for a Pre-Seed Startup

Whitler, Kimberly; Dixon, Sterling

M-1079 | Published March 2, 2026 | 7 Pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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Learning Objectives

It was summer 2025, and Sterling Dixon had just begun working at BookBot, a pre-seed start-up with an AI-powered platform designed to help self-published authors market their books. These authors often cited marketing as the hardest part of the self-publishing process, and BookBot aimed to simplify and scale book promotion with features like social media AI assistance, press outreach, podcast support, and more. Dixon had been tasked with developing a plan to tackle a 10-week project and presenting it to the executive team the next day with very little direction. The case leads students through a discussion that allows them to convert a complex and ambiguous project into a Project Charter and process that enables them to tackle any assignment with success, even when the information about the project is limited or ambiguous.

• Experience the uncertainty, fear, and pressure of facing an ambiguous project, without a clear definition or direction from a boss or company. • Learn about the power of a Project Charter to manage any work task. • Learn about the Project Charter Model that can be used to guide an action plan. • Apply the Project Charter Model to a real-world case. • Give the students an approach and the confidence to leverage the Project Charter Model to succeed on the job.